Another E89 iDrive Retrofit

Zed Baron · Post by **Zed Baron** » Sat Sep 12, 2020 3:44 pm

Congratulations brave man!

Im sure if I attempted it I'd end up with some spare screws (luckily I already have it).... so the big question from me is now that you've fitted the idrive what modifications could you do to it (maybe Dave could add to this)?

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Sun Sep 13, 2020 7:33 am

Hi Zed Baron,
Thanks for that. Have to admit there was one moment when I did wonder if I had bitten off more than I could chew, but the good news was no spare screws when it all went back together

I know that Dave has fitted an MMI box for CarPlay/Android Auto. Suspect I will follow suit in due course. Also probably add a reversing camera... just because I can

AnubisZed · Post by **AnubisZed** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 11:30 am

Great job Kevin, and a great write-up

Nice to see it's all working as it should.

Sorry bud, I'll send you the map info later

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Mon Sep 14, 2020 3:45 pm

Hi Dave,

Thanks for that..... would be great if others followed suit with an iDrive retrofit. I'm so pleased with it that I went for a drive today.... just for the sake of a drive. Sun was out, music on, felt good to be out and about

No urgency on the map info. Going to get the coding done first and that's alas still a couple of weeks away.

Cheers,
Kevin

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:55 pm

Apologies for the delay in updating my iDrive retrofit thread, but finally it’s all up and running exactly as it should

Delay was down to finding time to get over to my local 'Indie', an ex BMW technician, who I trust and know from my previous dealings and has a wealth of Z4 knowledge. As it turned out he had never actually coded a retrofit iDrive before, but completed everything quite quickly, all working.... except the NAV, which of course is what the coding was all about

He phoned another BMW tech. who remotely checked everything and confirmed all correctly coded. Interestingly, menu options on NAV which weren't working before now were and I could set routes etc. Looked like the car was recognising NAV function, but it was positioned in the middle of Africa

We accessed the ‘hidden’ service menu on iDrive and entered location and at least the car was now where it should be on the map. Alas it also showed no satellite locks at all

Looked like a duff GPS Receiver was the problem, so I ordered another with the intention of fitting the next day………..

New GPS receiver arrived promptly, but before I fitted it I had a little play.... removed the grill on the top of the dash……. Instant lock on!!! Went for a drive and all working exactly as it should

Now I’ve read that most people mount their Andoid system GPS receivers under the dashboard grill, but it just doesn't work in this position in my car. I can only summise that the metal grill is grounded and it's working a bit like a Faraday Cage. Any thoughts - perhaps I'm missing something here? Anyway at least for now, I’ve mounted the receiver with sticky pads on the dash, right in front of grill where it slopes down to the windscreen. Filed out a very small groove in the front edge of the dash grill to feed the wire. Works well there and frankly barely shows – see photos. I like originality though, so if I can work out how to take off the screen surround trim to feed the cable through, I might move it up to the oem position. Alternatively I might buy another grill, remove most of the metal and cover it with a nice piece of matching speaker grill fabric that I just happen to have lying around

Depends how bored I get this winter, might add a MMI box and a reversing camera…. I'll update this thread if I do.

I'm really chuffed it's all working, just got to upgrade the 2013 maps, which I’ll do next week. Most importantly another thank you to Dave
( AnubisZed “My current project – Retrofit iDrive” ) for all his help and for sharing his hard won knowledge. I couldn't and wouldn't have taken on this project without his enthusiasm and help. Thank you.

Oh, one final thing to mention. The guy that coded it, gave me some printouts from the coding session and it clearly shows that my system thinks it has the three FSC NAV enabling codes.... clever things these emulators, as I don't

maxman · Post by **maxman** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 3:18 pm

Great write up ,together with AnubisZed.

ronk · Post by **ronk** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 11:56 pm

There are some clever people about!

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:22 pm

Map Update and Relocating the GPS receiver

Firstly, Map update. My donor CIC Head Unit was from a 2013 car and a quick check on the iDrive showed that it had never been updated. My first thought was to generate a FSC code on one of the generators that are freely available online and then purchase and download the latest maps. As most of you will already know from experience, a map update requires input of an FSC code before the update can begin, not something my emulator gets round. This FSC code is specific to each car/head unit/map combination.

No problem generating the FSCA map code, the software worked a treat… but then the fun began

I downloaded the map update onto a FAT 32 formatted, 32mb USB stick – car wouldn’t recognise there was an update. Downloaded again onto a different USB stick – still no joy. I had been using my Mac for formatting USB stick and downloading updates and read a post that said problem could be unwanted Mac files on the USB stick. Switched to a Windows 10 computer – still no joy and I tried it on both sticks

Anyone who has downloaded map updates and then transferred them to USB stick will know this was a very time consuming process

Enough was enough…. I ordered a map update preloaded on a USB stick with a genuine BMW generated FSC code. Worked a treat, 45 mins later and I had 2020 maps

Still don’t know why my downloads didn’t work.

GPS Receiver Location

The retrofit iDrive has been working brilliantly, but as tiny as that GPS Receiver is mounted on the front of the dash, it was bugging me

It looked like an after thought and all along I have been after as close to a factory fit iDrive installation as I could achieve.

So, I unclipped the dash grill and cut away a section of the metal grill over the top of where I could mount the GPS receiver out of sight. I have a speaker under the panel, but there is just room to the left of the speaker for the GPS Receiver. I used a Dremel with a cutting disc, having carefully marked it out with white tape. Actually a very easy job. I then wrapped the grill panel with a piece of black loudspeaker grill fabric which I just happened to have – its readily and cheaply available on Ebay anyway. I fixed it in place on the reverse edge using a hot glue gun – simple and effective and gave a very neat finish. I had already unclipped the round sensor mounted in the grill, so made a small cross cut above the hole in the fabric and simply pushed the sensor through and clipped it back in place. Photos below of work in progress and the finished grill in car.

Moment of truth…. GPS works perfectly and whilst the grill finish is not original, I doubt anyone would ever notice the difference ….… unless they were a forum member of course

Certainly to my eyes it looks ‘original’ and so much better than having that GPS Receiver stuck on the dash

I don’t know why BMW didn’t use fabric all along………

So, my iDrive retrofit is finally finished… next project getting rid of the runflats

Pbondar · Post by **Pbondar** » Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:49 pm

Great work and very tenacious...well done...I hate cabins with loads of wiring hanging out or botched set ups..

The runflats will be a walk in the park in comparison...

Mmdt101 · Post by **Mmdt101** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:10 am

Nicely done and thank you for sharing. I don’t think I’d have the nerve to try it myself. Inspiring though!

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 7:53 am

Thank you for the kind comments.
During the whole project I only once thought "what have I done" and that's when I struggled to swop the head unit cage. Not easy... until you know how

I like a challenge and all of it could be reversed, but now I have iDrive I wouldn't do without it. Cutting and wrapping the dash grill was no risk..... before I started I had located another for sale at £26.... just in case I needed it

I would like to think that someone else could do an iDrive retrofit relatively easily now based on Dave's great posts and video and my own experiences following his lead. It's what the forum is all about and I'm always picking up tips from others.... like which tyres I'm ordering this week

Zed Baron · Post by **Zed Baron** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 9:23 am

Amazing stuff! so when is the MMI box being fitted? something I've considered for mine

Mojito · Post by **Mojito** » Mon Oct 19, 2020 6:26 pm

Hi Zed Baron,
Well.... I guess when I can afford it after the new tyres

Seriously though, I do intend to fit a MMI box and reversing camera. When I do I'll start a new thread.

AnubisZed · Post by **AnubisZed** » Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:46 am

Kevin

great write-up and a very well done on getting it finished.

Guys on the MMI box front, I've just struck a deal with a European supplier of the MMI box at a great price!!!! I've got to contact Admin to see if I can do a group buy yet, so hopefully I can sort this out if I can get enough interest

Zed Baron · Post by **Zed Baron** » Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:05 am

AnubisZed wrote: ↑Tue Oct 20, 2020 10:46 am Kevin great write-up and a very well done on getting it finished.

Guys on the MMI box front, I've just struck a deal with a European supplier of the MMI box at a great price!!!! I've got to contact Admin to see if I can do a group buy yet, so hopefully I can sort this out if I can get enough interest

Thanks Dave

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