[saini023]

Originally Posted by xcalibr

METHOD 2... this method works really well if you already have a low voltage trigger (such as the PAC trunk-LOC for an aftermarket amp install)

This is the PAC Trunk-LOC with built in low voltage trigger I have installed in my trunk

had a system in my car..just took all this out..damn..

Originally Posted by xcalibr

The proper way to do it (as I mentioned before) is to splice in the YELLOW, fused power wire to the fuse box, and then find another source for the remote line to connect to the RED ACC line.

do you know if the power source "long tran method" in the cig lighter is ACC? becuase then i could run the constant directly to the fuse box and the acc to the cig lighter..the ACC wire is just acting as a remote wire to turn on..not draining power...so this would solve the problem with using the cig outlet for the main power source....right?

[xcalibr]

Originally Posted by saini023

had a system in my car..just took all this out..damn..



do you know if the power source "long tran method" in the cig lighter is ACC? becuase then i could run the constant directly to the fuse box and the acc to the cig lighter..the ACC wire is just acting as a remote wire to turn on..not draining power...so this would solve the problem with using the cig outlet for the main power source....right?

Not exactly... well I'm not exactly sure what you mean. If you wire it that way, it will work (it's the right way to do it), but still only when ignition is on because the cig lighter doesn't turn on until the engine is on (or in ignition mode). But yes, the ACC is the remote wire, it shouldn't drain your battery because it should be connected to a switched source.

Edit: yeah, I just realized what your question was after reading your post again... yes it looks like Long's using the cig lighter wire for the ACC/remote wire... and he probably has the yellow, fused connection wired to the fuse box. But still, the switched source of the cig lighter is not on until you're in "ignition" mode. Same problem still exists.

[saini023]

Originally Posted by xcalibr

the switched source of the cig lighter is not on until you're in "ignition" mode. Same problem still exists.

ahh i got it..skipped that part when i read it..i see wat the problem is now...well that way would work if you only wanted to watch with ignition on..but i see where you guys are coming from.sometimes dont want the ignition on...i just dont wnt to run a wire from the back to the front..but it seems like that would be the best way to do..well..back to the drawing board..i'll have to pull out the test light/multimeter when i do the install..

[SpanX]

NICE WORK

[Minipuck V 2.0]

Dang that is one good DIY.

[saini023]

anyone know how to remove the sift knob on a auto.step car? i tried pulling straight up..doesnt seem to work..

EDIT: nevermind..i got it..just pull straight up..with a little force..

[ctgazer]

finalyl hooked it all together...took me 3 tries but it all works great...will work the sound in tomorrow cause the ones i have arent long enuff...schweetness...excellent write up and follow up with the power xcalibr..really helped a lot...except i didnt ground it to the bolt...i grounded it to one of the screws that holds the gear shifter in place... im so happy now

[longtran]

thanks man...you saved us a lot of time..you did an awesome job on this...

[xcalibr]

Originally Posted by longtran

thanks man...you saved us a lot of time..you did an awesome job on this...

Thanks Long, but I couldn't have done it without your pictures... they gave me enough clues to figure out what to do.

I think I'll do a DIY part 4 for backup cam tomorrow... well backup-cam prep... because I don't have the backup cam just yet, but I have all the wires necessary to pre-wire for when I do get a backup cam.

Also maybe a DIY part 5 in a couple of weeks after I come back from Taiwan and get a DVD/DivX player. I have a slim ps2 installed right now, but it's just using the cigarette adapter for power, so nothing difficult about that to warrant a DIY.

[Jason]

Great write-up and pics. Added to DIY master list - http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1721

[sesmero]

anyone to help me?

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showth...t=22831&page=2

[saini023]

installed mine yesterday..pretty simple install thanks to this DIY..great job xcalibr...all i have to do is the sound..shouldnt be to difficult from what i hear..i did have one question..when i turn off my car now..the idrive screen does not got all the way black no more..it stays on whatever was displayed before i turned off the car..and it will slowly fade away..it takes about a mintue to go all black..never did this before..any insights? Also how are you guys putting your module..mine is under the glove box..but i cant get the black plastic panel back on properly..

[xcalibr]

Originally Posted by saini023

installed mine yesterday..pretty simple install thanks to this DIY..great job xcalibr...all i have to do is the sound..shouldnt be to difficult from what i hear..i did have one question..when i turn off my car now..the idrive screen does not got all the way black no more..it stays on whatever was displayed before i turned off the car..and it will slowly fade away..it takes about a mintue to go all black..never did this before..any insights? Also how are you guys putting your module..mine is under the glove box..but i cant get the black plastic panel back on properly..

That should not happen... check all your connections. The iDrive screen's power is seperate from the module... so even if the module continues to send a display signal, the screen will power off... check the two connections behind the iDrive screen in particular. The one that connects to the LVDS out on the module, and the other one... the "other" one is the power for the screen.

[xcalibr]

Tools needed:
BMW screwdriver
Torx #20 screwdriver

Materials needed
15 ft. RCA cable
15 ft. 14-18 gauge remote wire
2-3 ft. 14-18 gauge power wire
Electrical tape, zip ties
wire hanger (optional)


1. Pop the trunk and pop off the pins holding in the trunk lid lining.


2. Remove the emergency trunk release handle by pushing the plastic tab to remove the wire. The lining can now be completely removed.


3. Gently unseat the rubber conduit containing reverse and brake light wires from both the trunk lid and the car body. The RCA cable and remote wiring have to go through this conduit as well.



4. Thread the RCA cable from the reverse light housing hole down to the conduit hole in the trunk lid.



5. Tape the remote wire to the RCA cable and pull that through as well


6. Now here's the difficult part: Thread the RCA cable and remote wire through the conduit. I had to end up cutting the head off of the RCA cable and reattaching it afterwards to get it through the conduit. The wire hanger really comes in handy here.


7. Thread the the RCA cable and remote wire through the top of the trunk (car body) through the same hole the rear lighting wires go through. Once you've got it through, you can put pop the conduit ends back into the trunk-lid and car body.


8. Thread the other end of the RCA toward the center of your trunk lid. The camera will probably be mounted on the license plate frame and the wiring for it will probably go through the hole for the license plate light housing.



9. Wire the remote wire to the top-most (blue and black) wire of the lighting connector on the passenger side. This is the positive lead for the revserse lights. It will have a +12V when you are in reverse.


10. Wire the power wire to the top-most (purple and black) wire of the lighting connector on the driver's side. We'll use this side's positive lead for powering the camera. You'll have to find a place on the trunk lid to use for a ground.


Now you've got the power and RCA cable ready for the camera.


Edit: After driving my car around for a day, I've discovered that the reverse cam display does not stay on the reverse display if it does not detect a video signal. This could prove to be a problem if we use the other reverse light as the power source for the camera. We'll have to wait til I get my reverse cam to find out for sure, but it would sure suck to have to run another power cable from the trunk to the trunk lid.

Edit 2: Using the left reverse light for the power source for the camera is OKAY. Actually I used the ground for the light assembly (left side, brown wire) for my camera ground as well --hopefully I don't blow anything this way. I recommend that you sand down a portion of the trunk lid and use that for a ground.

11. Remove the right license plate light housing by inserting a flat head screw driver into the slit. DO NOT PRY --rather, gently push toward the right and pull at the edge of the assembly. The entire housing should pop out.


12. Run the power and video cable of the camera through the housing hole. There's a slight notch in the lower left-hand corner that looks like it was made to hold a thin wire. Roughly estimate where you're going to mount the camera and pull the excess wiring through to the trunk interior.


13. Now that you've got the wires inside, connect the RCA video cable. DON'T CONNECT POWER JUST YET! It's better if you wait til the TVandNav2go module is wired up first before wiring power to the camera.


14. Now you have to get this RCA cable and remote wire up to your TVandNav2go module. First, remove the back seat. There are no screws or bolts --only two clips holding the seat in. Pull directly up from under each side to unclip the seat.


15. Run the RCA cable and remote wire from the trunk through the gap between the seat-back and the bottom of the trunk. You should see the wire come through with the seats out. (This is so much easier if you have fold down seats... damn, why didn't I get that option?!??).


16. Run the RCA cable and remote wire along the passenger side, under the plastic trim and to the glove box. Wire the remote line to the gray wire from the Nav2Go power harness labeled "LAMP-RV" and plug the RCA (after reattaching the head) into the RCA input labeled "REAR-C".



17. At this point it's okay to plug in the power for your reverse cam if you've got one... or I used my mini-DV cam just to test... start your car and throw it in reverse. If the image changes by itself to the rear camera view, then you've done everything correctly and you can put everything back together.



That's it... you're done! Note: the image displayed is NOT reversed... so you have to get a camera that has it reversed.

The finished product:

[saini023]

Originally Posted by xcalibr

That should not happen... check all your connections. The iDrive screen's power is seperate from the module... so even if the module continues to send a display signal, the screen will power off... check the two connections behind the iDrive screen in particular. The one that connects to the LVDS out on the module, and the other one... the "other" one is the power for the screen.

i'll pull out the screen 2morro and take a look..nice write up on the back up camera..where are you going to mount the camera?

[xcalibr]

Originally Posted by saini023

i'll pull out the screen 2morro and take a look..nice write up on the back up camera..where are you going to mount the camera?

Gonna try this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/License-Plate-Ba...QQcmdZViewItem.

[ctgazer]

Originally Posted by xcalibr

Gonna try this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/License-Plate-Ba...QQcmdZViewItem.

thats a nice find...i may get one just for sh1ts and giggles later too

[saini023]

Originally Posted by xcalibr

That should not happen... check all your connections. The iDrive screen's power is seperate from the module... so even if the module continues to send a display signal, the screen will power off... check the two connections behind the iDrive screen in particular. The one that connects to the LVDS out on the module, and the other one... the "other" one is the power for the screen.

i checked all the connections..i checked the "other one" and its connected fine..still same thing..although the LVDS wire..is pretty tight..would that affect it? i know its not the power..but does Dom sell a little longer cable?

[undergl]

Where is the rear camera placed in the trunk? Can you put an image to see it

[xcalibr]

Originally Posted by undergl

Where is the rear camera placed in the trunk? Can you put an image to see it

I haven't even gotten the camera yet --I just did a prewire DIY for anyone who could get a backup camera before I could. I haven't even ordered my camera yet, but I will tonight --so I'll post up a picture when I have it installed sometime next week.

[ctgazer]

damn it!!!! fuse tapped the son of a gun and still the same...power light is on and nothing else on the dvd player...im all outta ideas..

[xcalibr]

Originally Posted by ctgazer

damn it!!!! fuse tapped the son of a gun and still the same...power light is on and nothing else on the dvd player...im all outta ideas..

You might've messed up your dvd player... did it ever work at all? Is there another way you can plug it in to verify it works?