OEM microphone locations other than steering wheel column?

[Hejnfelt]

Question: Are there any other OEM microphones than the ones on top of the steering wheel column?

I’m probably one of the first to take delivery of the newly released Mr12Volt P2000 MMI box with integrated OEM microphone support. The box is now supplied with what seems to be a nicely braided and shielded splitter cable for the OEM microphone plugs. The other end is a regular 3.5mm aux mono jack that now plugs into the Mr12Volt main harness (instead of into the back of the unit as on previous models).

Side comment - Although the unit still has a separate 3.5mm aux jack on the back, I suppose it is a leftover port which was cheaper to keep than to change the whole main board design and enclosure mold to cover an unnecessary 3.5mm port.

I am aware of the microphones on the steering wheel column and that was my first thought to split those, but Mr12Volt shows installation with the roof panel microphones (in a 3 series) which obviously doesn’t exist on the Z4. In my other car (Mercedes CLS) it is obvious that there are multiple other microphone locations and I was wondering if there are more mic locations in the E89 Z4?

Mine is a 2013 LCI 35is if that matters.

[KennyP]

Newtis repair manuals gave me only instructions for how to replace the mic on the steering column. Did not get anything else when i searched for microphone... so i guess its the only one.

[Hejnfelt]

Does the newTIS procedure by any chance show how to remove the steering column trim to get to the OEM microphone? Somehow this doesn’t seem like a straight forward procedure.

[KennyP]

You basically pull the top trim piece up i have done this once... it doesnt come apart easily. I used L shape trim tool to the gap of steering wheel and trim so the L part went under the trim. Then pulled up with it and it popped loose.

Also removing steering wheel can make it alot easier... its basically release airbag and unbolt it. Few wiring connectors to unplug aswell. And its off. It goes on only in one way. Has a key slot that lets you put it back only in one way... so you cant mess the orientation up. Took mine off and sent it to get retrimmed a few years ago. Some place in Haapsalu replaced the Nappa leather with new Nappa leather and even kept the heating in working order. Many shops did not guarantee that the heating would survive the work. This guy though said no problem, have done many heated wheels. Charged a bit extra because you have to be careful and take time when removing old leather.

Added Newtis instructions as pdf for you.

[B21]

Just echoing Kenny P..the mic sit under the steering cowl..its a pig to get off and seemed worse getting it back on..very fiddly..

I used an L shape trim tool (bent a straight one with a heat gun to form a L)..the cowl moves vertically upwards good luck..

So where does the new cable have to go?

[Hejnfelt]

Alright, so it is possible to get that cowl off without removing the steering wheel… I’ll give it a try.

The new cable basically is a splitter like the other LVDS cables. Your OEM mic plugs into the splitter and the splitter plugs into the main wiring harness of the car. Then you route the 3.5mm jack plug to the main harness of the Mr12Volt that has a AUX port in it now. The port seems a bit beefier than a low quality Chinesium AUX port so I think they are trying to keep the OEM sound quality with this. Basically the AUX port seems beefier than the video RCA input ports for the cameras. Anyway will try to snap some photos of the mic install if I can get the cowl off.

[Hejnfelt]

Getting to cowl off was very easy with the info you guys gave, thanks a lot. The new cable plugs in here. Need to get that plug out and it’s impossible to grab…

Anyway, here’s the new wire too.

[Hejnfelt]

Well it all came together rather easily. Plugged in the microphone cable and routed it down behind the dash to the rest of the cables. Installed the box neatly behind the HVAC as shown by the great B21

Siri works through OEM mic.

Very happy with this mod.

[KennyP]

Hmm...Maybe i should get one aswell... Its tempting... if only it played youtube, so i could go through my youtube playlists and play music from there... at the moment i use aux and phone for that... even in a mercedes, that i sometimes use, that has carplay i also hook it up to carplay and then use the app on the phone to choose and play my music.

Interesting trim combo... dash is aluminum but center console isnt. Havent really noticed that before. Thought all have same trim throughout the cabin... Maybe its the twotone thing? You have that black roof option aswell. Saw the pictures Differ put on facebook of the work that was done on yours. Car looked great! I had forgot how high oem suspension is... mine is quite slammed compared to yours...

[Tangent]

How's the sound quality compared to stock with that? A few years ago I got an upgraded iDrive display with Android built in for my M4 and the sound could best be described as "muddy" when playing through the add-on box that unit uses...

[B21]

Originally Posted by KennyP

Hmm...Maybe i should get one aswell... Its tempting... if only it played youtube, so i could go through my youtube playlists and play music from there... at the moment i use aux and phone for that... even in a mercedes, that i sometimes use, that has carplay i also hook it up to carplay and then use the app on the phone to choose and play my music.

Interesting trim combo... dash is aluminum but center console isnt. Havent really noticed that before. Thought all have same trim throughout the cabin... Maybe its the twotone thing? You have that black roof option aswell. Saw the pictures Differ put on facebook of the work that was done on yours. Car looked great! I had forgot how high oem suspension is... mine is quite slammed compared to yours...

It does via CarPlay allow you to use YouTube music..I use it all the time…previously I was heavily focussed on using my 6,400 tracks in my surrogate iPod and old iPhone 5SE plugged into the usb socket…these days I use YouTube music premium and only in areas with bad phone reception revert to my iPod..

Completely updates the user experience…I do like also being able to toggle with one touch between the bmw nav and Google maps / Apple Maps ..

[B21]

Originally Posted by Tangent

How's the sound quality compared to stock with that? A few years ago I got an upgraded iDrive display with Android built in for my M4 and the sound could best be described as "muddy" when playing through the add-on box that unit uses...

It’s great…second only to playing a cd or playback of a lossless apple coded track played back via usb…far better than either 3.5mm or Bluetooth..

[KennyP]

Originally Posted by B21

It does via CarPlay allow you to use YouTube music..I use it all the time…previously I was heavily focussed on using my 6,400 tracks in my surrogate iPod and old iPhone 5SE plugged into the usb socket…these days I use YouTube music premium and only in areas with bad phone reception revert to my iPod..

Completely updates the user experience…I do like also being able to toggle with one touch between the bmw nav and Google maps / Apple Maps ..

Does it play like every video on youtube? Like say if i upload a song to youtube with some random picture or even video... does it play those aswell? Or are there cases when it wont play?

I used to collect music on itunes aswell.. but i put most of it to the built in harddrive... and i have an extra usb stick i use if i want take any albums quickly in the car.
But yeah these days with unlimited mobile data i dont see the point in playing with files anymore. And i dont want to use Spotify or similar. I have had same youtube account from 2007 and been making playlists on there since then.. accumulated quite a library over the years...
Guess ill buy youtube premium and try it in the mercedes first...

[Hejnfelt]

Originally Posted by KennyP

Hmm...Maybe i should get one aswell... Its tempting... if only it played youtube, so i could go through my youtube playlists and play music from there... at the moment i use aux and phone for that... even in a mercedes, that i sometimes use, that has carplay i also hook it up to carplay and then use the app on the phone to choose and play my music.

Interesting trim combo... dash is aluminum but center console isnt. Havent really noticed that before. Thought all have same trim throughout the cabin... Maybe its the twotone thing? You have that black roof option aswell. Saw the pictures Differ put on facebook of the work that was done on yours. Car looked great! I had forgot how high oem suspension is... mine is quite slammed compared to yours...

This is the official LCI refresh combo interior. It's a show car that was not driven by press but only ferried around to car shows until sold internally to someone high up and cared for meticulously. As such it has all the options including the adaptive suspension which I must say, for a daily driver on Estonian roads I am not in any hurry to get rid of. Car has very high quality leather and materials everywhere. The center console is piano black which is matched on the door side panels. I know piano black is a bitch to take care of but mine doesn't have a scratch and I intend to keep it that way. Doors inside are alcantara covered like the seats. Night and day difference to my previous Z4 23i. The fit and finish is perfection on everything. It felt like I am the first person to take these trim panels off in 10 years. See these photos from the LCI launch. Mine is an exact copy.

Originally Posted by Tangent

How's the sound quality compared to stock with that? A few years ago I got an upgraded iDrive display with Android built in for my M4 and the sound could best be described as "muddy" when playing through the add-on box that unit uses...

The Mr12Volt has a better equalizer than the stock system. I have the 677 system which sounds pretty decent already but with the better MOST connection and a better equalizer you can tune it better with the Mr12Volt than you can stock.

Originally Posted by KennyP

Does it play like every video on youtube? Like say if i upload a song to youtube with some random picture or even video... does it play those aswell? Or are there cases when it wont play?

I used to collect music on itunes aswell.. but i put most of it to the built in harddrive... and i have an extra usb stick i use if i want take any albums quickly in the car.
But yeah these days with unlimited mobile data i dont see the point in playing with files anymore. And i dont want to use Spotify or similar. I have had same youtube account from 2007 and been making playlists on there since then.. accumulated quite a library over the years...
Guess ill buy youtube premium and try it in the mercedes first...

It plays Youtube just as Spotify no problem.

[B21]

Originally Posted by KennyP

Does it play like every video on youtube? Like say if i upload a song to youtube with some random picture or even video... does it play those aswell? Or are there cases when it wont play?

I used to collect music on itunes aswell.. but i put most of it to the built in harddrive... and i have an extra usb stick i use if i want take any albums quickly in the car.
But yeah these days with unlimited mobile data i dont see the point in playing with files anymore. And i dont want to use Spotify or similar. I have had same youtube account from 2007 and been making playlists on there since then.. accumulated quite a library over the years...
Guess ill buy youtube premium and try it in the mercedes first...

It’s YouTube music app…in the car it doesn’t play videos just artwork if you allow it…

The quality on the hard drive is very inferior to either a decent encoded usb copy or most iPhone playback..

[DavesZed]

Jump to 2205 on my video on installing the original box I show how to locate and attach the microphone....

https://youtu.be/EY4XAzUYiXk

[Hejnfelt]

Originally Posted by DavesZed

Jump to 2205 on my video on installing the original box I show how to locate and attach the microphone....

https://youtu.be/EY4XAzUYiXk

Thanks Dave, I already managed to finish the installation, also thanks to your great tutorial. A few things are already different. The mic splitter you made yourself is now included standard.

[KennyP]

Originally Posted by Hejnfelt

This is the official LCI refresh combo interior. It's a show car that was not driven by press but only ferried around to car shows until sold internally to someone high up and cared for meticulously. As such it has all the options including the adaptive suspension which I must say, for a daily driver on Estonian roads I am not in any hurry to get rid of. Car has very high quality leather and materials everywhere. The center console is piano black which is matched on the door side panels. I know piano black is a bitch to take care of but mine doesn't have a scratch and I intend to keep it that way. Doors inside are alcantara covered like the seats. Night and day difference to my previous Z4 23i. The fit and finish is perfection on everything. It felt like I am the first person to take these trim panels off in 10 years. See these photos from the LCI launch. Mine is an exact copy.

Looks great.
Mine has also launch spec interior, but the original 2009 launch. Nappa ivory white smooth leather, ivory alcantara on doors and seats... extended leather on dash, doors, sunvisors. Original exterior launch color was blue in Detroit autoshow in the end of 2008 it think, but in 2009 Geneva Autoshow Bmw had exact same spec with havana brown exterior as i have on their stand.
Also mine wasnt driven at all for the first couple of years. Stood in showrooms. Then a wealthy businessman in Berlin bought it and years later i got it from him.
Mine is also very well optioned. almost fully.. im missing cd changer(actually happy that i dont have that in the glovebox), adaptive headlights, smokers package and i guess isofix was an option aswell for the passenger seat that i dont seem to have. But i also have 677 HIFI PRO sound system, sportseats that are electric with adjustable lumbar and sidebolsters.. Rarer options that you dont see on many Z-s are steering wheel heating and garage door opener that i also have. And of course extra netting(storage package),lighting(lighting package) and so on... all the mirrors have dimming... keyless access...also had adaptive suspension but got rid of it when front shocks started leaking...wind deflector...

Those trim pieces do get scratches over time... I like cleanliness so i keep a couple of microfiber towels behind the seat and with the top open and interior getting dusty so quickly i often wipe my interior with them to keep it clean...
That had accumulated some microscratches , swirls in the anthracite wood trim laquer.
So this summer i took all the wood trim pieces out of the car and polished those scratches out... did not get them out 100% maybe 90% but looks alot better again...
If i were you i would put paint protection film on the center console trim piece... door trim really doesnt get scratches.

[Hejnfelt]

Hehe seems Esotnian Z4 buyers have a tendency towards the higher end models :P or is it a forum user bias?

If you don't have the CD changer, then beware that you cannot install the Mr12Volt unit without coding in the CD changer option as Mr12Volt emulates CD1 in the BMW system.

[KennyP]

Originally Posted by Hejnfelt

Hehe seems Esotnian Z4 buyers have a tendency towards the higher end models :P or is it a forum user bias?

If you don't have the CD changer, then beware that you cannot install the Mr12Volt unit without coding in the CD changer option as Mr12Volt emulates CD1 in the BMW system.

That wouldnt be a problem... i have done coding on z4 before... coded adaptive suspension out myself and have coded dvd video in motion ( up to 200kmh), digital speedometer between gauges, and roof movement while moving( dont remember what the kmh was..)

[Jakeinaka]

Can the coding for Mr12volt be done with Bimmercode or similar?

[B21]

Originally Posted by Jakeinaka

Can the coding for Mr12volt be done with Bimmercode or similar?

Yes no problem