AvinUSA 10.25inch Android 9 display install DIY for BMW E83 X3 

Thank you!

Happy to help!

Maybe you can help me, I’m trying to install an Android unit in my 05 E83 X3… I added aux which works until I plug in my harness for the Android unit then I loose my aux function. Have you experienced this?

Sadly never seen that.. very odd behavior for sure.

Haha same here. I'v replaced parts over 800€ at my self and still not enough 😂

Happy to help!

Thanks! I actually didn't install the mic, but it normally plugs into one of the pigtails off of the main harness.

I will have a feature video posted up today ironically.. I dont do any apple carplay as I dont have an iphone available ( I am android) but walk through the basic functionality of the rest.

@@BMWDIYGuy can you use apple car play with it? Or do I need a totally different head unit?

@@seanridge9423 yes you absolutely can

@@BMWDIYGuy so I did see that there is an adapter for it. You need to plug your iPhone into it which is kinda unfortunate. Especially since it’s main use is Bluetooth

Happy to help and glad it works.. so IF you have to run the AUX cable, its not horrible. You fish it down through the center console, then under/behind the plastics up to the compartment and into the AUX port.

I haven't and have OEM backup and then the DVR front

Both BT will still work, just separately.

Sound quality can be fine as long as the port is in good shape and a good aux cable is used. Well done testing the port first so you can get that fixed in case you need it.

It will work.. the aux cable you need is in the video description. Once that is plugged in, the head unit will have the extra aux mode

Same for me just installed and only ebrake. Triple checked wires and no go. Avon support not really helpful. An answer to this would be great. Any info???

Yes because on the factory e83 head unit, you switch into aux mode to get sound from the android side. You can easily be in radio mode and the display doing something else.

Happy that the video was helpful! For all of the questions.. So speed, RPM etc... you could through an app like Torque or similar tied into a bluetooth OBD reader, so possible yes. Temp maybe through a weather app. FM radio, or at least oem FM to this unit, no not really.

It depends on the modell..

Its not something I can quickly describe here. You often replace a license plate light, wire for 12v from the backup light (that also acts like the activation switch), run cables to the front and connect to the display.

BMW DIY Guy Thanks for your reply on the Avinn website they give a backup camera for an e83 I was just wondering if the trunk latch were the same

Happy to help! Sadly I haven't worked with amps much so dont have first hand experience or advice on that.

@@BMWDIYGuy Oh...Noooo...LOL I was really hoping you could help...I've been at this ALLL DAY😱😱😱 Thanks anyhow Bro...

You’d have to get one of those adapter to hook up an amp to a stock radio that’s why I’m not to big of a fan if this cause it just uses the six cord

Make sure you have the proper car type selected for the display.

Did you get it worked out?

I got the higher resolution as I wanted the best looking screen for video, backup camera etc.

No it uses its own microphone and BT, the factory remain the same.

You will need to add the aux cable.

No preference for me candidly, but its also a function I use very rarely. I know for some folks, they use it and need it daily.

So when you plug the AUX cable into the harness and then into the back of the head unit, you dont get AUX mode?

What radio do u have ? Only business CD works.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yeah I have business cd player, when I plug the aux into the harness, I have no sound at all :( I must have missed something during one of the steps. Great video though!

I believe so yes.

Correct, this doesnt replace any OEM functionality, but adds a better larger touchscreen with additional android functionality. You can stream radio stations, with internet access, but oem functions will be all as they were before.

@@BMWDIYGuy thanks. Thought I was missing something.

Now that is a great question.. maybe through an app, but not by default no.

Front absolutely, with an SD card installed, back... not sure.

It comes with every thing you need to install the unit.

Honestly not sure.. I would suggest reach out to Avin and see what they say.

If it doesnt turn on, it has to be power related somehow.. I hope you got it worked out!

I would be interested in that as well. I have contacted my seller on aliexpress and they have told me that the steering wheel control (so the next, previous and the phone button) will not work with the e83. However, if someone has an idea how to get them working anyway, I would be very happy, if you could let us know.

I have the same issue. I will try the method mentioned in this topic. Maybe you can try it out.. www.google.com/amp/s/forum.xda-developers.com/android-auto/android-head-units/alternative-making-swc-spotify-bmw-t3962237/amp/

Thanks for your answer. Unfortunately the way described, will not work for the X3 E83 since the steering wheel buttons do not even work with the original apps of the navigation system. However for a car like the E90 it is a nice idea ! ☺️

@@Fabischmusch I have a solution to get the swc buttons working. I found out you need to start the original Music app in order to get the drivers loaded. After you close the music app you can use the buttons in youtube. I'm writing a script in tasker now in order to open and close the music app upon startup.

@@cedh8518 Do you get face button on steering wheel to work for answering the call? Mine 2007 is connected to factory BT, and which has not been working properly now, so when I press the face button, still active the factory BT

Happy to help if I can.. what extras are you looking at? It really comes down to what you want or need like the backup camera or carplay adaptor.

@@BMWDIYGuy im not looking to add any back up camera. I just noticed you said I would need to add an aux and a usb??

@@NizLiftsThings no those are part of the normal wiring harness

No clue about shipping, but check out avinusa.com to order one.

Oem speakers for sure.. the whole system chains through there.

You keep all original functionality of radio, CD etc and yes, you can install an idrive like wheel though will lose your drink holder section.

Definitely check with Avin.. cant say for certain but they can.

Now THAT is odd.. if anything its usually the other way around. Reseat all of your cables, especially the big plugs at the back of the head unit. Honestly never seen that before.. worst case, plug the main harness back in like it was before and test.

You have to make sure the camera has power at the tail, but also the trigger wire at the tail has power, plus is connected to the trigger wire at the headunit. Sounds like something along those lines are not connected quite right.

​@@BMWDIYGuy Thank you for your response I saw connections while searching on the internet that I should just connect the camera into the yellow cable, and the power of the camera into the red wire "camera +12v" while not connecting the black ground wire of the camera, but still this didn't work :( Should I power the camera from the reverse light? Isn't the red camera wire coming from the screen supply the camera when the Reverse gear is triggered?

So no power to the new screen at all? Double check all of your wiring harnesses to make sure they are connected.

The factory USB shouldnt cause any issues and you need it for the aux feed.

Mine does the same thing. Did you ever figure it out?

It plugs into the headunit. Avin sells one, and I should have the part number listed in the video description.

Sounds good, no issues with sound quality.

I hope you got this worked out!

Ok so I am confused on why the antenna cable is moved? Does the display you installed have a radio function as well?

@@BMWDIYGuy yes, i have installed the new Touch screen and its with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, as well as RADIO too ( so currently Main antenna cable is connected to the New LCD display unit only), but i was thinking to keep both radios on (so i can turn off the LCD unit, when i am driving at night ) and listen the only radio at that time (as LCD unit have turn of switch and can turn off completely and can focus on the road ) so my question is, if i cut in the Harness ( cut in antenna cable) and Connect the new Female connector in-between like T connection and connect that to old original radio???? , does my both radio will work???? ( The way i have described as per my choice??) Thanks heaps for replying mate. this is the first question i am asking over You tube. Felt great as got your reply same day. Cheers

@@joshym5257 ah ok.. makes sense.. so yes likely will work. I THINK I saw a u splitter for the antenna once, so before you cut it

So usually the aux input on the head unit is female. You take the male to male aux plug, one end into the head unit aux port and the other into the aux port on the new wiring harness. You can always test by plugging headphones into the wiring harness port to ensure its working. If it is, then its something about the connection to the headunit.

@@BMWDIYGuy This is where I am confused. I do not have an aux port on the head unit, unless you mean the aux input I have on the rear side of my center console facing the rear seats. So if the aux in on the Android screen is going to be inside the dash, I have to cut a hole some where to run the aux cable to the rear of my console. I was looking for a better way to do it.

@@merlstjames3644 you have an aux port at the rear console at the back seats? If your head unit already has an aux mode (where if it didnt the mode button would just go CD/radio not CD/radio/aux) then it recognizes the aux feed. If that port is at the back of your center console, a long male to male cable could be run under the console and to that port

@@BMWDIYGuy Oh okay....thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I will try that! I think I was thinking there was a way to do it without running a cable to the back of the console. But yeah, my aux input is at the very back of the center console on the panel with the seat warmer buttons for the rear seats.

So what is that little speaker thing that comes with the harness?

Sorry for the late reply, really glad you got it worked out!

Having the same issue. Would love to hear how you fixed this.

@@danr376 I installed an X3 aftermarket camera just recently and tapped both power and ground off of the cigarette socket in the dash.

@@danr376 Sure, I may make a brief video on this stuff. But brief summary: You need to use a relay to make it work...I used one from onlineledstore, RL44 relay....there was a box on amazon that came with some quick disconnects, so that it's easy to remove in future. You then need 3 t-tap posi-taps (grey top)....get some wire from amazon, cut+splice a "power" wire for the camera, a "ground" wire...need 2...and a "trigger" wire....the trigger will run all the way to the front of the AVIN...to the wire labeled "Camera-detect"...now I will list the pins on the relay you have to connect: Pin 86: Tap the blue+yellow stripe wire...this is for the reverse light...no other wire, most of the E83 X3 diy guides have gotten this part wrong, and I have no idea why......and run the wire through trunk boot, connect to this pin. Pin 30: Run a red "fused" wire directly to the battery...I used a 2 amp fuse from my parts bin. Pin 87: Run the Red Power wire from this to the camera..through the boot. Now Tap the trigger wire into this. Pin 85: Run a ground wire directly to the battery...now run camera ground wire to this wire, and t-tap it. On the AVIN set the Camera mode to "360" something like that, not "aftermarket" Check that the relay turns on when shifted into reverse and power is getting through (no need to turn on car, just 2nd position on ignition, and shift)...if no power, grab multimeter, and start probing for voltage readings...in my case, I did not properly tap the reverse light (I mixed up my posi-taps with a blunt needle instead of a sharp one), so that's why it did not work...no trigger=no complete circuit from relay. Also check for proper video signal....if you have to connect an external video cable from the AVIN to camera to check. Relay guide: www.delcity.net/images/linedrawings/Relay%20Diagram.pdf You could do BMW DIY Guy's way, but the X3 does have constant power on the cigarette socket...so that means battery drain, and this especially will not work for camera's that have led's around them.

@@radical9auto670 Thanks for the reply. I ended up powering the back up cam off the unit's constant 12v through a relay. I pulled the coil of the relay in with the back up light + and also used the back up light's + to camera det. I changed the setting to 360 camera as well. When I put it in reverse, the camera leds light and the head unit screen switches to a screen with guidelines but still says "no signal". This was with an avin brand back up cam. I tried two other back up cameras as well and same thing. Still waiting to hear back from avin customer support.........probably has nothing to do with anything but I'm curious what my Can bus connections should be if I don't have Idrive at all?

Yes

None of my swc work at all!

I didn't no

Dammit Jim... I am a doctor not a car audio specialist! Had to be said.. *laugh*.. So before sending the entire unit back, the key here is the AUX cable itself. So for the X3, if you were just going to add that cable alone (without the display or anything else), its an easy install and I had that done on both my E46 and X3. I used the OEM (and silly expensive) AUX addon cable, added to the big plug on the back of the head unit and the deck would recognize the extra mode when pressing that button. So I would start there.. add the AUX wire and plug to the OEM big plug and plug back into the OEM head unit and test. That eliminates any worries about the new display or anything there first, focus on this key component. If you add the cable to the OEM big plug and it works, then you know that is ok.

@@BMWDIYGuy Thank you! BMW dealer said they would look at it for not charge. But I think they might be going, well you need this done and that done. LOL

@@CaptainJamesTKirk-en4kt Great idea.. start with the OEM components, the head unit and the AUX cable itself before introducing the new display. It should work entirely separate of the display. I used the AUX input for my phone and other sources before I installed the display.

The android side doesn't need the radio antenna

@@BMWDIYGuy Oh really, im seeing some installations where they use an adapter to plug the BMW antenna wire into the Android head unit? do I just leave the antenna wire connected to the original BMW radio and not plug an antenna wire into the Android head unit?

@@arkmay1 so radio antenna no.. GPS antenna maybe, as you can use a splitter for that instead of the antenna it comes with.

Not sure I understand your question?

Correct, any audio sources from the android display will come through the aux feed in oem head unit

@@BMWDIYGuy So thats two channels only then? Sorry... I only ask as Ive bought a similar system to retrofit to a Discovery 2 on the off chance as it was going cheap. Not sure what to do with it now as two channels is a little poor like...

@@greenisleoverland6469 Not sure what you mean by only two channels.. the aux feed into your OEM head unit is a single line in. It would be the same if you plugged a phone or otherwise into the AUX port. Just select the AUX channel in the head unit, and whatever is coming from the android display will feed in.

@@BMWDIYGuy So the AUX is 2 channels... Right and Left and not 4 channels like all other head units will have (eg, front right, front left, rear right, rear left). There is a 3.5 Jack out from the Android System but there is also two twisted Greens and two twisted purples... Im assuming that its those that link in to the Aux...

@@BMWDIYGuy Hello. I have the newer model of this unit and it didn’t have an AUX cable supplied with the kit. After install, sound works but my question is: without an AUX cable does that render the factory unit useless? That’s OK, just want to make sure I didn’t miss something. Thanks.

Were you able to work it out? Did you blow a fuse? Also, if you didnt have sound, did you run the AUX cable?

@@BMWDIYGuy well I decided to look at fuse box and the fuse for what I’m assuming would be the screen normally which my model didn’t have had gone so replaced that and it’s all fine now. Appreciate the reply too 👍🏼

@@jamesmallett3622 nice!!!

You can yes

@@BMWDIYGuy great thank you!

Double check with Avin but I believe so yes.

Link is in the description

It does yes!

Absolutely yes.

Sure does!

What cable are you looking for?

For aux , i have port for aux on the rear seats (bmw x3 e83 2.0 177cp 2008)

@@radusebastian2174 So you can just run the male to male aux cable back to that port. Avin also sells an AUX splitter, that you would add to the back of your existing aux port.

Thank you verry much!!!

Yes.

Yes.

I am sorry you have had a rough experience.. for me, I have worked will with Avin and their products for years.