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I your car is a jap import, it could be the antenna for the Japanese electronic toll collector system It could also be a GPS antenna for an add on GPS system It could be a light sensor for automatic headlights. but my bet is the toll collector...

The conversion of ibus cars (non iDrive, eg E46, E39, E39)) was also "impossible" according to BMW NZ. I proved them wrong. But ask them today and they will still say "impossible" To convert the non iDrive car, the navigation computer costs (new) 2,600 USD. Add the BMW NZ margin and that is around 5,000 NZD in New Zealand But the nav computers are available for 1,000 to 1,500 second hand On the E90, looking at RealOEM, you see following USD prices: CCC = no price shown CID = 1,800 USD CON = ?? Double scoop dash = ?? centre console trim = 44.68 USD air con trim cooling hose = 14.50 USD power cable for CID LVDS cable CCC fan cable make your own controller cable Hmmm hard to find all the prices And remember, BMW NZ is about 2x the USD prices. You'll be at a total of somewhere between 5,000 USD and 10,000 USD NOE carefully: Some parts can readily be obtained 2nd hand 8trim pieces etc Some parts I would only get new (coolant hose!) Some parts have to be coded, and BMW coding software only codes "new" parts, like CCC and CID Re-virginising new 2nd hand parts cannot be done with BMW software but can be done with other tools (delete chassis number from Flash) It is not cheap or easy, but it CAN be done!!

Nope. that is all power and power distribution (red wires) and ground connections (brown wires) The TV tuner is mounted right next to the radio module, which is at the rear of the spare tyre well under a plastic covering Keep removing plastic covers until you find the radio module - easily identified by the connectors and cables

If the switch contacts are corroded / dirty / worn or if the 2 sets of contacts are now switching at the same time, you get this problem. Replace it with a new one - not 2nd hand - because the 2nd hand might be in the same condition as yours. Cheap and easy to replace, just do it and stop worrying about why it failled or how it failled. Remember, it is nearly 20 years old so it lived a good life

Yes, but not easy. You need to code the vehicle for the NZ market. Can only be done with BMW diagnostic tools and knowledge... Yes. But this is the cheapest shittiest solution man could ever think off. In line with fitting a coat hanger for an aerial. Change nav unit (physical unit) and recode vehicle for NZ market

That's not a rip, it's my air-con system.... PS: I used one of my best shirts for the photo

All switch wiring goes to the ZKE / GM. So connect everything there....

(Yes, I know it needs a wash)

UPDATE There is a jolly good chance that the wiring loom is already fitted to the car. Open up the panels covering the TV tuner and have a look. Refer to the retrofit instructions and look for connectors A16, A17 and A18

Be wary of them - they'll charge 50% of new price for the TV tuner New = $1290 USD which means NZ retail around $2,500 by the time BMW NZ adds their margin So a wrecker will likely charge $1,200 NZD 2nd hand on eBay they are much much cheaper (a couple of hundred USD) Especially as many countries can no longer use analogue TV, so people no longer want them...

TV tuner fits on a bracket under the cover in the spare wheel well. Remove boot floor liner, and plastic trim to view. The radio tuner is there too. (PS: never back the car into the sean when launching a boat, the spare wheel well is the first thing to get wet, and the TV tuner and radio tuner the first electronics to die as a result) The TV tuner cable runs to the nav system and connects to the nav and existing loom at the nav computer. Also in the boot. The TV antennas are on the left and right rear windows, so the antenna coax cabling is easy to run. I have the full BMW retrofit instructions which include the TV tuner and show every thing required, with pictures. I'll email them to you if you PM me your email address

And as for the loom, you may need to buy that new or get one from a wreckers. The loom is X5 specific, due to the cable lengths required due to the location of the TV tuner with respect to the nav system. An E38, E46 or E39 loom won't fit. See RealOEM for the loom part number.

Any TV tuner from any BMW with the same VDO/Philips Mk3/Mk4 nav system will work Only prerequisites: Must be 16:9 capable - this means manufacture date of 2002 or newer So you can take a tuner from a BMW 3 series, 5 series, 7 series, X3, X5, Z4, or a Mini, or a Range Rover, or a Rolls Royce. All with the same system. The same tuner is fitted world wide, so it doesn't matter what market the car was built for (Europe, USA, Japan, China, etc)

check the TV tuner manfacturer date: anything 2004 onwards would be fine for your car. It's written on the label on the tuner eg KW01/04 = caldenar week 01, 2004 You also need the wiring loom, antenna cables, antenna amps, and the misc brackets for the tuner

The OS disc contains OS versions for around 7 different nav systems and lots of sub variants But the OS disc cannot update the TV software, that must be loaded with factory tools. To get TV working, plug in the TV tuner and the 2 x antennas.

The radio came from this car: 08/2001 E46 318i Touring M43 Europe Right hand drive N The Philips PH7050 is a New Generation radio with the world tuner It does not have a security code, it will work in any BMW If you are fitting this into an older car (old gen) then you will need 1. Antenna adapter to adapt the smaller SMB connector (radio) to the larger DIN connector (car). The adapter cable is available from BMW, I can look up the part number on RealOEM if you need it 2. A new antenna amplifier in the left-hand C-pillar The new antenna amp is necessary because the control method to control the antenna diversity function changed between old gen and new gen radio. Fit a new gen radio to a car with old gen antenna amp, and you loose the antenna diversity function. The antenna amp defaults to one antenna, and the FM reception performance drops dramatically. In some areas of NZ with weak FM signals, such as the Waikato, this makes a huge difference in reception performance So if you fit this radio to an old gen car, make sure you also replace the antenna amplifier.

You have a very old OS that has likely never been updated since the car was built. 4-1/50 was released in March 2005 4-1/100 was released in March 2008 By upgrading to 4-1/(1)00 you will get 1. Tons of bug fixes 2. Ability to read dual layer DVD maps (but that doesn't offer much use in NZ as NZ is so small it fits on a CD) 3. Improved graphics and 4. 3D map view !!! The 3D map view alone is really worth while. To load the new OS 1. Get the V32 OS image file from here: Website with V32 OS 2. Make a new OS CD from the image file using ImgBurn www.imgburn.com 3. Turn ign to Pos 0 and eject map CD 4. Insert OS CD, wait and then follow instructions on screen 5. DO NOT TURN OFF IGN OR LET BATTERY GO FLAT DURING REFLASH (OS LOAD) 6. At end of OS load, CD will be ejected, and you will be asked to click OK to reboot 7. Reboot and enjoy!

MAPS CD (or DVD) maps are the same as paper maps: once they are made, they cannot be updated So just as with a paper map, you bought a new one every now and then, you have to do the same and buy a new map. And the map is only as accurate as the mapping data used to create it. Check your local book store for the paper map, and see if the paper map was produced with map data from GeoSmart. GeoSmart are the map data suppliers for the BMW map discs, and I think they supply some paper map makers as well. BMW released a 2008 map disc for NZ, which contains 3 years of road changes. SO you really want to get the 2008 disc OPERATING SYSTEM Press MENU, then select Settings, and see what is displayed in the top right corner. This is the OS version. The current OS is 4-1/00 (which means 4-1/100) If you have anything less, like 4-1/80, 4-1/72 etc, then tell us and we can help you upgrade the OS software free of charge, without visiting the dealer.

Connect the E36 kbus wire to the E46 radio's ibus input. Check the E36 wiring diagram for the location of the kbus. Then it will work... PS: the sticker on the radio tells you if it works in NZ or not... tell me what model radio is it and what is written on the sticker, and I'll tell you what region it is for.

I had a towbar fitted to my 540i, I recall it was rated for 2100KG or so. But I had to derate it to 1995 KG, because I had to remove one saftey chain eye as it was hitting my driveway Law says >=2000KG = 2 x safety chains needed

PM me your chassis number and email address... and I'll send you the electrical manual

Well here's how: NavCoder shows data like this: 31.01.2010 15:09:11.812: 09 04 02 81 00 8E 31.01.2010 15:09:11.812: ZKE2 --> EKM : Door status, Data="00" Here we have Door Status, 1 x Byte A Byte is 8 bits Doors are generally bit mapped So we can record 8 x on/off states EXAMPLE: ---- ---x : Drivers Door, 1=open, 0=closed Not that hard... very simple really...

Well I'm adding support for E31 in NavCoder at the mo Which means E34 and E36 should also be supported, because they are the same generation... So I'd like some computer types - those who understand bits, nibbles and bytes - to try out NavCoder on their E34 or E36 ibus and let me know what they see! Ideally you should have the large OBC (MID) with all the bells and whistles, because that is the easiest to decode Who is willing to help document the databus? You need to be willing to focus on one message - eg door status - and document the opening and closing of doors, boot, bonnet, sunroof, fuel filler, etc. We can also look at some diagnostics data as well....

Flashing clown nose = original factory alarm fitted Why don't you test it? Lock and arm car when inside, then set the alarm off by opening door, bonnet or boot. Door and Boot might be deadlocked, but bonnet should open Note: all BMWs have immobilisers, regardless of whether the alarm is fitted or not.

He did a couple of small simple mods to his E30, but was wondering if a cold air box would help gain more grunt? He didn't spend much time on the car so far, and might be able to scrape together a few more dollars for a cold air box. Here's some piccies of what he's done so far....