View Single Post
      07-04-2012, 09:51 AM   #331
iamatticus
New Member
4
Rep
7
Posts

Drives: 2011 135i
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: United States

iTrader: (0)

Snoozee,

That's what I was thinking. He couldn't answer a number of questions I had with any authority. I mentioned the very same things, that the MULF has a Bluetooth logo on it, that the TCU is for BMWAssist, not Bluetooth, and he disagreed with me on both points.

Thank you for the detailed information, but I"m afraid I have one more question. How do I know if my head unit (radio) is bluetooth capable?

Quote:
Originally Posted by snoozee View Post
i guess the shop foreman knows less than he should know. just look at the MULF 2 module and you can see a bluetooth logo on it. that itself is a big hint that the module has bluetooth capabilities . BMW's documentation also states that MULF/ULF has bluetooth capabilities that allows for bluetooth handsfree phone. the official bluetooth retrofit manual also refers to the ULF/MULF and not TCU. TCU also has bluetooth capabilities BUT you DO NOT need TCU to get bluetooth phone if you already have MULF. TCU and MULF can co-exist in a car but only one module had bluetooth enabled.

from what i know, there are quite a number of 1 series (E8x) owners having done this retrofit with success. if you have a F series car, then don't bother to continue reading since what i'm writing is for E series cars only.

anyway to refer back to your other post on wiring routing. this is what i did for my E90 since my car did not come with SA640 phone prep as well.

1. bluetooth antenna. bought a 15cm SMB female to SMB female wire for eBay. connected the antenna to MULF and taped the antenna inside the trunk. BMW's official antenna location is in the driver side footwell. but trunk location works fine as well so save some bucks from needing to buy a longer cable and sweat from routing the cable from trunk to front.

2. mic is installed in the roof/map light panel. wiring is run from my trunk, through the bottom of the rear seats, up the c-pillar, across the top of the roof to the a-pillar, under the a-pillar airbag and finally to the map light panel where the mic is. this is easier than trying to route through the car's carpet or door sills.

3. code the car to add the SA644 VO (SA664 for US cars) and then code the radio to activate the new functions.

HOWEVER, before you do anything, please check if you already have a bluetooth enabled radio. BMW changed the radios sometime in 2010 and these radios come with inbuilt bluetooth and USB. if you have one of these radios, then your retrofit would be different. mic wiring will be conencted to the radio plug instead of the MULF. you may or may not need the bluetooth antenna since the radio already has bluetooth capabilities. coding is also necessary to enable this feature as well.
-tj in los gatos
__________________
Chela and TJ Noto Los Gatos, CA
11 135i 99 MRoadster 85 M635 CSI 73 3.0 CSL
Appreciate 0