MID repair and ULF install

[martyyyn 102]

The MID display is knackered and before I buy a replacement I wondered if people have successfully DIY'd a fix. I've seen various success rates ranging from simply removing the ribbon cable, cleaning it and reinserting to full replacement of the ribbon and treating the contacts.

I've fiddled with various computer bits over the years so am not worried about pulling it apart to try something, so has anyone attempted this and how did it go ?

Having said that it doesn't have the BC button and I would like that to. It was a 5 minute swap of MID's in my e38, is it the same in the e39 ?

It also appears to have everything for a phone install. There are all the buttons on the MID and steering wheel (including the pairing button), what appears to be a microphone in the a-pillar (which I would've thought should be in the roof by the rear view mirror - I have no sunroof) and an aerial on the rear window but no ULF module in the boot.

Is it a simple plug and play install and connection is via bluetooth ?

[tmase 19]

I bought a Bluetooth ULF retrofit kit from Bimmernav last year for my E39. Install was very simple, and I am not very technical! The hardest part was mounting the ULF bracket behind the CD changer in the boot, the rest was plug and play, no cutting or soldering wires.

I exchanged a few emails with the Bimmernav and they made up a kit that fitted my car. Japanese import E39s have a couple of odd connectors in the JBIT phone system that required an adapter. Not sure if your car is imported. I think most E39s were prewired for phones from around mid 98, but not sure about that.

Not the cheapest way, but they were very helpful and good communicators.

There are several different ULF generations as well, and it pays to get a later one. Apparently the early ones were not that great so it pays to know which part numbers to buy from if you go the Ebay route. You might want to check under the parcel shelf in the boot or inside the armrest for a BT antenna as you will need one of these as well if you DIY. Later ULFs also come with the SES (Voice recognition module) included as well.

ULF Generations

Haven't seen a steering wheel mounted pairing button before, normally it's on the armrest tray, some people retrofit them to the boot, or you can use Navcoder to do your pairing and dispense with a pairing button altogether. My roof aerial doesn't do anything, it is only for the orginal hard mounted car phone or if you have a snap in armrest adapter for one of the few supported mobile handsets.

I have a 13th generation ULF which works well. It would read SMS from my old Sony Ericsson phone but strangely not from my S3.

Sorry I don't know much about MID screens so can't help you there.

[Allanw 1051]

MID is piss simple if you're vaguely techy.

I brought the new cable, but not the heat and stick one.

Seriously easy to do, as long as you line up the pins correctly on the LCD/ribbon. I used nail polish remover to clean off the goo - just make sure not to damage the tracks on the board. I then tidied up with a fibreglass pencil. On the LCD side, i scratched off whay I could with my finger, then a TINY bit of nail polish remover to tidy up, then fibreglass pencil again (Was worried solvent might eat into the LCD edges).

You can get cheap MIDs on ebay sometimes with pixel problems, and repair your self, if you want the BC button.

If you don't have the BC button, I assume you don't have high OBC??? I don't know what functionality you'd gain???

[martyyyn 102]

Thanks for that, I thought it would be relatively easy. Ebay here I come.

With my e38, I bought it with a MID not showing the BC button and found I had very few options with the OBC but the moment I put a MID in with the BC buttons I could do all sorts of things. Im assuming its the same for the e39.

I think I need to research a little more into the phone before going for the ULF. But it sounds like the way to go seeing as I have phone buttons all over the dash.

[roganjoshd 0]

I have a spare MID for my 94 E38 740i, with BC and clock buttons and pretty good pixels, I could sell it on to you if it is what you are looking for.

I bought it in the hope that it would make my OBC work, but as it turns out someone previously swapped out the instruments cluster and as a result the IKE shuts down, taking out the OBC and raising the "tamper dot", but the worst thing is the SRS light never comes on (not even for a self test) and this was picked up on at the last WOF check (its first for me as the owner).

I have posted a thread regarding this issue... am looking for an ADS interface to plug in and correct the VIN stored in the IKE (my OBD cables don't work, these are for sale too)

cheers

josh