BMW E90 DIY Radio Not Working -- How to Fix! 

Everyone watching let’s do the 50s kid a much due service and get him up to 200 K subscribers!!! He certainly deserves it and puts out the best most thorough Bmw videos!

After watching 10 videos on the no audio subject, you were the only one who actually understood the whole system. I took down the trim piece above the pedals and sure enough, the mechanic left mine unplugged. I saw that red light and knew I was good to go! Thanks for saving me the money I was about to spend. New subscriber.

Thanks for keeping us in the "loop".... About time you had a break. Free fix, wohoo!

Super job! Well done on tracking down the issue, so nice when a fault is just a loose connector

That is hilarious! It blows my mind how something so simple could slip by. I love this channel!!!

Great troubleshooting, these kind a fixes are satisfying.

Jason, do you even have your E46 anymore? I’ve learned SO MUCH from you over the years! I don’t even have an E90 but I’ll still watch because it’s very entertaining to me and informative! I still refer to your videos all the time while working on my E46. So glad you’re back!

I learn from every one of these videos. Thank you for the continuing education.

Thank you. This was the only video that explained the visual check.

Great video as always, Jason. Thanks for sharing.

That was the most epic BMW repair. Lucky!

I have that module under the TCU -- it's a MULF module (MULF2, in my case). I think MOST is the name for the entire system, not that module. Great video! I needed the module order, so it helped a bunch.

Great and concise troubleshooting, thanks for another great video!

My problem was the same is yours was, thank you so much for all your diy videos!

Learned something new again, thank you for the video! I also have a n54!

Thankyou for posting this video and I had learned how to fix the audio problem from you with my BMW... it works... I am super happy... I would like to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.....

Thank you so much, my radio was not working and kept making a heartbeat sound. Come to find out there was 2 wires the mechanic left unplugged, which he couldn’t figure out. Searched RU-vid and came across your video. Saved my e90 worries lol

Good video dude👍keep them coming

Man, thanks. This shortened my troubleshooting time a lot! My TCU ended up being bad.

Great video, as always!

Some good tips in this video. Always best to go through this before sending for repair. 👍

Great job as always!😎👍

Thanks - It worked for my 2008 328i convertible . You probably saved me a boat load of ching.

Great video! I’ve got to try this on my 2009 335i

Great step by step diagnostics! Wonder why it was left unconnected? On my E46, the PO's mechanic unplugged the TCU module because it wasn't going to sleep & draining the battery. In that case, it only did away with the phone connect, which to me is a waste anyway. Good job!

That was cool, buddy! 🔧

Thanks for sharing your knowledge

I really liked your videos around replacing the cylinder head on the E46 - easy peasy. But this repair on the E90 looks quite complicated. Not sure if my Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering would be a help :( But seriously - nice video, man! Love the way you go through the issue.

Great job in troubleshooting! An extra for not having to spend any 💰

Ur the man bro bless from 🇯🇲

Thank you so much for simply showing the signal path to the components. Very important to know. You da Man (or 50's Kid) . either way, you rock! :) Now literally! I think it is great BMW is using fiber optics for sound, it is truly only way to get "REAL" 5,1 or better surround sound. No other connections can carry enough data. With HDMI you can get "simulated " surround sound. Nah! :) Take care!

Wow, that was a freebie! 😎 Excellent troubleshooting. You know for sure the dealer wouldve said you needed a new tcu and basically robbed you for 5hrs of labor too lol. Im having a similar issue, except my radio turns off randomly. And when i park and shut off the car, the radio used to turn off also. But now, its stays on, i have to remember to physically press the button to turn it off. It started with the sos system trying to make phone calls, so the only way to stop it was to remove the fuse for that. But now the radio issue has me stumped 🧐. Its an e83 x3. Im going to check everything like you did, perhaps it’ll lead me somewhere.

Excellent. Well diagnosed.

Brilliant! Job well done

Bro this the best video for this

Best feeling when no money is spent to fix problem! 👍🏽 Btw..do you still have your e46?

That connector under the dash is the MOST gateway, it is used for programming the car with the ICOM cable module

Good job💯💯

Hey, are you planning on doing a "BMW E90 Maintenance & Tune Up: What To Do After You Buy An E90" video like you did with the e46? :)

Thank you sir

hi 50skid, i saw you on Beach Blvd going north before the 91 freeway in your 330i around 1:45pm yesterday!

Tanks Kid!

Would you know if the optical signal is industri standart, in the sense, that any radio or amp with optical could be used .. ?

Hi 50's Kid, i have a quick question, i own a e46 2004 320D/346L 150HursPurs wagon and it came without a cruise control multifunctional steering wheel under the glove box i have the comfort unit the white gm5 module with 3 connectors in it ... i noticed some of the cruise control units are smaller than that and usually black ... my question is ... does the white comfort module, should support the multifunctional steering wheel or cruise control? or do i really need the small gm5 black box with 1 connector? and other question is ... is there another gm5 comfort module that can handle cruise control and multimedia steering wheel also? or do i have to enable/program/activate/ that module feature in the white box? cause i really don't want to retrofit and start cutting wires and stuff. cause upon changing the steering wheel and installing a multifunctional one ... buttons don't work at all, no multimedia control or the cruise control, in fact in the diagnostics using the bmw 1.4 scanner, says i have no multimedia steering wheel installed or cruise control unit... however the steering wheel has the connector for the extra buttons and was able to clip those in and be connected to the wire harness under the steering column... is weird... im confused... now... cause lots of bmw owners say after 2000 most of e46 come fully equipped with everything just some features are "disabled" meaning software wise... and i don't know now if my issue is software reprogramming needed or retrofit a new gm5 cruise control unit onto it... its pretty cheap to retrofit it here... around 50$ with everything ... im just scared of that programming, cause i know i can "brick" the car and make it not start at all, and i don't want to fiddle around in the computer software.

Question , if I'm wanting to use the bypass loop. I just go to the last working module plug and plug the loop in there ya?

So if I have power to all the modules but no light blinking under the dash at that little module it would be which module?

I’ve got a satellite module on my bmw e92, does all the leads you unplugged have to be showing red light to show it’s fine? As I pulled out the optic lead on my sat module and seen no light

Good day, my sound went out last night after. I had not been in the car for a few days filling Hurricane. I have 06 330i. The light is on at the amp, but off at the Bluetooth module in trunk. And off at the wire under the steering wheel. So this means the problem is with the amp??? If I purchased a loop at the amp, and all the other lights come on, would that be the most inexpensive way to diagnose the amp needs changing??

After watching your video I looked at mine and the light going to the amp is not on, what do you think the issue is?

Hi and thanks for the video I have exactly exactly same set up as your car I tried I looked underneath the steering wheel I pulled the plug and it was connected I unplug and turn the car on there’s no light I plug it back on back push it back and into place but nothing changed still no sound. Help please

So I followed your instructions on this video. I found 2 separate locations where I had no blinking red light. Module in trunk. And underneath my dash where yours was unplugged. Does this mean I need to purchase another female fiber optic cable???? I already got 1 and tried it in both locations and got nothing. No sound or phone Bluetooth. So I’m guessing I need 1 fiber optic loop cord plugged in each one right? So 2 loop cords total??

I have the same issue. All the flashing red lights work except the one in the front under steering wheel. Replaced the telematic unit in the trunk and no change. Any idea?

You are amazing

so i got one of of someone and they put a new amp in so where do i go after that ?

i have the same set up and all my lights are on and blinking. what would i have to check next? i do not have an SOS warning and still no sound

Hey! What’s the part number for that ‘final’ connector under the dash! Mines missing!!

interesting - so why did they go fibre optic for this car? Does that mean you cannot replace the head unit with an aftermarket unit?

So if the first stop in the chain you showed doesn't have the blinking light, what would i do then?

so if the part that you last checked that was your issue doesnt work what would be the next thing to check and the actual radio on my car works like it lights up jss doesnt play sound

Wow thanks so much for the info and the recommendation for those little Optical Loop things. I have an E90 and the radio wasn't working - Found your video, diagnosed that it was the Satellite Radio / Phone / Nav / Etc thing in the back under the trunk cover (silver box with wires), and then ordered a Optical loop off amazon. Once it arrived it took about 10 seconds to unclip the cord, install the optical loop and then I wrapped mine with electrical tape to secure it. Went back in the car and turned on the radio... SOUND! For the first time in about a year since I've had it in storage. This was relatively easy to diagnose (pray it's not your amp that's bad), was a low cost fix and the result worked. Couldn't be happier and thanks for the video!

Hi I have a 330xi 2006 model dark gray and I replaced the primary radio in the vehicle because it faded out and you couldn't see the text anymore so I replaced it with an aftermarket radio the radio was working fine and still does but I have an issue now that when I hit a pothole or a bump the radio gets low until I hit another power holding to get back loud again what could be the problem with that could someone help me please

Hi does anyone know what loop backs work with 2008 335xi to bypass the siruis? The ones in this link aren't even close. Thx

Do a video for the x3, because I'm having a no sound problem with mine

sooooo.. i have red light at kick panel it was plugged in, but still no sound.. at this point i'm pulling a hail mary as i don't have the scan tool to check the system and unhookign the battery overnight, i'm wondering if it might be the CCC main radio piece as the two eject and volume button press and hold did not reset anything. the steering wheel volume knobs don't work either, but according to this all the lights on the daisy chain are good about to get protools license and retry

Check to see if you've had the blower motor wiring recall done

My e90 has the same issue. But mine doesnt have amplifier or optical cable or any other thing. Any idea?

I dont have the sos thing.. but have no sound.. 2009 bmw 328i. Any idea? Also when door is open, it wont even ding. Like my speakers dont work at all

So out of interest I want to replace my head unit but what I'm looking at don't have the optical section to it what can I do here?

Just checked the first step to see if I saw the red light from the cable in which I didn’t see a red light, put the car on and still didn’t see a red light. If red light isn’t on, what does that usually mean? Update: just realized I don’t have the TCU in the video for some reason. I just bought the vehicle and checked to see why the radio isn’t working and when I picked up the flat piece in the trunk notice no TCU and just plugs hanging unplugged. Is the TCU needed for radio to work?

Bad ass video

What’s the module in the front called?

I you planning to upgrade the radio to an android unit..Thanks for the video

So mine is connected but doesn’t have any red light there under the dash. Where should I install the loop

lol thank you. I did the same thing 😅

Hard reset on idrive and if that doesn't work ... Disconnect battery for 5 minutes and connect it back. It worked for me.

HELP! I have a 2008 bmw 328i that radio works while car is on not running but when I crank the car it stops and volume nob and all stops reponding. No SOS. Can’t find anything in the blogs or RU-vid about it.

Hey! Loved your video! If the optic drive is blinking, does that mean for sure the amp is fine? Or could the amp still possibly be busted?

Hi I have a similar issue but all my fibre optic wires show light the radio sound was going in and out intermittently and now it’s comepletely gone

Thaaaaaaaaaaank Youuuu 💙

just replaced the mulf module but it wont flash red on the cable above the gas/clutch pedals. idk what to do or what is wrong. have tried to find a video on it but cant find anything.... anyone knows the problem? the mulf module is brand new

Im not getting any sound from the speakers, but I am not getting the SOS warning signal. What could be the problem? Should I still bypass with that 10 dollar amazon part? Or do I need a new module?

Did check all my plugs for my car i didn't get no light on neither one so what next?

What if all the lights work and there still no sound does it mean the fuse is gone?

All of my module lights are on and working including to the one under the steering wheel but I still have no volume on my radio I can’t turn it up at all idk what to do

Hi.. Brilliant video... I have an E90.. Heater inside the cabin not heating up, but fan works.. Do you have any video on this.. Thank you

MULF module, not MOST module... A good retrofit for this car, combined with Tune2Air lets you connect & control Bluetooth audio. I may have a spare one floating around....

Radio on my E93 stopped working, heard this weird noise like if it shorted out and now I have no sound. Everything is working, bluetooth, navi, radio but no sound. There's this weird popping, cracking noise coming from the speakers, but no sound. Anyone know where the satellite module located in a E93?

If mine is connected under the dash and I disconnect it and no red light. Where do I install the loop

I have done everything and still no sound what’s next ? E92 335i 08

What if none of my green fiber optic cables have the red light on, does anyone know what it could be ? Would that mean I need to replace the radio ?

I got an issue where my stereo doesn’t turn on at all not sure what the problem is I have a 2007 335i e92 I disconnected the green cable from the amp and there was no red light, anyone know what the problem can be?

Nice video. This copywright stuff in modern world is quite a joke. Thanks :)

good video, my optic light, traces back to the termination point, all units are working yet still have no sound, there was slight water damage on the logic 7 but the optic light still works thoughputting, could the logic 7 maybe still be wrecked even though its outputting light?

How can i figure out why my radio isnt even powering on? I checked all the fuses and still nothing

I have no sound from the radio but I also have no symbol on the dash, no modules in the trunk either. The wiring is there but it's wrapped up from the factory.

Sooo if I don’t get the red light what does that mean??

What happens if I don't have any usb, aux or the satellite module in my trunk.. my car sounds with no problem but one day it stops it strangely???

I had a 325xi that one day the doors stopped opening. Only the drivers door would open. Had to take a module out and send it to a guy to be repaired and then they worked again. Crazy design that the doors needed a module to even open. And dangerous on top of that.

I have two fiberobtic cords on each module I’m confused

I have a problem in the same area that he had , but in my case the light was not flashing, does anyone know what I need to fix this by any chance ?