jochen

Well those who have been following my nav story in dull boring text have asked for pictures so they can really SEE what it looks like. Here they are...... My BMW now says hello when I unlock it and the car boots up: The new Euro-style main menu: Where shall we go? Here's the start of the route (in white) Here's the end of the route. Guess where the destination is! Arrival time is automatically sent to the Trip Computer: Who wants maps? Not everyone, this is for those that prefer text: You can have split-screen on any of these displays: Some interesting diagnostics: Guess where I am? How high I am? Date and time in UTC anyone? And I checked my speedo accuracy today: set cruise control to smack on 100kph. GPS logged speed-over-ground at 27.8m/s which is... EXACTLY... 100kph Good on those Germans, nothing like being precise :-) So how many satellites can I receive? And how strong are their signals? And of course you can set everything to your hearts desire: The voice guidance in German is sooo cool...!! The usual other functions are still there like TV: ...and the auxiliary ventillation, to pre-cool the car when you return from the beach: ...and the Code, to stop your kids borrowing the car: So there you go. My nav system guided me to Snells Beach and back today, and it just works brilliantly. It tells you where you are (what road, what suburb), distance to go to next waypoint, distance to go to destination, ETA, and its just great watching the map and seeing where in the country you are. If you like cruising in your BMW, then the nav system is just the bee's knees I love it! Cheerio, Jochen

Well today I got myself a replacement TV tuner for my E39 Tonight I have reassembled everything and the boot lining is finally back in place Everything is working - Computer, GPS Navigation, Television, Aux Ventillation, Code and the Set screen I decided to get an analogue TV tuner as I want it for a few trips over the next few weeks. Freeview haven't decided on their digital format yet so I wasn't sure if the digital TV tuner would work in NZ - and as the digital tuner costs $1,500 I wanted to be sure !! My nav system has been running sweetly ever since I fitted it an I'm really happy with its performance. And the car is fantastic..:-) Cheers, Jochen

You should make an effort to find out exactly what your car has. It will help hugely when you ask for advice. And it is easy to find out: post your chassis number (last 7 digits of your VIN) and we can tell you all the details about your car. You chassis number will look something like this: BW12345 BW12345 happens to be a 5-series 528i E39 Limousine with an M52 enginer made for the USA in October 1996 with an Auto gearbox, Production Code DD63, and batch ID 47585 See? chassis number tells a big story... Jochen

Thanks Grant, I'll call Robinsons today Jochen

What can I say - they all suffer. Anyone had any decent repairs done locally? Jochen

My E39 (like all of them) has fading pixels in the check control display Is there anyone local in NZ that can do a proper repair? does anyone here have any experience? I dismantled my insturment cluster tonight but didn't want to pull the speedo needles off as I wasn't confident I could get them back on in the right position So I'd rather a proper repair done. Anyone know?

Hi, I'd be happy to do the odd article or so on some of the electronic wizardry in the BMWs ... Let me know when and how long. Weekly might be a buit much (52 articles a year?) but once a fortnight or so might be OK. I used to edit and publish a monthly 32-page club mag so I know the effort required Jochen

Here's one found on the 'net:: 92 EVAP capillary leak (0.5mm) detected "The evap reading relate to a leak in the closed loop fuel system and I would first check around your fuel tank area to see of something is lose. I would also check your gas cap to make sure it is tight and on correctly." See here for more info on other codes: http://ackthud.com/shawnfogg/faultcodes.htm Haven't checked to see how valid these codes are for your car, worth looking though You have to zoom in and enhance the picture to see the fault code numbers, but you can do it Jochen

Fantastic, confirms absolutely that I bought the right car!

That's what I love about the E39, turning to start doesn't start the car; it initiates the start sequence Jochen

I'm after a replacement video module (TV tuner) for my E39 My vehicle had the early Mk1 nav & tuner, I need the Mk2 or later TV tuner to be compatible with my new nav system So that means a video module from an E39 (or E38) from production date 9/98 or newer Anyone got one? for a reasonable price? Jochen

Anyone know where I can get a K&N Air-Filter for my E39 540i ? In good ol' Auckland I've been told they're the bees knees in filters, adds performance, and it is washable / re-usable Jochen

Is your E39 sunroof switch suffering from failled illumination? I know of a few people who have sunroof switches in their E39s and the illumination has failled on one, or more, of the white symbols on the switch. There are 3 symbols, all 3 should illuminate orange at night On my E39 the centre symbol wasn't being illuminated. So here's some instructions on how to fix it. Make sure you have clean hands first! 1. Remove the interior light assembly - from the rear side, pull down with your fingers. The assembly will clip out. 2. Remove the panel with the sunroof switch. Reach in with fingers through the interior light cavity and press out. It's flexible, will come out easily. 3. Unplug and push out the sunroof switch, take it to your workbench. Dismantle the switch body by prying the clips open gently with a jewelers screwdriver. Some small nylon guides may fall out, don't loose them You'll see the switch is illuminated with 3 x LEDs soldered to a circuit board. LEDs have a current limit resistor, and the resistors can be broken off the circuit board if when the sunroof switch is pushed in whilst it is moving to open or close the sunroof. On mine, the resistor for the centre LED was missing. My LED was also a bit dim, so I replaced it. I selected a resistor to allow 15mA through the LED. 680 ohm worked fine. I fitted a new 1/4 watt resistor (680 ohm) on the side of the board, out of the way of the switch mechanics, so it wouldn't snag. 1/4 watt was a bit big, but I managed to squeeze it in. 1/8w would be better, or another SMD resistor if you can find one. The original resistors are SMD 1kOhm. My switch is now nicely illuminated in all 3 segments :-) Dear mr Admin guy - you may like to make this a sticky. Cheers, Jochen

Update Tuesday evening 10:44pm Just finished hooking up the ABS wheel pulses to the nav unit Now I have all the sensor inpurs complete and my dear little car will no longer get confused when it canot see the sky - like in my work car park, underground :-) Anyone want to see some screenshots? Jochen

Here's some photos as promised 1. Never do anything like this without lots of knowledge and the full instructions :-) 2. Here's all the Jap nav system removed from the car - Jap nav unit on the left, followed by the VICS receiver, the Jap radio tuner, and in front is the GPS receiver - all redundant 3. Here's the wiring loom removed - the VICS antenna extension cables, the VICS wiring loom, and the GPS wiring loom 4. Here is the new Nav unit - actually 2 of them, Mk4 on top, Mk3 on bottom. I'm fitting the Mk3 as I promised the Mk4 to someone 5. Here's a rear view of the Mk3 and mk4 - notice the similarity :-) 6. Here's a pic of the boot - professional tuner is fitted and working, video module is removed (RH side) as I was trying to nut out why I had no TV... was a compatibility issue! So nav got plugged in to video module connector temporarily - which is why it has been redirected from rear seat wall to centre of boot (blue plug by itself) 7. Here's the nav unit, ready to be connected, except the GPS antenna cable plug was different, so I couldn't plug it in :-( I made an adapter after this photo. This was all the photos so far, I'll take some more tomorrow and some screen shots as well. Cheers, Jochen (Jap import 540i with full factory NZ nav system)

Thanks everyone. I filled up today on 91, and did a 155km drive, and got 11.7 L/100km I'll keep the trip comp going until the tank is empty and see what I get. When she is empty I will fill up on 95 and observe the difference! Jochen

Drive 155km from cental Auckland to Miranda hot springs and back Windy road there, motorway back Easy driving, crusie control on as much as possible. My 4.4L V8 540i did 11.7L/100km which I think is good. Jochen

Update Saturday 10:27 pm Well nav is fine but still no TV. I've managed to run the wire from the boot along the LH cable duct to the front footwell, but ran out of time as friends were coming for tea. Took the system for a test drive with the kids - my nice nav lady told me how to get to Cornwall park, then Mt Eden Must find a good German name for her... :-) Professional tuner works really well. Still looking for a Mk2 or later TV tuner - anyone out there who is a BMW wrecker got one for me?? Took a heap of photos, will load them maybe tomorrow. Going to go and plot a course to Miranda hot springs tomorrow.... take the car for a nice burblely V8 run.... Jochen

Update Saturday 1:23pm Went to my friends house, found an RF cable with the right connector for the GPS antenna socket. Made an adapter lead using the pigtail (short cable) from the old Alpine GPS receiver and the new coax cable + conenctor from my friend. Connected GPS antenna to nav unit and... IT WORKS! Within 2 min the nav unit had acquired my position. Took another 15min of driving for the nav unit to receive the GPS almanac Now it's all going - I'm very happy. Not yet with TV, I'll have to get another TV tuner, so I've bypassed the TV system at the moment, which means the nav unit is living in inside a cardboard box on the boot floor at the moment, but that's cool One last thing to do: run the wire to the ABS unit for the wheel speed pulses. Gotta go and run a wire... Jochen

Update 11am Saturday morning: Professional tuner unit fitted (easy) New connectors at nav unit fitted. Old wiring loom removed between nav and old GPS receiver - had to undo that horrible sticky black cloth tape, but I did it up again afterwards :-) Reverse light wire run and connected - had to remove CD changer and amplifier to run the wire neatly. Decided not to bother running it all the way to the front to the Light Control Module, I just tapped into the reverse light wire on the tail lights. Function checked: Oh no - here I have hit... SNAG #3 - my video module (TV tuner) is a special Jap version. Turns out my nav is an early Mk1, and the video module has an extra board inside and an extra cable just for the Jap nav unit. Grrr.. Tried connecting the nav unit to the tuner module as per the Euro wiring - but tuner didn't recognise nav unit. Damn. So have temporarily connected nav to tuner loom, and left tuner off. Function test (even thoughI have no GPS antenna) - nav, radio, CD all working. Only thing left to do: 1. Make up a GPS antenna cable adapter - or get a new GPS antenna cable (rather not) 2. Run the wire to the ABS control unit Till next update... photos to come... Jochen

Well tonight I got stuck in. Parked the 540 in the garage, disconnected the battery and started dismantling. Out came the Japanese VICS receiver (for Japanese traffic information) - not needed. Means my antenna cable to the radio is now 2m shorter = more signal (in theory :-) Removed the nav unit + housing from it's centre boot location (why do they stick it there? On a Euro BMW it's on the left hand side!) Out came the VICS loom between old Alpine Jap nav unit and the VICS receiver, more dead weight. Out came the old Jap nav unit, that's also dead weight. Out came the old GPS receiver, more dead weight as the new nav unit has the GPS receiver built in. Test fitted the new nav unit in the location and struck... SNAG #1 - the GPS antenna cable has a different connector on my '97 E39 and won't fit the Mk3 or Mk4 nav unit. Bugger. On the '99 E39 I did the other day the connectors are the same. Oh well - dismantled the old dead-weight GPS receiver with a view to using the socket + bit of coax as an adapter cable. But I need to find a plug for the nav unit. Might have to get a new GPS antenna cable from a wreckers (hope I find one)... So then I thought I'd check my ABS unit was the same as the other E39, and struck... SNAG #2 - the ABS hydraulic unit is completely different, and does not have the connections I need. 30min later and some research revealed that the E38 instructions I have cover this scenario - have to hook the wheel speed sense wire to the ABS control unit under the dash. Whew. So time for bed, car is in pieces, tomorrow I bite the bullet and start cutting connectors and fitting new ones! Wait for the next installment... Jochen (your crazy nav system hacker...)

Got my E39 back today with a brand new shiny waterpump, and covered under the mechanical protection insurance which I got with the car. No more nasty grinding noises from my beautiful 4.4L V8 And what's made me even happier - my navigation computer and connectors arrived in the post today too, so guess what I'll be doing this weekend...!! Wonder if my wife will let me sleep in the car....?? Jochen

So everyone knows - I've been talking to him, and convieniently he lives within 2km of my house :-) Jochen

I put $50 of 91 unleaded in my 540i today, but thought I'd ask the combined experience of Bimmersport fans what you think the best fuel for a 540 V8 would be? I've got performance to spare, so don't really care about needing more kilowatts. 282 HP is enough for me :-) But wondering if the engines run better and more economical on 85 or 98, then they do on 91, taking the cost of fuel into account.? The (Amercian) manual says: Use unleaded gasoline only. Recommended octane rating: 91 AKI. BMW engines are equipped with knock sensors and will adapt automatically to different octane ratings, provided that the minimum octane requirement (87 AKI) is met. Fuels with higher octane ratings will provide enhanced performance and lower fuel consumption, while the use of fuels with low octane ratings will have an opposite effect. Thoughts?

Well I picked up my nice shiny Dunkelblau E39 today With the 4.4L V8 donkey - first V8 I have ever owned :-) and I am loving the luxury The waterpump bearing is shot, but that is an easy fix - I will get it done straight away Nav system gets upgraded this weekend, looking forward to that I love this car...