subterFUSE

Another question on grounds.

I was told the BitOne is grounded to another spot. In the picture you can see the BitOne ground is connected to the factory grounding spot by the battery, I circled in RED. The amps are grounded to the point in the Orange box. Does all look good to you?

methodsound

The ground wires look fine. I wish BMW used the same IBS sensor that Audi uses. The Audi sensor is bolted to the car and has a normal ground cable from there to the battery.

The last thing I want to do is second guess your installers work from behind my desk here. The only reason I brought up the TCU antenna was because your TCU antenna fault+ location of the antenna+ and location of the equipment= good idea to make sure before going to the dealer.

The Bit one processor is a very powerful tool. It can invert phase on any channel and or also time align ( degree of phase ) any channel as well. So even if you used different hi-level speaker inputs you might still get the same end result after tuning.

subterFUSE

Oh no, I realize you're not critiquing the install and appreciate the suggestions.

I am actually curious about the phasing issue you mentioned because I have been planning on reprogramming my BitOne when I have the opportunity.
I have already spent some time messing with my crossover settings and EQ settings in the BitOne software on my own, but I have not actually gone through the full setup procedure. My stereo shop did the initial setup for me while I was away on a vacation.

There are a few things I have been wondering about, though:

When using High-Level inputs on the BitOne, Audison suggests running the source volume at the highest possible level without clipping. This makes obvious sense because you want to maximize your signal/noise ratio. But I have never actually figured out where that volume level would be on the Logic 7 system. I have always listened to the Logic7 at full volume and never noticed clipping before. I know that Audison suggests using 90% of full volume if you are unsure. And I also know that the E60 has a detented rotary encoder for the volume control. It is not like the typical potentiometer style control found on older radios. So there is no way to actually see what the volume level is set at with the Logic 7 head unit. I have tested the Logic7 volume knob myself to see if I could figure out how many clicks it takes to go from full volume to zero. To my ears, it took 60 clicks. So I therefore have been running the signal into the BitOne at full volume minus 6 clicks? (90% of full)
Knowing the exact number of clicks is important because when the car is turned off, the Logic7 resets your volume to a middle level. And without a frame of reference you cannot tell where that volume is when you turn on the car. The only way I can think of to figure out where the volume actually is set is to turn the volume past full, and then count the clicks down from there.

Have you had to deal with this at all in your experience? Am I doing it correctly, or do you think I can run the Logic 7 at full?



Another minor detail with the Logic 7 running into the BitOne is the car's notifications like the Park Distance Control. Obviously I can only get car notifications when the BitOne is set to the master input. But, there is also the issue of the volume level changing during car announcements (ie Nav Voice). You can increase the Nav voice while the car is talking by moving the OEM volume knob, but I do not think the PDC beeps can be increased. And unless my BitOne volume is set very high I cannot hear the PDC beeps very well, especially in the back. It's a minor issue which I have learned how to manage, but wish there was a more ideal solution.

methodsound

Both amps are upside down but what I was trying to tell you is that your L7 amp is upside down. The cooling fans and wire plugs are supposed to be at the bottom.


The way your PDC is connected now is about as ideal as it can get. But here is an alternative idea I have not tried yet. For my car I have been thinking about re-wiring the rear door speakers ( which are not used in my current setup ) thru a set of relays to the rear shelf speaker outputs of the L7 amp. That way when in reverse, the relays would trigger and allow the rear PDC signal to play out of the normally disconnected rear door speakers. And the side benefit is that you do not have to plug in the rear speaker wires into the Bit one. You could get away with just front doors and front subs as your L+R high pass and low pass high level signal input to the Bit one.

As for the volume to use during setup mode, I have tried ( in multiple cars not just BMW ) it many ways and think that even if the stock amp clips a little bit you should still do the setup with the volume at absolute max, just keep cranking it to the right a few extra times to be sure. By the way the L7 system starts to clip on test tones about 8-11 clicks ( depending on test tone frequency ) back from max volume.

subterFUSE

So, it seems to me that to be certain I am below the clipping point I should operate the Logic 7 volume at 80% of full. (12 clicks below MAX)?

In your opinion, should both subwoofer outputs from the Logic7 amp be plugged into the BitOne? Or just one of them??
Right now I just have one of the sub outputs running into the BitOne.

nelson29

I just notice this thread and your problems. I actually had my TCU go bad about 4-5 months ago and Field's did not want to work on my car unless i took the system out. Im also having the active steering error code and made an appointment to see them next week, im pretty sure the active steering module is bad. If you have questions on the Bitone, got to Diymobileaudio.com, Theres a huge thread.

Edit: Here's the thread

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mo...e-take-nap.html

methodsound

In my opinion you should connect both front doors and both front subs to the bit one. If you want your rear pdc beeps to work then you should also leave your rear speakers connected to the bit one.



So are you going to wait and see if the active steering resets on its own or are you going to take it in soon? Let us know about the TCU error also, does all the TCU features still work and you just have an error or does part of the system not work?

subterFUSE

I drop off the car on Saturday morning for the Active Steering Module replacement.
There is zero chance the steering is fixing itself. It has been over a month now.

I am NOT fixing the TCU. The error is simply an antenna error which I believe is not worth the cost of replacing the TCU unit itself. (That is the ONLY suggestion BMW will give me, I am certain) My navigation and Bluetooth are working fine still.

Hopefully they will be able to fix the Active Steering by Monday or Tuesday, and I can get the stereo put back together before Thanksgiving.

png1966

The audison amp, you can obviously mount it upside down?

subterFUSE

I have had no problems. It is fan cooled, however. I would not suggest this style of mounting with just any amplifier.