Harmon kardon...

[M5 SC]

Hi guys,

Been having a problem with my harmon kardon stereo for a while now, the stereo makes a low buzzing noise when its on, regardless of volume the buzzing still stays. i'm gonna take the car back to the garage i brought it from but getting time to get it there is a problem thats why i wanna do it myself. (cost of the ferry and 100mile trip)
Just pulled back the lining in the boot to access the amp, this exactly what the amp (i think its the amp! only measure's about 3inch by 2inch) says on it.
Soundlinx acoustic science, part no-bmw02son, bmw 5 series e39 96-97,
business RDS, sony unilink CD changers, serial no-28201.
I assume this is not the right one! but could it cause the interference that im getting?

Hope there's someone who is familar with the 'harmon kardon' out there?!!!

Thanks

[BigFas]

Putting this in the Audio section :)

[Afif]

dude im pretty sure that soundlinx is not your amp and is the interface to connect your cd changer (im assuming its sony?) to the bmw headunit.

[peppernick]

Agree with Afif, someone (previous owner) must have used a Soundlinx adapter to link aftermarket CD changers to the stock system. The HK amp is about 20cmX20cm and is a black box located under your CD changer on a coupe. HK is very sensitive and is designed to work best with the factory units. Are you using the stock changer now or aftermarket? If the latter, bolt on aftermarket parts may be the cause of contaminated signals.

[M5 SC]

Its an aftermarket CD changer, couldn't see the amp! (only managed to get the covering half way back) I could see beneath the changer and was expecting to see the amp! but didn't! i'll have another look in the morning.
If the interface i've got is obviously the wrong one could that be the problem? Also the changer is 10 not a 6! but will only play 6! wont even recognise 10 CD's!

Help!

[peppernick]

Hmmmmm, an amp must be there or else your HK will not work. The soundlink adapter is the same unit on E46s and E39s, so I doubt it's the problem. Your CD changer may be faulty, it should be able to read all 10CDs.

The other possibility is that the previous owner changed the amp to an aftermarket one and it's hidden somewhere else. This will give exactly the same problem as you've described as you tend to get a lot of interference with aftermarket amps/stock headunit combo, especially interference from the alternator.

[M5 SC]

I'll have a good look tomorrow and see what else i can find! the only other clue is the CD's seem to jump quite often. I could link up my old amp and see what it sounds like? just to eliminate the amp itself as the problem.
Then if its still the same it must be the changer or maybe a connection? It happens about 85% of the time. you could be driving and its fine then it'll just start buzzing! God its annoying!!!

[Icecold]

does it only happen when you are playing the cd changer or when you play the radio aswell??

disconnect the soundlinx part and see if the buzzing goes away.

aslo the cd changer will only ever play the first six cds as that is all the headunit will accommodate..

any other probs let me know..