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BMW E38 Bluetooth Installation
Instructions
Installation instructions below are for the BMW E38 Bluetooth
Kits:
Click here to buy now.
BMW's
Bluetooth System works perfectly in E38s with Navigation or
without
Navigation
NOTE: Our Bluetooth Kits come with the latest Generation
BMW ULF modules Available
as shown in
the BMW Compatibility matrix (and NOT the problematic
first generation 84 21 954 552 others are selling, Be
careful on getting older ULF modules as some people have had
difficulties and incompatibilities with the old first
generation ULF modules.
Why use Our
Bluetooth Solution?
Although detailed instructions will ship with your Bimmernav
Retrofit kit, the below information is a quick pictorial of
installation in a navigation equipped E38. The install is
quite simple and quick in the 7 series.
NOTE: ALWAYS disconnect BATTERY before working on the
electrical system in a BMW. Most importantly, you should
ensure that the navigation computer Power light is OFF before
disconnecting your battery. BMW states that if the battery is
disconnected when the navigation computer is on you may damage the nav computer.
The important thing to keep in mind is do not disconnect the
battery if the power light is on your navigation computer.
Required Tools:
Phillips head screw driver
8mm socket set
#20 Torx screw driver
All North American BMWs
even without BMW phone currently are already prewired for phone. You can verify by finding the
Prewired for BMW Cellular phone in the trunk area.
Prewiring consists of wiring for all telephone equipment, plus
coding for phone and voice recognition. If your BMW is
prewired for phone, and you install a new generation Bluetooth
module, like we sell, it is highly unlikely that you will need
to have your car coded.
Before starting your installation remove the Bluetooth passkey sticker from the
label of the BMW ULF control Module. Put this sticker
someplace safe. I recommend putting this sticker under the
oddment tray of the Eject kit for easy access when needed.
Step 1) Remove the Trunk liner cover for the rear
compartment. Access is very easy without Navigation as
you can just remove the plastic screws shown on the right of
this picture. If your car is equipped with navigation
you will need to remove the nav computer before removing the
trunk liner.
Removing the navigation
computer requires a standard radio removal tool to release to
release the unit from the bracket. You can make your own
"tool" out of a coat hanger cut in four pieces.
Push the radio removal tool or a coat hanger in just far
enough to unlock the spring loaded catch. Once you release the catch you can slide the
Navigation computer straight out
You only need to push the
tool or coat hangers in until they can not be inserted under
minimal force, to unlock the
catch (about 2 inches)
Once the computer is removed you will need to
remove the connectors on the back of the navigation
computer (please, make sure the power light is OFF before
disconnecting battery or wiring to the navigation computer) Remove the
plastic frame around the navigation computer and the two
plastic screws to the right of the CD changer. Once all of
these pieces are removed, you can easily lift the trunk electronics
cover out of the way.
To
access the old phone equipment (Motorola TCU), you will need to remove the three 10mm bolts holding the Video module bracket
in place. The only bracket typically to be removed is this
bracket located to the
left of the CD changer.
NOTE: In the E38
equipped with the
CPT7000 or 8000 phones, this
bracket also secures the dual band compensator (black) and trimble
navigation module (Silver; MKII only) as shown below. You
can temporarily remove the bracket and modules by
disconnecting the wiring to these units, although you will NOT need to remove
the compensator OR the navigation receiver shown attached to
the bracket below. In the Bluetooth installation you
will only
need to remove the Black rectangular TCU
(telephone control unit) module, and replace with the ULF
module as shown below. The CPT7000 TCU is pictured below
as a black rectangular module with a white label.
Once the bracket is removed, you will need to
remove the phone TCU (Telephone Control Unit). The TCU is the
black, rectangular control module in the rear of the
compartment. This can easily be done by removing the 10
mm mounting screws for your specific BMW phone TCU.
Step 2) Once the Phone TCU is removed
disconnect the DB25 and any RF
connectors attached (only early E38s).
Next, connect the BMW ULF module to the provided Bluetooth wiring
adapter harness and
attach the two DB25 connectors together. Ensure that
you connect the Bluetooth DB25 adapter DIRECTLY to the BMW
phone harness without
any
other DB25 adapters that may be in your car. (NOTE:
if installing a Euro or CPT3000/4000 kit see supplementary
documentation included with the installation guide). Connect the
Bluetooth antenna connector to the BMW ULF Module. This
wire will run from the ULF module to the Bluetooth antenna.
Next mount the BMW ULF Bluetooth module in the
same mounting location as the TCU. You can mount the ULF
module leaning slight forward, as the bracket is not an exact
fit but you can get it to work You can take the bracket out
and make new holes or just use wire ties. If desired you
can also use the BMW Part number 84 13 0 308 372 ULF module
bracket instead or your existing phone bracket.
PLEASE NOTE: If you are Retrofitting a
2000 or newer BMW that is currently equipped with a separate BMW SES Voice
recognition module you will need to remove this module and
replace with the SES
jumper plug. The BMW Bluetooth system has Voice Recognition built in and you
can not have two voice recognition systems in your car at once. If your BMW does
NOT have SES Voice recognition already you "should" have an SES jumper plug in
place from the factory, although you should always verify to be sure.
See BMW Doc on SES
jumper plugs
SES Jumper plug Connected
No SES Jumper plug connected (Image is E39, but connector is the
same)
IF your vehicle is
NOT equipped with DSP you may need to read the supplemental
section on installation and possibly add an
additional amp.
The optional amp increases the volume over the car's speakers.
I recommend to first try installation without an extra amp.
If you are
unable to raise the volume to an acceptable level, by pressing
the volume up button on the steering wheel, the radio dial and
the Bluetooth phone when in a call you can add this additional
amp.
Other ways to increase the volume in the system are as
follows; When in a call press the
steering wheel button volume up, the radio up, and the up
control on the phone. Then activate Voice recognition and say
volume up. One of those options should work. The volume seems
to be phone dependant so one of those methods should tell the
phone to pump up the volume.
After installing the Bluetooth ULF module you will need to
mount the Bluetooth antenna. Most people install in the
E38 C-pillar or behind the rear seat. This process is
quite simple and detailed in the installation guide that ships
with your Bluetooth retrofit kit. You can just run
the other end of the RF cable connected to the ULF module thru
the c-pillar access grommet to the right of the CD changer.
This grommet is where all the BMW wiring passes from the rear
electronics compartment to the cabin of the E38 (running to
the c pillar and behind the rear seat). Just remove the
rear c-pillar, push the wire thru grommet and retrieve the
wire on the other end. Some people tape the end of the
wire to a ridged piece of thin plastic material such as a
large wire tie so that it can be easily done by one person.
(C
pillar Bluetooth antenna mounting installation instructions)
Detailed instructions will come with your Bluetooth kit.
After you fish the Bluetooth antenna wire
thru the C-pillar, mount the Bluetooth antenna with double
sided tape next to the other electronics. Find a
location that is not raised higher than any of the other
components, as you will need to put the C-pillar cover back in
place.
The last step on the installation is to slide the center
console arm rest all the way forward and gently remove the
access cover for the rear of the arm rest by lifting straight
up from the area closes to the rear seats.
Remove the two Phillips head screws and slide the arm rest
towards the front of the car. Be careful as once you side it
forward it will come completely free of the arm rest and only
be held on by the wires.
Once the center console is out, remove the two parcel trays
inside the arm rest containers by gently lifting up from the
front side first.
Once these parcel trays are out remove the 4 Torx #20
screws to release the phone from the center console and
replace with Bluetooth Eject kit.
Plug in the Bluetooth Eject kit using the provided FAKRA
Male to Mini UHF female connector, and the ELO18 snap in
adapter plug, to the car's ELO18 and mini UHF connector
(CPT3000/4000 install see supplementary section on RJ45 to
ELO18 adapter harness that is part of your kit)
Put the arm rest back together by reversing the procedure.
Install the
microphone if not already installed. Note: Many
people prefer the audio quality when the mic is moved from the
passengers side of the sun roof cover to the drivers side.
Moving is the same
process as installing the mic
Once you are complete, reassemble the vehicle and plug the
battery back in. Follow the Paring procedure in the users
guide to load your phone into the system
Users Manual for the BMW Bluetooth System
Bluetooth
Pairing procedure and operational videos
BMW
TIS Documents on step by step installation process of E38s
NOTE: Pre 9/97 Production vehicles may need to update the eject box support
In vehicles produced prior to 9/97 BMW used a different Eject box support. This
support piece does not hold the Bluetooth Eject properly and needs to be swapped
out for the newer version. The part you need is pictured on the right. It is
part number 51-16-8-215-771 and can be purchased at pacific BMW for $8.00. In
most cars, the piece will fit very well. In a 95, I had to shave a bit off of
this $8.00 part to make it fit properly.
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