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Just caught your last comment after having driven back from Mars. Lovely ride, Sun on the left, Jupiter rising on the right. The milky way is especially translucent at this time of year. Cars running so smoothly now after a few light years of solid running....

E30 magazine is different to E39 magazine

Magazine is a standard Alpine magazine You can choose from original magazine ex BMW for somewhere around $60, or a Alpine magazine from Alpine / car stereo shop for likely a lot less. Or a 2nd hand one from a wreckers...

Not very well specced, doesn't even have a MFL

Your car's light bulb monitoring circuit is configured for normal lamps, not LEDs. Hence, with LED taillights, the circuit detects that the light bulb resistance is incorrect, which means a fault, and correctly tells you of the fault. The correct way to handle this is turn off the light bulb monitoring circuit. This is done by changing the software configuration in the Light Control Module (LCM), and to do this you need a tool like my NavCoder application.

Get it here: NavCoder v2.6.0 v2.6.0 16 February 2009 Added multi-lingual capability with many languages. Added checking for required LNG and OCX files on startup Added "Help - NavCoder Online" to Help menu Added "Help - Go to Resler I-Bus Interface Website" capability Added "Help - Contact Author" capability Added "Help - Check for Updates" capability Added "File - Export log file" capability. Exports as CSV file. Added Moneybookers.com as payment method Added Code BT to the Telephone dialog. You can code name, passkey, and emerg number To display nicely in Excel, use custom format of "00", and left-aligned for all cells. Fixed many small bugs and tidyed up error handling code a lot Fixed bug where failed headlight left & right were swapped Adjusted a lot of dialog layout to cater for multi-lingual text Added decoding of ibus command 0x31 "Buttons" for use with K1200 motorbike Built NavCoder website

Pure violet is unfused. Violet with a stripe is fused. You are best to use a fused supply, eg from the radio. Or use the power feeds available in the sunroof switch area

If you want better iPod music, rip the CDs with less, or no compression. Then it sounds better.

OK, he MAY be correct. There are loads of different LCMs out there, with different functionality The early LCM-I Light Control Modules may not have had the ability to switch the Cold Monitoring on and off in them But why don't we use the good old Kiwi "try and see" approach ... I've responded to your email, let's carry on with the "try and see" offline and post results here.

Yup. Excuse the late reply, I've been away on holiday. Glenn: you have to try harder with your hard questions - this one is easy: to stop the AngelEyes lights flashing due to the LCM performing it's cold monitoring test, simply turn the cold monitoring off. Easy. My NavCoder software can do it :-)

Your 745i will be the iDrive car. Different nav system, different map disc format So sorry, NO, you cannot.

Good on you. Good to see someone do it in NZ. I was helping Nomad test the first few versions :-) He's a clever guy. I see your camera icon is borring white I have nice warning-yellow camera icons. I'll PM you

Definitely NOT factory. Car manufacturers do not use 6.5mm cheap mono audio connectors in their vehicles!!

If your E46 is newer than Sept 2001, you don't need to change the radio because it is already a world-model radio, and can be changed to Euro mode (for use in NZ) and the push of a few buttons If the radio is pre Sept 2001, then it is Old Generation and you need to physically swap the radio from Japan model to Euro model, or fit the newer BM54 New Generation radio. And changeing the nav from Jap to NZ in your car is around 2 to 3 hrs work.

So a friend of mine "adjusted" the BMW nav software and now you can have your nav say a phrase like: caution danger in_front_of_you do_not_overtake or caution danger in_front_of_you or caution danger ahead all spoken in that lovely British ladies voice, blending through the stereo system, as you drive up to a speed camera. All NZ speed cameras can be incorporated into the nav system And the speed cameras are displayed on the nav permanently (as yellow coloured speed cam icons), allowing you also to navigate to other POIs or show petrol stations etc Limitations: only for BMW Mk4 nav at present as fitted to E46, E38, E39, X3, X5, Z4

Indeed, never fit an under-rated battery to a car. It will cost you more as the smaller battery will fail sooner and leave you stranded somewhere. Always fit the a battery meeting or exceeding the original battery's capacity And with a high-quality car like a BMW, make sure you fit a high quality battery.

It is a P E46 Cab 318Ci N42 ECE 20011100 R N

Do you mean the magazine that holds the CDs?Tha's a standard Alpine magazine. Take the old one to a car stereo shop that sells Alpine car stereos and accessories and get another one.

Remember to levy a suitable amount of frustration at the environmentalists To protect the environemnt, solder is now lead-free But lead-free solder doesn't have the same properties as solder with lead, hence a lot of solder joint problems are starting to occur in appliances / cars made in the early years of lead-free solder. Lead-free solder has improved, but there remains a decade or so of soldering that will have problems in time. Not just BMWs, but everything that gets hot, vibrates, and is subject to a harsh enviroment.

3 beeps = MEMO function Beeps at about 10s before the hour to give you time to turn the radio on to listen to the news at the top of the hour. That's what the 3-beeps were designed for. they still have them in the BMWs of today :-)

what can go bad: water pump ignition switch cup holders battery radiator headlight adjusters headlight glass gets crazed suspension creaky trailling arm bushes door panel liner seals fail causing water leaks All of these are easy to fix and relatively minor

In Europe: Easy to spot. Detectors are banned in many countries. If found, radar detector is confiscated on the spot and destroyed. You get a fine of around $200 for carrying it in your car (not using it) and around $500 for using it. Fines vary by country Police know what they look like, and can see them stuck on windscreens I learnt the hard way...

I think it means traction control

A new set of speakers will cost around $500 USD (850 NZD) + shipping ex USA. From these guys: http://bavariansoundwerks.com/ Best solution as it is plug-and-play, no wiring damage at all, and very easy to fit. Then a subwoofer = $700 USD = 1200 USD If you don't have that money, then spend what you have on vehicle maintenance instead

No, it's not complicated On BMW e46, e38, e39, X3, X5, Z4 the TV can be changed from NTSC to PAL by changing the settings in the TV menu. So literally, really really easy, done by the user, no workhop visit or reprogramming required. The correct TV setting for New Zealand is PAL BG or PAL EUROPE. Some later model cars will have New Zealand as available country listed in the menu. If your 330i is an E46, then there was no need to visit a dealer. You could have changed the setting yourself.