BMW AUX Input Cable Retrofit

In this article we discuss how you can connect your phone through a BMW AUX cable in order to play music in your car, and also what are the criteria for finding the right cable depending on your car model. The information in this article is meant for:

• Regular BMW owners who want to connect external audio devices through a BMW AUX cable

For starters, the cable you need to purchase looks something like this:

1. BMW AUX input kit part numbers

You need a retrofit cable, which BMW sells under the following part numbers:
65 12 0 153 501
65 12 0 153 502
65 12 0 153 503
82 11 0 149 390

2. Compatible BMW models

According to BMW, the above part numbers are compatible with specific BMW models, as follows.

Part number 65 12 0 153 501 is compatible with these BMW models:

• BMW 3′ E46 (04/1997 — 08/2006)

Part number 65 12 0 153 502 is compatible with the following BMW cars:

• BMW 5′ E39 (02/1995 — 12/2003)
• BMW 5′ E60 (12/2001 — 12/2009)
• BMW 5′ E60 (12/2001 — 12/2009)
• BMW 5′ E61 (10/2002 — 02/2007)
• BMW 6′ E63 (06/2002 — 07/2010)
• BMW 6′ E64 (09/2002 — 07/2007)
• BMW X3 E83 (01/2003 — 07/2006)
• BMW X3 E83 LCI (02/2006 — 08/2010)
• BMW X5 E53 (07/1999 — 09/2006)
• BMW Z4 E85 (04/2002 — 08/2008)
• BMW Z4 E86 (10/2005 — 08/2008

Part number 65 12 0 153 502:

• BMW 3′ E46 (04/1997 — 08/2006)
• BMW 5′ E39 (02/1995 — 12/2003)
• BMW X5 E53 (07/1999 — 09/2006

Part number 82 11 0 149 390:

• BMW 5′ E39 (02/1995 — 12/2003)
• BMW X5 E53 (07/1999 — 09/2006)
• BMW X3 E83 (01/2003 — 07/2006)

Part number 82 11 0 149 391:

• BMW Z4 E85 (01/2002 — 08/2008)

3. Beyond stated compatibility

The BMW AUX cables with the above part numbers are pretty much the same, except for the black connector at the end. This connector can have multiple variants. Furthermore, for the same same connector, the three pins can differ in their expected location for different car models with different options.

However, for the vast majority of BMW owners, the correct connector is this one:

This connector is most likely the one you need if you have:

1. A BMW on the IBUS communication system (BMW 3 Series (E46), including BMW M3, BMW 5 Series (E39), BMW 7 Series (E38), BMW X5 (E53), BMW X3 (E83), BMW Z4 (E85/E86)), fitted with an MKIV navigation and a BM54 radio module.

In this case, the above connector will plug into the BM54 radio’s big connector on the back of the module. The section Pinout for the AUX input cable provides more detailed information for this matter.

Worth mentioning is that you need to have a version of the BM54 radio which supports AUX input. If your BM54 model does not support AUX input, you can have it modded by an independent BMW electronics service.

2. A BMW with the MOST system (BMW 1 Series (E81, E82, E87, E88), BMW 3 Series (E90, E91, E92, E93, M3), BMW 5 Series (E60, E61, M5), BMW 6 Series (E63, E64, M6), BMW X5 E70, BMW X6 E71), sporting a CCC or a MASK iDrive head unit.

The AUX cable will plug into the CCC or the MASK iDrive navigation. We will discuss specifics further down. You also need to have your CCC / MASK iDrive coded with support for AUX input. Again, this can be performed by a BMW electronics service. If you need our help with this, feel free to contact us through the contact form on this page.

If you unfortunately don’t fall into the above two categories, you will have to find your way through the official BMW documentation for retrofitting auxiliary input kits, like the ones on these links :

• http://www.bavauto.com/Assets/inst_pages/65_12_0_153_501_502_503.pdf
• the more complete version of the above
• https://www.bavauto.com/media/imports/inst_pages/INS405.pdf

4. Price

The genuine AUX input retrofit cable from BMW will cost you from around 40 USD to 80 USD, depending on which of the above model you choose. On the other hand, considering an aftermarket AUX cable, can be as cheap as 20 EUR.

5. The Auxiliary input kit

In the remaining of this article we will only discuss the aftermarket AUX input kit for BMW. This kit consists of:

• One cable made up of three individual wires. The cable has three special pins on one end and one AUX female connector on the other end.
  

  

• One BMW black connector

The trick with this connector is that you have to plug in the three special pins that end the three wires of the BMW AUX cable into the right pin location in this black connector. As you can see, there are 12 pin locations on this connector and below we’ll see the most commonly used pin out.

6. Pin out for the BMW AUX cable

6.1 BMW with MKIV head unit and BM54 radio

As mentioned above, in this case the BMW AUX cable plugs into the BM54 radio. Here is the pin out of the BM54 connector:

The black connector of the AUX harnessing plugs into the C location. But before anything, what you need to do first is to insert the three pins of the AUX harnessing into the AUX black connector on their corresponding locations: the ground wire goes into pin 10 and the left and right wires go to pins 3 and 4. There is no difference in signal for the left and right wires, so you can just choose from the two whichever you want to use for left and right.

If section C is already populated with an identical black connector, the three wires of the AUX harnessing must be plugged in into that the connector, in the locations mentioned above.

When inserting the pins into their corresponding location, please make sure the side with protrusions is facing outwards (not down or up, but outwards), as illustrated below:

Once the pins are properly inserted, the black connector goes into its accompanying housing illustrated below:

And now you can insert it into the quad lock connector of your BM54 radio. At this point, we recommend double checking the location of the three pins.

6.2 BMW with CCC or MASK iDrive head unit

For a BMW with a CCC or MASK iDrive, the AUX cable plugs into the quad lock connector of the iDrive navigation module (the large black connector on the back of the iDrive head unit). First, insert the three pins of this cable into the AUX black connector, pin locations with numbers 2, 7, and 8 and follow the same instructions from sections 6.1 from above.

WRAPPING IT UP

To summarize, this article taught you how to recognize the precise BMW AUX cable compatible with your car model and the info needed in order to master the perfect wiring in case you get an AUX input kit. If you need our help, the best way is to use the contact form on the right section or just click here.