jochen

Paul - E39's should ideally be specced with D88 (or 92) depending on maunufacturers coding - this what they came with.

Indeed, if the vehicle has TV as an option, then the fitted battery is the bigger battery of the two

Reason: the car must be able to sit there with enough power reserve to watch TV for a while, and still have enough grunt afterwards to start the engine.

Don't skimp on too small a battery.

In those worst case situations:

-15 degrees C + Car been sitting unused still for a week + Everything iced up

...you still want to be able to start the motor

(PS: above describes me returning to my car after 1 weeks ski holiday, and very glad that the battery was good and the engine started)

I was listening to some tunes in the car, in the garage on the weekend and noticed alot of background noise...you know the "shhhhhhhh" noise. I guess I have never really noticed when the car was moving due to the road noise.

My system is standard e39 head unit with DICE ipod input.

All the speakers have been upgraded.

Is there a filter or settings to get rid of this noise without ruining the treble?

Also anyone else get the odd clicking noise from your ipod?

If you are hearing "hiss", then you are likely listening to the limitations of your system

Every audio system generates hiss and noise, and in a very quiet environment with good speakers, the hiss can be audible. Especially with very efficient tweeters.

To verify where the hiss comes from try these tests - (tip: do them in the garage at night when everything is nice and quiet)

Setup your music with some quiet music where you can hear the hiss present, or put the iPod on pause.

Vary the volume and listen carefully

If the hiss is constant no matter what the volume level, then you are listening to the hiss and noise produced by the power amplifier stages, and/or the radio module amplifier stages. If so, there is nothing you can do about it (apart from fitting less efficient tweeters!).

If the hiss level varies with the volume control, then it comes from the pre-amp stages or from the ipod itself.

Disconnect the ipod and listen to the hiss. Note that with the iPod disconnected, the stereo will easily pickup noise from the open inputs - eg if you touch the inputs with your fingers, you can inject hum and noise into the system. This is normal.

If you have no hiss when the ipod is disconnected, then the hiss must come from the iPod.

To reduce iPod hiss and noise, try the following:

1. turn off all sound processing .- Settings - Playback - EQ = Off. I found my iPod nano distorts the music when I turn EQ on, so I have it OFF all the time now

2. Rip your music at a better quality level (higher bitrate). This will improve the quality of the music, which may be more notable on the higher frequencies. You may have less noise on higher bitrate music.

3. Check the levels of the ripped music. Unlikely to be an issue, as most songs these days are encoded at the upper limits, and made artificially "louder" with less dynamic range. My older CDs sound so much better than newer music for this reason :-)

And of course, there's always the possibility that you are listening to recorded hiss and noise that existed on the original studio recording.

I have some tracks where the original studio hiss is very evident. dates from the days of reel-to-reel recoding equipment :-)

I can't believe it! It arrived!!! That was fast! I ordered on Friday and it's here now. It looks great. I'm going to try installing it tonight. M-Spec, can you shed some light on where I should start when pulling the carpet out of the boot to get access to the CD changer cables? I dont really want to get too carried away dismentling half of the car since I need to drive to tomorrow. Thanks...

E46? remove rear seat back on CD changer side to reveal panel screwas

Remove panel screws, emergency triangle holder, etc to remove side interior trim panel

Then everything is exposed.

The panel screw behind the rear seat squab is the hidden one :-)

why did I not think of that

cheers

Actually in the wagon there is a much larger version of a similar looking audio video plug sitting bare under the floor

just behind the radio,

any ideas what this is for

Telephone.

So easy to make telephone work in your car, get a ULF or a TCU and volia! Integrated bluetooth.

Make sure you confirm wiring of the phone connector before plugging in to the ULF or the TCU because there were many different wiring options for the many different telephone options.

Im trying to add a reverse camera trigger to pin 17 of the audio video module and also hook up the camera feed to the inputs,

is this 61-13-0-005-197 the correct part for the pins and are they availably locally,can they be ordered from bmw directly or is ther something local available cheaply from computer parts or the like

Go to a wreckers, cut a plug off a loom, and you'll loads of pins (+ wire if you cut the cable a ways back...)

Hi guys,

Can someone please help me out with this MD to see if this is a NG or an OG? This is out of my 2002 318ti. I've been thinking to add an ipod interface but not sure if this can be done with this. I have looked into both the BMW factory ipod retro kit and DICE. Is the factory kit compatible with my radio? If so, should I go with the factory kit or DICE? What option works better, feature and cost wise? I dont have a CD changer either so the only thing I can listen to is either the radio or 1 MD that I have from years back. Your advice is much appreciated.

It's what we call a NG radio with OG backl

The radio is New-Gen with world tuner, but the main connector is still the old gen connector

These were made when the E46 was changing from OG wiring looms to NG looms.

The dual display and softkeys on the front panel can confirm the NG radio beyond any doubt.

Note that this needs a NG antenna tuner

Been driving a bit at night lately and it seems my lights arent very bright at all

What can I do? I want to get better visability and a white light if I can.. I did a search of the forum but its just made me more confused

Can I use a HID kit? Say something from DDM tuning or is this all illegal?

or should I just upgrade the bulbs, if you have give me a suggestion of what you used please

Cheers

HID bulbs in non-HID ens is dangerous and illegal - the lens is not made for HID, and it scatters light into incoming drivers. Most countries require automatic headlight levelers to ensure that the light from a HID bulb cannot ever be mal-adjusted and blind oncoming drivers.

Check your lens and reflectors are spotlessly clean, inside and out

Fit new light bulbs, their output deteriorates with time.

after viewing many reverse camera install retrofit diagrams Ive fitted an aftermarket reverse camera to an e39 wagon but have suddenly realised when going to fit the relay for 12v+ reverse wiring trigger that the reverse lights are actually in the tailgate. DOH,,Is there anywhere in the RH rear of car (video module corner) that I could tap into the reverse signal,cant find where the tailgate light wires go once they enter the roof space above the rear roof speakers but suspect they dont return to the rear of the car.

other option is to fit the relay inside the tailgate itself next to camera and extent the video module reverse ground trigger pin17 back into the tailgate and relay

anyone with any wiring circuits that show access to the reverse light signal 12v+

Ive also read confusingly that the reverse signal polls for bulb failure and would connecting a relay upset this or possible cause video signal dropouts

E39 Touring Tailgate wiring loom runs down the right hand side C-pillar from roof to floor. That's the pillar just behind the rear seat.

Remove the rear seat base and RH rear seat squab to access the wiring loom, then you can pick out the reverse light wire and tap into it. WDS shows the wire colours. E39 Touring has the following reverse light wires:

Right hand lamp: blue/yellow

Left hand lamp: white/yellow

Note that the reverse lamsp are not active when towing (with the original BMW trailer module), if you want reverse camera active in this situation, use the LCM RFSI signal to activate the relay (5V low current relay required)

The video module is located under the floor panel, right behind the rear seats, so the wire from the loom to the video module only needs to be about 1 m long. Much easier than working inside the tailgate.

You'll have to unbolt the floor tie-down hooks to lift the floor panel. The tie-down hooks have a small plastic cover on top of the bolt, lift the cover off with eg a jewelers screwdriver.

Relay current draw is not enough to upset the lamp check circuitry. You can test by having a relay connected and removing one reverse lamp bulb - see if the lamp failure is detected :-)

If the lamp failure is not detected, then fit a different relay with a lower current draw.

Did you fit a PAL or NTSC camera? If PAL, you'll need to change the coding on the Video Module (default = NTSC)

NavCoder can change the coding for you.

That looks fantastic.

But that is gonna different for those with Navigation. I wonder if jochen could chime in.

Chime!

With navigation, and with the original OEM bluetooth the Telephone option appears in the menu.

I do not know if Parrot support this

Otherwise, if you don't care about having Telephone appear in the menu, everything else will work, because the Parrot just drives the TELM telelphone mute line of the radio 8same for nav or no nav) and responds to key presses of the steering wheel buttons (same for nav or no nav)

Of course, cable length will be a consideration!

But please refer to the Parrot website and instructions for further details.

Hi fellas, I have a NZ new e39 with the widescreen tv however I struggle to get TV reception. I was wanting to know what settings everyone has theirs set to? region etc

I think I have it set to pal & Australia Zone as there is no NZ but I can only get grainy images, not really worth watching.

my old car the reception was pretty good so I know it worked before or and I missing something??

Have tvnz turned off the analoge signal?

Any help apprciated!

Australia is wrong, they use different channel settings to NZ.

The correct setting was PAL Europe, then you get all VHF-I, VHF-II and UHF channels

On my E39, I received all 11 free-to-air analog channels in Auckland, in varying quality depending on location, but the VHF channels were pretty good all the time

You also get the Sky UHF channels, with the occasional channel being unencrypted :-)

Problem sorted, low voltage SPDT relay.

Pharque I'm good

Look out for pic sizes.

Hopefully this could help somebody else?

Your circuit has an inherient unreliability in it: the fuel pump relay is switching the power always.

Wire it like this

+12V--------------[resistor]------[pump motor]------ground

And then have the relay simply bridging the resistor. You'll get less contact sparking and greater reliability, because the resistor is in circuit during the switching time of the relay

Which is the same as connecting relay contacts 30 and 87 on your own drawing

have this kit in a e39 98 528iT at work, is it any good , says you need a nav cd etc .

can it be made to work in NZ , whats involved??

Yes!

That car / nav system is ex-Japan

To use in in NZ, replace the Japanese nav drive with a standard Euro Mk3 or Mk4 nav unit and it will work.

When replacing the drive, you will need to change the connectors on the wiring loom for the nav, but that is straight forward

Note: for the radio to work in NZ, you will need to replace the radio tuner with the equivalent Euro tuner.

I have a 2003 Bmw x5 4.4 (which was made in japan). I had given up nav convertion because its cost.

Hi,

Did you know you can convert your X5 Japane nav+TV system with not-so-nice fonts graphics to a full Euro compliant TV system 8without the nav) just by unplugging one connector?

If you unplug the Jap nav, the system will reboot next time in TV-only mode, and you will have the standard Euro look and feel TV system, with nothing Japanese left in.

That means:

More screen real-estate

Better fonts

Multi-lingual for all 6 languages

And it stays totally integrated with everything you currently have

And if you don't like it, just plug the nav back in and reboot the system, and you are back to where you were.

To try it: unplug the connector on the nav computer.

Hey guys,

I have installed xenon lights on my M3 95 and now I get a “low beam light failure†message on my OBC. I was wondering if you could help me to eliminate it. I went through a variety of threads on all sorts of sites. And there are a couple of solutions out there such as cutting the wires for the check control unit, which I don't want to do. There is one, which I am interested in and it is related to the resistance. Normal bulbs are 55w and have a resistance of 4omh if I am not mistaken; apparently the xenon lights have no resistance and are 35w. I have connected them through the battery and relays not to cook my wires in the car. So the current is 12V. So now I need to find out what is the resistance which is taken as “normal†by my on board computer. Then find the correct resistor and plug it in parallel circuit.

Could you guys tell me if I am correct? Maybe there are more solutions to it, apart from taking them off... What size of the resistor I would need and is it going to work?

I'll really appreciate any help.

Thanks.

Turn off the cold monitoring and the warning message with my NavCoder software

That is the simplest and cleanest way.

^^ so from that im guessing the best ones are auto electricians with white hair full of experience?? lol

It's not what's on the head but what's in it that is crucial

As a young green 20yr old I was loving working on vehicle electrical systems.

And now it's even more fun - but I go right inside the chipsets and peek and poke a bit.

hi all.

sorry for bringing up an old thread, but i would like to find out if convertign the language display on a 2007 E60 would be the same procedure from japanese to english.

Also for then converting the radio from japan to US/Euro

thank you

You can change the language just by changing the language in the Settings option from japanese to English

This may be a challenge for you to find if your Japanese is limited, so visit your local sushi bar :-)

As for converting the radio, it's a hurdle.

Anything is possible but it requires changing software settings, changing hardware, and reflashing the car.

Not for the faint hearted

And cannot be done without specialist knowledge or tools.

OK so my E60 is a 2007 M5. I've looked at the WDS and there are fairly large differences. I am particularly nervous about part numbers for the CCC. e-Bay have Euro CCC's but they keep quoting different part numbers. Do you know what CCC they put in the NZ ones? The parts I have been quoted include 6583 915 9028 and 6583 6987689 - 02 and 6583 9148 016 - 01

You are right to be nervous, it is not an easy task to convert

NZ is a ECE car, so anything ECE will work

Part numbers change all the time due to policies of continued improvement.

Refer to the parts database and the succession list to see what parts were used when, and what succeeded what

hi all. i have an e46 2000 pre facelift and it only has rear fog lights so was wondering if it is possible to put in a light unit with the front/rear fog switch and wire up the front fogs from there?

the fog wiring loom isnt a problem its just a case if im able to use another control unit or not and if any programing needs done or not as alot of e46 systems need programed.

Answers to your questions:

Q1 = yes

Q2 = yes, programming required

Fitted my multi function steering wheel kit this weekend and now I would like to know the best way to purchase and fit a mobile phone interface that will function as per the BMW system (steering wheel controls, mike, voice dial, phone book display on the head unit etc)

I found this http://www.bimmernav.com/BMW_E46_Bluetooth...structions.html - advice please

BMW have 2 x options:

TCU = Telematics Control Unit. This is the integrated bluetooth unit which pairs with your mobile phone in your pocket. Allows voice voice control and interagtion of phone book into radio / nav / instrument cluster (depending on what radio / nav / instrument cluster you have)

The tCU also has the subscription Assist service.

ULF = Universal charging and handsfree unit. This is also a bluetooth unit with voice control, but has the benefit that you can voice control your nav as well. No Assist.

Installation instructions are readily available

ULF and TCUs can be found on eBay 2nd hand

Check if your car has the wiring loom fitted.

Hi Jochen

i have an e39 523i with a jap stereo. the car was manufactured 12/96.

i need to replace the radio inorder to get nz frequencies.

so my question is am i able to swap it with any e39 stereo or are there compatability issues that mean i will need to use components from a similar year car? (eg i can get a 2000+ e39 business headunit along with the matching multi information display, will this work in my car and will it be a simple matter of unbolting the old components and fitting the 2000+ ones or will i run in to difficulties with the multi information display/on board computer if i use the later model components?

also could you confirm whether the e39 stereo has the tuner inside the head unit or does it have a seperate tuner box?

thanks for your assistance with this

There are 5 different radio combinations for the E39 (disregarding other items like amplifier and speaker combinations)

To answer your questions in detail, I'd need to know exactly what you have now, and the best way is to post a photo.

If you already have a MID today, you just change the radio and keep your MID

Only non-navigation systems have the tuner in the head unit. If you have navigation, the tuner is n the boot.

Generally, you can plug-and-play swap out any old generation (OG) radio for a new OG radio

OG = prior 20001-09, round-pins on main connector

NG (new gen) = post 2001-09, flat pins

NG means wiring loom adapters required, and replacement antenna amplifier required.

Note that Glenn has a policy of always fitting a brand new battery when replacing the alternator

The theory is that a failing battery can load the alternator too much and thus cause the alternator to fail prematurely

Given the low cost of batteries compared to the alternator, it would be a wise move.

You then get a car that starts reliably again

i totaly understand glenn and i know thats what i should do but my main perdicament is i most likly dont have all i would need to do the test and the method, most cars here never need this done and the dealers here is total daylight robbery well over 100 pounds an hour. but i have the doner car which is same year and same spec but a total loss so i have bought it for spares and it runs perfect it sat for 2 months never started so has not got this problem as started it yesterday 1st turn of the key, so i am able to change one part at a time to it stops,also have another car so have no need to drive the bmw also. plus bing new to bmw its perfect opertunity to learn the parts inside out.

A few things you can do youself:

1. Ensure the car is entering sleep mode.

How to tell? open the boot so the boot light is on. Close and lock car, and wait. Check how long it takes for the boot light to go off. When it goes off, car is in sleep mode. Note it can take 15min for this to happen

2. Check navigation is powering down. Whilst waiting for car to go in sleep mode, observe the nav unit. The RED LED stays on until 60s after last ibus activity. Then it flashes rapidly (writing to flash) and goes off. If nav never shuts down, this can be a cause of high battery drain.

Alternatively, use my NavCoder and monitor the databus in real time.

3. Disconnect a some non-critical systems and observe response. Eg: disconnect entire audio system by removing all audio system fuses. Observe what happens. Is battery drain still a problem?

4. Check alarm system. Check especially bonnet switch, try disconnecting the bonnet switch and observe what happens

5. Buy a clamp meter ammeter, and clamp to the battery cable.

Wait for car to go to sleep, documenting the current consumption in on, off, and sleep mode

Report your findings here

i cant understand..... i dont know where i could find this chip.....can you give me some advice???tutorial???

with picture

The chip is extremely easy to locate on the board - take the cover off and look, and you see it straight away. There is only 1 memory chip on the main board!

But if you could not understand what I wrote then you do not have the knowledge or skills to locate, desolder and reprogram EEPROMs

So print the instructions, take them with the radio to an electronics repair shop, and ask them if they can do it for you.

no, the other settings all are saved, nothing is lost.... fade, treble, bass they all can be saved...

but only balance is lost..

someone help me.....

I've fixed a few of these

The flash memory chip that stores the saved settings is corrupt and at end of life.

Every read returns corrupt data.

The chip is an 8p DIL chip, can be got from Jaycar for about $5 or so.

24LC16 SERIAL EEPROM 8 PIN DIP

16K

I2C

Electrically Erasable PROM

Single supply voltage down to 1.8V

Low power CMOS technology

I2C compatible

Schmitt trigger inputs

Jaycar price NZD 4.90

It's the only memory chip on the whole board, so easy to locate.

To repair:

Remove old chip, read out contents with EEPROM programmer.

Program new chip with same contents (the fixed memory area containing config and serial number etc is not corrupt)

Solder new chip into board

Problem fixed.

Hi Jochen

When you say change the nav unit are you just talking about the unit in the boot or the whole CCC? I have an E60 from Japan. Sorting issues one at a time. Jim

With the Euro E60 everything is in the dash - nav drive incl computer on the Euro car

With the Jap car it has a separate nav drive in the boot.

So you need to remove the JNAV in the boot and replace the CCC in the front with the Euro CCC

and then go through the coding headaches.

It would pay to study the wiring diagrams to confirm what config you have and compare to Euro car.

Look for the WDS online.

Study device N38a, that's the CCC/M-ASK, and it feeds the CID with a picture.

CCC = car communications coontroller

M-ASK = MOST audio system controller