BMW Bluetooth Retrofit By pedro444

I thought you might be interested in the bluetooth system I've fitted to my 75. It's fully integrated to the car and usesBMW components.

After a bit or research and reading of BMW forums, I decided it must be feasible and decided to have a go. (I think a linkfrom Keith ages ago to the Bimmernav site started my research!)

I had already upgraded a few of the sat-nav compoents in the car (Mk3 BMW drive, 16:9 E46 monitor, BM24 tuneretc.) and was impressed how everything seemed to work as soon as you connected it.

First of all I worked out that there are a couple of pre-requisites if you want to fit this:

1. High Line Sat Nav System2. BMW BM54 Tuner

As far as I'm aware these are the only two things you must have. The BM54 tuner is needed as it has a dedicatedtelephone input whereas the BM24 version and the Rover tuner don't support this. This together with the adaptor loomfor the different tuners is the most expensive part of the retrofit.

One comment on the BMW tuners - I was amazed at how much they improved the sound quality over the Rover tuner!One of my first upgrades was the BM24 tuner and this made a huge difference to the quality of the sound - much morebass available and sharper sound, even with the standard speaker. The BM54 is similarly as good, if not a little better.

The components I needed were (in addition to the BM54 tuner):1. BMW ULF unit - this is the 'brains' of the telephone system (about £50 on eBay)2. Microphone - standard BMW item3. Wiring loom to connect to tuner in the boot and ULF unit. I got mine from this guy:http://www.bimmernav.com/index.htmlI must say Martin from Bimmernav was most helpful and I’d definitely recommend him. I think the loom I got is actuallyintended to retrofit the system to a MINI with sat-nav.4. Bluetooth Antenna and lead (came with the loom from Bimmernav)5. Pairing Button (again from Bimmernav)

First step was to locate the ULF unit in the spare wheel area. I choose to mount it on the back of the tuner as shownbelow. In truth there wasn't much choice as to where to put it as the loom was fairly short!

The loom provided plugs in between the existing harness and the radio module and provides the connection to the I-Bus,power etc. There are also two separate audio wires that you then feed into the tuner connections.

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Once all the wiring was neatly tied up, the original black cover fitted back and you'd never know anything different wasbehind it.

Once this is mounted and connected, there are only three further items to install. First is the bluetooth antenna. I mountedthis on top of the sat-nav drive in the boot as it was about as far as I could get the cable to reach and there were handymounting holes:

Next there is the pairing button. This connects to the twisted wires you'll see in the first photo. I decided to mount this ina spare spot in the centre console so I had to extend the wires. You could actually decide to leave the button in the bootas I think you only need it when you want to add a new phone to the system.

Disclaimer: This document is intended as a guide only. You assume all responsibility for any problems howsoever caused as a result of using theseinstructions. Neither 75ZT Community or the author of this document shall be held responsible for any losses or injury caused by the use of theseinstructions

Finally then it was the microphone to mount. I routed the wires for this through the boot, under the parcel shelf, then upbehind the headlining on the driver's side of the car and finally behind the sun visor to the centre light unit. I felt this wasthe simplest way of routing the wiring without taking too much trim apart! The microphone clipped straight in to the lightunit - as though it was made for it!

You may notice two red wires connected to nothing it appears at the top of this photo. These happened to have the exactsame connector as the microphone. Following this wiring back I found it to just be a pre-installed extension that ended atthe base of the windscreen pillar on the driver's side. I suppose it was some pre-wiring for the original Rover phonesystem? Also while poking around behind the screen pillar trim I found another much meatier connector that appears notto go to anything. Anyone any ideas?

Then, put all the bits of the car back together, turn on the ignition and here you go:

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I have to say it is quite a good system. And it means you can use the phone button and see those LEDs at the top of thescreen working if you've upgraded to the 16:9 monitor!

The telephone (ULF) module is supposed to have integrated voice control, but I'm yet to experiment with this. I think Imight be able to use the pairing button (that I mounted between the cruise and rear blind switches) to activate this buthaven't been successful yet.

OK, here are a few more pics. I haven't got a 16:9 TV module in the car at the moment hence these are displaying in a4:3 size on the larger screen.

Ffirst of all, you need to pair your phone with the system. You only have to do this once and to do it make sure yourphone's bluetooth is activated and set to discover then hold the pairing button down as you turn on the ignition. Youshould then see this screen:

If successful the monitor will display 'Pairing Successful'. You'll then need to turn off the ignition then back on again. Fromnow on your phone will automatically connect when the ignition is on.

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Selecting the Telephone option from the main menu gives the following telephone menu:

You can use the right hand rotary button to move around the screen and enter a number manually, just as you wouldwith the sat nav. Once a number is entered you can either use the phone button on the monitor or use the control tohighlight the picture of a green handset and select this. (This means you don't have to have the phone button on yourmonitor - the standard 4:3 screen for example doesn't have that button.)

Alternatively you can look numbers up by going to Directory. The first time you do this it will transfer you phone bookover and the screen will look like this whilst it is transferring:

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And if someone calls you, the phone will ring through the car's loudspeakers and you will get this screen appearing:

And finally two other pictures that someone might find useful. Firstly the three adaptors that you need to fit a BMW flatpin radio module. From left to right are aerial, audio in (CD changer and monitor tape) and main audio connector (powerand speakers etc.)

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And here side by side are BM24 and BM54 tuners (BM54 on the left).

Disclaimer: This document is intended as a guide only. You assume all responsibility for any problems howsoever caused as a result of using theseinstructions. Neither 75ZT Community or the author of this document shall be held responsible for any losses or injury caused by the use of theseinstructions