jochen

Hi hybrid, I've seen your car. If you're keen, it can be done. Parts need to be sourced either new ($$$$$$$) or secondhand ($$) I've emailled you the original retro-fit instructions from BMW, according to BMW it takes 5.5hrs of work to fit the retrofit kit. Have a look through the instructions to understand what is needed. Cheers, Jochen

Stupid question, but did you look under the rear seat for the factory printout with the fitted options? If the printout ain't been removed, it'll still be there. PS: Did you know you could decode your VIN on the 'net? See here: http://www.bmw-z1.com/VIN/VINdecode-e.cgi Jochen

Ron, Your radio will be set to OCEANIA. Change to EUROPE, it's better. You can do this yourself, see my sticky post in the mtce forum here. TV set to PAL-Aust doesn't match our channel numbers in NZ, and won't tune to the upper UHF channels. Change to PAL-Europe, then it'll work properly. This is also a user setting. Jap Nav systems are totally different. Your's will be an Alpine or Sharp system. You need the Siemens/VDO/Philips system, because the Nav Data DVDs in NZ are only for the VDO system. I'm about to do a conversion here in Akld from Jap to VDO in the next 10 days, will make a post on how it goes. Involves new Nav computer and wiring changes. If you want this done I can tell you how, email me [email protected] Have fun! Jochen

Relay will be OK, pretty hard to stuff up a relay. Your electric window circuits are fine - its the relay that is not being activated when the ignition is on. Could be that the loom you fitted isn't delivering power to the relay... if a wire is missing etc? J

Hi, Here's how it works: Power comes to the relay pin30 from vehicle terminal 30u on a RED wire. Exist on a GREEN/RED (or GREY/RED) wire and goes to the POWER SAFETY SWITCH - this will be an overload switch or circuit breaker for the electric windows. Exits the power safety switch on a RED wire and then is distributed to all the electric window switches as a RED wire. So: 1. Pull out a window switch, measure if you have 12V on the RED wire. 2. If no power, suspect the Power safety Switch or Relay or fuse. 3. Fuse number 17 (30A) is the electric window fuse. Check it is OK. Meausre for 12V power at the fuse socket. 4. If OK, check the Power Safety Switch - measure for 12V either side of the switch. 5. If OK, you have a break between the satey switch and the window switches. If not OK, check the relay (which one? don't know) and the wiring to the safety switch. The POWER SAFETY SWITCH is located on the kick panel under the dash. PS: I have never worked on one of these cars, I have never fixed this problem. But I'd like to, it would be easy. All of the above information was Googled from the 'net. Search, and you will find. long live Google! Jochen

Check the power window relay for shitty contacts etc. Replace with a known good one to check. What model 320? E46? E36? E30?

Sounds like the elec windows are not getting power. Was the loom the right loom for the car? Is everything plugged in? Do any other electrics on the car not work? Check everything! Do you have power on the relay? Is the fuse OK? Any power going to the elec window controller? And it helps if you mention what model BMW you're working on...

Hi all, Do you have a BMW Nav system in a Jap import BMW ? (that's the system where a 4x3 monitor or 16x9 widescreen monitor is fitted to the dash, and shows nav, TV, radio, bordcomputer). These can be found in the E38, E39 and E46s. Do you want to get rid of your shitty band expander and make the radio work 100% properly in NZ? So it gets all frequencies, like it should, and has RDS to show station names etc? If so, get in touch with me. I know how to fix the problem. Jochen (the BMW Radio Man) (who hates band expanders) (with a vengence)

There's a full E30 wiring diagram in PDF on the 'net Get it here: http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/19876/BMW_e30.html Interestingly, it's all in Russian :-) but the wire colours are in German Jochen

I beg to differ You CAN control the MP3 CD changer from the standard BMW Headunit You won't get track names and titles on the screen of the radio, because the radio won't support that function But it will play the tracks on the MP3 CD. Exactly how the MP3 CD changer plays the tracks - ie: which way it follows the directory tree on the CD - varies between manufacturers of the changer. Most of them sequentially play the tracks and recurse through the directories as they are found. But it does work, and you can fast-forward and rewind, and move from track to track via the radio controls. Exactly the same as if the MP3 was a standard CD. The audio is, as you suggest, passed on as analogue audio to the head unit. The MP3 decoding from digital to analogue all occurs within the CD changer. Cheers, Jochen

Hello, I heard my name mentioned :-) The older BMW CD changers were not MP3 capable - who had heard of MP3 in 1996 anyway? The later models from around 2003 or 2004 have MP3 capable CD changers, but these ones are controlled by the I-Bus from the radio. Most 1996 radios didn't have I-Bus control. Or if they do, it's not cabled, and you have to run an I-Bus wire. Anyway, the MP3 capable BMW changers sell for a premium 2nd hand in Germany - guess why? :-) Another option is to fit a Sony MP3 capable CD changer, controled from your standard BMW radio. You need an interface unit between the native BMW CD changer cable and the Sony CD control cable. Such interfaces sell for 50 to 100 Euros in Europe. Here's one on special: http://cgi.ebay.de/CD-Wechsler-Adapter-BMW...1QQcmdZViewItem Note that it says it's for 98' onwards, which means this adapter uses the I-Bus control signal. If you don't like Sony, you can fit Alpine, or Pioneer etc, with the appropriate adapter, so the headunit is fooled into thinking it has a native BMW changer connected. There you go. 2 ways to do it, the adapter is probably the best way, depending on the exact headunit you have If you want more details, PM me Jochen (the BMW Radio Guy)

Hi I'm looking at buying a '96 jap import E39 528i straight-six with M52 engine Can anyone share their experience with what to look out for? Cars done just over 1000kms Auto trannie. Leather. TV but no nav. MFL. I already know it's got one dodgy window widner and that it'll set me back around 1,000 CD changer is not bolted in. Odd. All original wheels. What else should I look at?

Yeah but lets be realistic. A small lamp with be 5W, maybe if he fits 2 it will be 10W Thats 0.83A for 10W, and 0.41A for 5W. Stuff all. The wire is a 0.5mm2 wire, that can handle a piddly little bulb without too much trouble. The checkcontrol will have its own on-board voltage regulator, dropping and stabilising the supply to 5V or 8V. So fluctuations on the main line won't make much difference. Jochen

That'll be a warning light for a fault with the auto transmission surely. It's a picture of a cog. Hence transmission. Post your chassis number (last 7 digits of your VIN and I'll tell you what motor / trans you have. Jochen

Hi Deftones, You can unplug your check meter and then test your lights without the meter fitted. The violet wire is +12V power The brown wire is ground You don't need the check meter plugged in for that to work Jochen

There's a full E30 wiring diagram in PDF on the 'net Get it here: http://www.eserviceinfo.com/downloadsm/19876/BMW_e30.html Interestingly, it's all in Russian :-) but the wire colours are in German Looks like devide A1 with connector X27 is the Check Control Unit See page 23 of the PDF file. Pin 23 Violet Green is the permanent power, fed by Fuse 6 Pin 25 is the ignition switched power, also fed by Fuse 6 Use the diagram to help you Jochen

Look for... Dirty, corroded, loose pins in the check control connector. Maybe the action of unplugging and replugging caused a bad contact on a pin to finally fail. Eyeball the connector - if all is clean and shiny then should be OK Get the wiring diagram (google for it) and see where the wires go. Brown will definitely be earth - that's standard. You sure you didn't break the violet/green cable? Try a) switching on the ignition and measure from Violet /Green to some other chassis earth point in the car. If you have power, then your brown earth wire is not connected to earth switch off the ignition and measure ohms from the brown wire to some chassis earth point. Depending on how well you hold the voltmeter probes to the earth, you should measure less than 5 ohms. A good earth contact and you'd expect to see less than 1 ohm. If you have no earth, then the brown wire is broken/unplugged from earth somewhere. Jochen

My mate bought one for $36 - but might have been for a later model. I've heard they're the same as Alpine, have you tried an Alpine magazine? Might be cheaper. jochen

Yep, I've spoken to him :-)

Yes, after conversion you would have exactly the same functionality as a NZ-new system with Nav TV (if fitted to the Jap car) remains unchanged. There is no Jap TV tuner, the TV tuner is a world-tuner and works here and in Japan Nav gets replaced from Jap to NZ. On-board monitor display and controls remain unchanged Radio remains unchanged (but this can be changed from Jap to NZ easily as a separate exercise) PS: BMW Nav systems sell for $2,500 euros in Germany, = $5,000 NZD, plus shipping and fitting. Jochen

OK, big deep breath..... Does anyone here have a Jap E39 with the Bordmonitor and the Jap Navigation system and..... ...want to convert it to the NZ nav system? I've researched this extensively over the last 2 weeks, reckon I know how to do it, and would like to bounce my ideas around a few E39 nav system owners.... ....and before you ask 'how much', I think it'll cost at least $2,000 to convert. Of which $800 goes to BMW NZ for the NZ nav data DVD. Thoughts...?? Jochen (the BMW Radio Guy and maybe the BMW Nav Guy as well)

On the Jap Bordmonitor radios (as fitted to the BMWs with Nav systems) the radio service mode is accessed using the TRAFFIC key. Switch on, press and hold right side of TRAFFIC button, wait for serial number to be displayed. Won't be a world-tuner model, they appeared from around 2002. Jochen the BMW Radio Guy

I heard my name mentioned.... If anyone here wants a genuine BMW OEM stereo, ask me. I've helped heaps of people tthrow away their Jap units and fit proper NZ units. It's my hobby, and lots of fun. But everyone wants CD players and they do cost more..... Now here's something very interesting: Got a Jap BMW Nav unit? See my other post.... Jochen (the BMW Radio Guy)

Don't do it! band expanders are absolute crap, they destroy the radio performance. Replace the radio with a Kiwi version, I've got original BMW radios that will fit, all Kiwi versions. And I can supply them cheaper than some BMW shops charge to fit band expanders.... A friend was charged $200 to have a band expander fitted to his 325, I sourced a whole replacement radio for less than $150..... and the replacement radio is a million times better than a band expander. Jochen

You may have a bad connection in your relay or fog light. The multimeter/tester draws very little current, and will show voltage under no load. Add the load of a foglamp (normally 55W, or 4 Amps) and the voltage may drop due to a bad connection, and thus the bulb will not light up. You can check this by measuring the voltage on the bulb with a multimeter when the buld is on. PS: I've had lightbulbs with filaments intact but crappy soldering of the filament to the bulb contact, and the bulb was open circuit. Re-soldered the contact, then the bulb worked. Jochen