centre arm rest cubby hole..

[rasa bmw]

as title,,what the hell is this all about ?space inside is huge,,but the left side of armrest(rhd) it has a plastic cover on inside with a hole in side of it,,if i put things in ,,they go inside and i have to put hand in and fumble about looking for what ever ive popped in...am i missing something ?i think its a phone cradle ,ive looked on realoem.com,,is it removable ?

[Qsilver7]

Another explanation:

Base plate

The base plate is installed in the centre console. The base plate is part of the delivery specification of the basic telephone preparation. The base plate is the mounting for a snap-in adapter that serves as a cradle for the suitable Bluetooth mobile phone.

The base plate connects the Bluetooth mobile phone to the wiring harness and the downstream telephone control unit (via snap-in adapter).

Depending on the series, the national-market version and the optional equipment (OE), different telephone control units are installed (e.g.: CBX-MEDIA, Telematic Control Unit, interface box High, Telematic Communication Box).

Depending on the series and on the vehicle equipment, the Telematic Control Unit (TCU) and the interface box High (ULF-SBX-H) may be installed together. In this case the mobile phone functionality is implemented in the Telematic Control Unit.

Suitable snap-on adapters are available for compatible mobile phones operating using the Bluetooth radio standard. The snap-in adapter is the connecting piece between the base plate and the engaged bluetooth mobile phone. The snap-in adapter locks into the detents in the base plate in place of the cover.

The following graphic shows for instance a base plate with a snap-in adapter and mobile phone.

1. Base plate
2. Eject button for snap-in adapter
3. Snap-in adapter
4. Eject button for mobile phone
5. Mobile phone

Functional description

The base plate provides the link to the telephone control unit and the wiring harness. The MOST bus connects the mobile phone control unit to the vehicle's bus system.

Communications between the Bluetooth mobile phone and the mobile phone control unit are supported by the Bluetooth aerial. Specific vehicle speakers provide the voice output.

The (rechargeable) batteries in the Bluetooth mobile phone are charged automatically. The snap-in adapter assumes complete control of the charging process once the mobile phone locks into place in the adapter. The vehicle electrical system supplies a charge current through interfaces in the base plate.

The telephone control unit (except the Combox) transmits a "Cradle enable" signal to the base plate via the control line. With this signal, the voltage supply on the base plate is activated. The snap-in adapter executes the actual recharging process.

Every snap-in adapter includes an integral electronic recharging circuit individually designed for a specific mobile phone type. Because the recharging parameters (charge voltage, current limits, cycle times, etc.) are specifically designed for a particular type of Bluetooth mobile phone; a different type of mobile phone should never be used in the snap-on adapter.

The following graphic shows for instance a base plate without optional equipment.

1. Cover
2. Base plate
3. Eject button
4. 18‐pin plug connection
5. Aerial connector
6. Locking hook
7. 18-pin multi-pin connector and aerial connection for snap-in adapter

The optional equipment SA6NF "Extended connectivity for mobile phone music player" expands the base plate to include a USB connection. This can be used to play audio files stored in the mobile phone while simultaneously retaining complete phone functionality.

When the interface box High (ULF-SBX-H) is installed, the base plate transfers the audio data to the telephone control unit via the AUX Out connection and an 18-pin plug connection. The base plate transfers the control signals to the telephone control unit through the USB port.

If a Combox is installed, the base plate transfers the audio data and control signals to the telephone control unit via the USB port.

The mobile phone control unit transmits the data to the head unit on the MOST bus. The tracks can either be selected on the mobile phone, via control centre or with help of the multifunction steering wheel. To be able to make the selection via iDrive, a playback list is displayed in the Central Information Display.

It is possible to use the mobile phone in the snap-in adapter and the USB slot in the centre console at the same time. Howver, it is not possible to access the audio data stored in the phone while a device is connected to the USB port.

The following graphic shows for instance the base plate with option SA6NF "Extended connectivity for mobile phone music player".

1. Base plate
2. Eject button
3. 18‐pin plug connection
4. USB connection
5. Aerial connector
6. Locking hook
7. USB port, gold-plated pin housing with shield
8. 18-pin multi-pin connector and aerial connection for snap-in adapter

[rasa bmw]

yeh,,but i want to remove what it all sits on,,its just a void below the plates etc,,things get under and you have to stick hand in blind to find them

[blackbmw2018]

Yap what i did was rip it out and i got more storage space.

[rasa bmw]

Originally Posted by blackbmw2018

Yap what i did was rip it out and i got more storage space.

yeh,,i might take a hacksaw blade to it,,no wheer is there any release mech,,well ive had fingers all round it and nowt i can feel..useless design...

[blackbmw2018]

See attached photo, 2 clips broke off after several attempts to pry it open. Its works that matter

[Qsilver7]

See instructions from TIS website...if you have an f12/f13...take note of the links for preliminary tasks that must be performed prior to removing the base plate (by the way...I simply typed "remove base plate" into the search box to find these instructions)

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f...phone/Fuv5NzXr

These instructions appear to only remove the base plate and leaves the support for the base plate. But perhaps it makes it easier to see the tabs that secures it to the sides of the box (the tabs that got broken in the pics posted above).

[rasa bmw]

thanks fro that...the tool that is needed..https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/f.../54TXDa3,,what is it,,looks like 2 credit cards,,,or are they made of metal ?,,will try and search the part number of them,,but will try 2 credit cards as they look like plastic to me

[TF06]

Does this unit come out completely or just the top part that hooks to the phone cradle?

[hugo_nz]

The whole things comes out. I removed mine as well and you can buy a replacement rubber mat for the armrest that covers the hole in the floor.

[TF06]

That's great news, are the plugs for the wires right underneath also? Or do you have to disassemble some of the counsel?

[rasa bmw]

I have now removed the phone bit,,so i can access the cradle box thingy,,but how the hell do you remove the wires going into the phone section,,no way to remove them what i can see,no plugs/clips etc,,

[Qsilver7]

Not quite sure what you're looking at...but is it the connections at the link in post #7 above? The TIS identifies the plug connections that need to be disconnected:

Is this them? If yes, the trick will be figuring out how to disconnect them. But they look like connectors that BMW has used over the decades and are probably used in many applications around the vehicle. If this is your first time encountering them...you may need to study the connector and look for lines/openings where the two halves come together and then look for any snaps etc that may secure the connector to keep it from coming apart. But sometimes the halves are just pushed together and held by compression.

[rasa bmw]

the wires are connected to the phone piece that comes off,,the pic you put is the inside of where the phone piece came off,,i will try and get some pics of it

[hugo_nz]

Originally Posted by rasa bmw

I have now removed the phone bit,,so i can access the cradle box thingy,,but how the hell do you remove the wires going into the phone section,,no way to remove them what i can see,no plugs/clips etc,,

Yup so if you remove the rear rubber mat in the cubby you will see a little door you can open up. Under there you will find the two antenna connectors and the lever lock connector. Just disconnect those and pull up the phone cradle part. The cables will feed out behind it.

[hugo_nz]

Originally Posted by Qsilver7

Not quite sure what you're looking at...but is it the connections at the link in post #7 above? The TIS identifies the plug connections that need to be disconnected:

Is this them? If yes, the trick will be figuring out how to disconnect them. But they look like connectors that BMW has used over the decades and are probably used in many applications around the vehicle. If this is your first time encountering them...you may need to study the connector and look for lines/openings where the two halves come together and then look for any snaps etc that may secure the connector to keep it from coming apart. But sometimes the halves are just pushed together and held by compression.

Newtis gets it wrong sometimes. Those instructions are for other cars and is nothing at all like the hardware in the 6-series.