We are getting asked more and more about the L322 Range Rover installations so we thought it best to write a blog about it.

These are all the head units we offer for the Range Rover L322 (2002-2004): https://audiotechdirect.com/head-units/oem-style-f...

OVERVIEW

The L322 between 2002 and 2004 was built by BMW and was given a lot of the same components as the BMW X5. One of these components was the BMW Navigation & DSP Amp entertainment system.

The L322 has a few variants. You have the HSE model, Vogue & Autobiography being the most common types. Most of the HSE models did not have navigation and seldom have the DSP amp. The Vogue & Autobiography had both the navigation and the DSP amp on all models.

Typically on most car audio systems, you would have speakers and power wired to a harness plug that plugs directly into the car radio. This way the stereo powers the speakers. The L322 navigation and DSP systems are different but this harness still exists BUT it is in the rear of the vehicle. In the rear quarter you will find a navigation drive and/or a radio drive and an amplifier. Then there is a cable that goes from the back to the front with a very different harness plug (white and blue) and this is what confuses most people. This blue and white harness is specific to the navigation drive and is not the normal BMW audio harness to which our stereos will connect to.

Now the overview is done, let's talk about the head units.

We offer units for the 2002 to 2004 L322 which are BMW build. 

The 2005 to 2010 were done by Ford and these are very difficult to replace due to the aperture and MOST25 fibre optic system they use. We currently do not offer anything for the 2005 to 2010 L322. The pictures above with the cross shows the Ford unit used on the 2005 to 2010.

THE RADIO REMOVAL

OK, so you've got the L322 between 2002 and 2004 with the head unit shown with the tick on it. You fetch it out and you are greeted with these plugs:

These plugs are specific to the navigation drive in the back. There is nothing available to adapt these plugs to ISO, QUADLOCK or BMW Round Pin because they don't carry the radio connections. Remember before, we said the original BMW harness is actually in the back, plugged into either the navigation drive or the radio drive. So, you need to bypass these cables by extending the original BMW plug from the back, to the front, for your new radio.

Here is a rear quarter with the navigation drive, radio drive and amplifier.

Then you will see the radio drive and there is the original BMW audio harness! You want to unplug this here (as shown) and you will need the extension bypass cable: https://audiotechdirect.com/6m-bypass-extension-ca... and you will also need the antenna extension: https://audiotechdirect.com/6m-fakra-aerial-extens...

These cables will then run from the back of the vehicle to the front and be positioned behind the radio aperture ready for the new head unit.

You plug it in...no sound! That's because the DSP amplifier is no longer in use. So now, you have 3 options.

1. Re-Wire the speakers from the amp directly to the head units extension cable.

2. Buy a new amplifier and re-wire the speaker cables from the original DSP amp to the new amp.

3. We now offer a retention cable to keep the DSP amplifier working https://audiotechdirect.com/dsp-amp-retention-interface-control-module-for-bmw-rr-l322/

Option 2 would be a common solution. We would suggest a 6 channel amplifier OR a 4 channel amplifier for the speakers and a bridging 2 channel amplifier for the subwoofers.

If you do go for option 1, then hopefully this guide will help.

Here is your factory amplifier:

This is what it looks like unplugged:

Here is the basic pin schematic for it:

You can see the 3 plugs here. The speakers are in the 26 pin plug to the right. So these are the ones you will need to remove from this plug and re-wire. 

If you are going to re-wire to the extension harness, then you will want to follow this plan:

Now you won't retain ALL the speakers when re-wiring directly to the extension harness (so that the speakers are powered by the head unit) but you will retain enough to have a very good sound quality.

DISCLAIMER: This is based on one we have seen. Please double check the colour of the wires, pin positions etc to see if your amp correspondents with this. If not, we advise to test for each speaker connection. We accept no liability for this information.

Then you should have the power and speakers all sorted for the new install.

Finally, the last job is that the standard radio frame on the L322 needs to be modified slightly in order to accept a new after-market head unit. You need to take a 2" insert off the top of the radio frame and also take a notch out the back of the frame too. You won't see any of this work when the new unit is fitted but it needs to be done in order for the new unit to fit.

Then, Job Done! Have a cuppa and a long sit down :)