[snoozee]

Originally Posted by gjimmy

It appears you and I are in exactly the same boat. I too have looked for the pre-wired cable in the footwell about the drivers pedals, and it is not there. I believe we have the MULF unit for the USB audio for the iDrive. My iPhone works with mine but you need the black Y-cable, the standard white iPhone cable does not work for me.

Since we both have the same setup maybe we can help each other out. There appears to be a couple ways to do this. This thread has been the most useful I have come across, but there doesn't seem to be many with our exact setups. From what I understand it seems that we just need to get the bluetooth antenna installed (which can be kept in the trunk near the mulf unit, instead of running the cables to the footwell), and also get the mic from the voice command to be re-pinned to be used as the bluetooth mic. The info is a little shaky about what exactly needs to be done and if indeed it really needs to be done.

The other big question mark for me is the coding aspect. Apparently nobody in my area (Los Angeles) does this.

Patryk from Bimmertech has been very helpful and has a kit for about $400 to do this retrofit which he claims is very simple. I haven't been able to make the purchase because it requires remote coding (which would be great) but also requires a 32 bit Windows Laptop. I am a mac user and need to find a laptop to borrow, but most now are 64 bit…so I am a bit stuck.

What are you planning to do for this? Are you in the US?

If I could re-pin the mic and get the antenna and get the coding done somewhere I am sure it could all be done for less than $400. Otherwise I may just spring for the Bimmertech solution and hope for the best.

Good luck and keep me posted.

coding cable can be bought for about $60 on eBay.
you can install VMware or parallels on a mac and install winXP for coding. even on my windows 7 machine, i installed winXP as a virtual machine for coding

[alexwhittemore]

gjimmy: I'm SLIGHTLY different in that I don't have iDrive, i've only got the professional headunit. In any event, it looks like the following needs to happen for both of us (pardon the repetition, I like to be clear):

We're MISSING SA640, thus have the wrong harness and no terminations for bluetooth or Mic (no mic for me, anyway).
First, I need to be absolutely certain that the mentioned pins on my MULF2 connector are missing and thus not available for rerouting.
Next step is to get an appropriate coax cable (SMB F-F) to run to the foot well (Damnit, I'm doing it right!) and select appropriate shielded mic cable.
Rip out ever damn interior panel on my ride, run cables, cut to length, add connectors. Plug in antenna and mic.
Code the car
Check that everything works
If it does, sew everything back up.

I think I can handle needing to only buy two runs of cable and install them myself, along with the mic and antenna. Actually, all in all, I think that makes this a relatively cheap retrofit.

As far as coding is concerned: I plan on doing that myself as well. I've got a cable in the mail, should be here today. I'm going to try enabling fob windows up first, but I figure I should have the hang of it after a couple hours of fiddling. So if that works out, I should be good to go. Snoozee, thanks a lot for the XP tip. I have a Win7 VM on my mac, but I hadn't even considered that XP might be strictly necessary. Maybe I'll just build up an XP VM today.

Cool thing is, gjimmy, I'm in LA also, Manhattan Beach specifically. I'm thinking, if you're up for it, I'll try coding, then gather up all the parts and in maybe a weekend or two we can meet up and try to run the retrofits at the same time. It'd definitely help to have two slightly-differently optioned cars to compare head to head while pulling everything apart.

Snoozee: Thanks for all the info in that first post as well, that's exactly what I needed to see. Good link too! I'll try to dig up the older post about getting pigtails and MQS pins.

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

gjimmy: I'm SLIGHTLY different in that I don't have iDrive, i've only got the professional headunit. In any event, it looks like the following needs to happen for both of us (pardon the repetition, I like to be clear):

We're MISSING SA640, thus have the wrong harness and no terminations for bluetooth or Mic (no mic for me, anyway).
First, I need to be absolutely certain that the mentioned pins on my MULF2 connector are missing and thus not available for rerouting.
Next step is to get an appropriate coax cable (SMB F-F) to run to the foot well (Damnit, I'm doing it right!) and select appropriate shielded mic cable.
Rip out ever damn interior panel on my ride, run cables, cut to length, add connectors. Plug in antenna and mic.
Code the car
Check that everything works
If it does, sew everything back up.

I think I can handle needing to only buy two runs of cable and install them myself, along with the mic and antenna. Actually, all in all, I think that makes this a relatively cheap retrofit.

As far as coding is concerned: I plan on doing that myself as well. I've got a cable in the mail, should be here today. I'm going to try enabling fob windows up first, but I figure I should have the hang of it after a couple hours of fiddling. So if that works out, I should be good to go. Snoozee, thanks a lot for the XP tip. I have a Win7 VM on my mac, but I hadn't even considered that XP might be strictly necessary. Maybe I'll just build up an XP VM today.

Cool thing is, gjimmy, I'm in LA also, Manhattan Beach specifically. I'm thinking, if you're up for it, I'll try coding, then gather up all the parts and in maybe a weekend or two we can meet up and try to run the retrofits at the same time. It'd definitely help to have two slightly-differently optioned cars to compare head to head while pulling everything apart.

Snoozee: Thanks for all the info in that first post as well, that's exactly what I needed to see. Good link too! I'll try to dig up the older post about getting pigtails and MQS pins.

my car setup is the same as yours. no iDrive with pro radio.

you only need a 15cm SMB F-F cable. the coax cable for SMB cable is expensive and a 15cm one will cost you about 4 to 5 bucks with no difference in performance from a long one. saves you $$$ and headache of running that cable to the footwell as well.

the mic cable can be run by passing under the rear seats rest, up the c-pillar, across the top to the front of the car, and to the fzd. just make sure you do not cross the air-bag in the a-pillar so you may want to remove the a-pillar trim when doing so. the 5 metres of cable should be enough as i had about 30 to 50 cm of extra when i did mine. i just tucked the excess inside the roof lining. having an old credit card or a trim removel tool will help you tuck the mic wiring nicely inside the gaps of the car trim and you do not need to rip them out. the only things i removed for my retrofit was the rear seats and the a-pillar trim.

[alexwhittemore]

Snoozee, did you mount your antenna gracefully in the back, or just leave it in the trunk under the liner? I'm planning to run the cables all the way and properly (I like taking crap apart anyway, might as well make a thing of it) but coax is definitely expensive, so unless I can get it at a reasonable price (which maybe I can dig up, I'm an electrical engineer) I might have no choice but to leave the antenna towards the rear.

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

Snoozee, did you mount your antenna gracefully in the back, or just leave it in the trunk under the liner? I'm planning to run the cables all the way and properly (I like taking crap apart anyway, might as well make a thing of it) but coax is definitely expensive, so unless I can get it at a reasonable price (which maybe I can dig up, I'm an electrical engineer) I might have no choice but to leave the antenna towards the rear.

i just left it under the liner and used mounting tape to stick it on the depression next to where the MULF is mounted. i believe this location might be for the oem amplifier or something. anyway the antenna is just to amplify the bluetooth signal so leaving it inside the trunk or in the footwell make not much difference in the signal. in fact i cound get the bluetooth signal from the arm rest area even without the antenna installed.

removing the trims is one thing. putting them back again is another. by removing, you risk breaking clips, etc and the trims may not fit as tightly as they have when the car left the factory and you may end up with creaks here and there. FYI, the scuff plate is a PITA to remove and put back especially if you do not have any trim removal tools. I was lucky i did not break any clips when i did that. i would advise you to leave things as it is if there's no need to remove the trims. will save you a good amount of time for this install as well.

[gjimmy]

Originally Posted by snoozee

i just left it under the liner and used mounting tape to stick it on the depression next to where the MULF is mounted. i believe this location might be for the oem amplifier or something. anyway the antenna is just to amplify the bluetooth signal so leaving it inside the trunk or in the footwell make not much difference in the signal. in fact i cound get the bluetooth signal from the arm rest area even without the antenna installed.

removing the trims is one thing. putting them back again is another. by removing, you risk breaking clips, etc and the trims may not fit as tightly as they have when the car left the factory and you may end up with creaks here and there. FYI, the scuff plate is a PITA to remove and put back especially if you do not have any trim removal tools. I was lucky i did not break any clips when i did that. i would advise you to leave things as it is if there's no need to remove the trims. will save you a good amount of time for this install as well.

I will second that statement of the scuff plate being difficult to remove. I removed the one by the drivers side back seat (because it was loose when i bought it) and it was VERY difficult. I am surprised I didn't break anything, you really have to yank on those clips to get them out and they are just held on by some plastic rails. I highly recommend putting the antenna in the trunk. That is definitely what I will do. The range on the antenna is much longer than the distance between the trunk and the front seat.

[gjimmy]

Over the weekend I met up with Sir Alexwhittemore and he coded my car to add the $644 option but still no luck. I am waiting to see if the option shows up after a couple of sleep sessions on my computer, but don't have a lot of hope for it.

His car and my car have yielded the same results, his with no iDrive, mine with iDrive.

Have people had success using only the $644 code on non-prewired cars?

Still not giving up on this.

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by gjimmy

Over the weekend I met up with Sir Alexwhittemore and he coded my car to add the $644 option but still no luck. I am waiting to see if the option shows up after a couple of sleep sessions on my computer, but don't have a lot of hope for it.

His car and my car have yielded the same results, his with no iDrive, mine with iDrive.

Have people had success using only the $644 code on non-prewired cars?

Still not giving up on this.

if it doesn't show up after 15 minutes, it will never show up. that's what i experienced when i did the retrofit.

since you have iDrive, was the CIC/CCC coded as this need to be coded instead of the 2RAD module.

[alexwhittemore]

Ahh, no, I didn't. What does it need to be coded WITH? Just read/rewrite?

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

Ahh, no, I didn't. What does it need to be coded WITH? Just read/rewrite?

yup. should be just running the SG_CODIREN job. can try with revtor's profile method if it doesn't work the first time.

[alexwhittemore]

Well hell . Grant, want to head back over here this weekend? In the mean time, I'll try to track down Revtor's profile in case.

[Al Pleske]

I have the Bluetooth fully functioning using the information provided throughout this post however, I ended up having to run a new mic wire. My car was equipped with the phone prep but it is a E93 model so the mic is located in the steering column not over head. I located the wire for the mic at the column and in the truck but they are not present at the plug behind the glove box. I checked the circuit with an ohm meter - plug at column to plug in trunk but no connection - it obvious they take a different route. I removed alot of panels trying to trace its path but finally gave up and ran a new wire. If any one sorts out the mystrey please let me know - it is still driving me crazy.

Other than that thanks to every one who posted here - it saved me lots of $$$$$$ when you consider what the dealer wanted to do using the TCU intall route.

[alexwhittemore]

So I downloaded Revtor's profile, recoded the VO with $644 (just for giggles), then tried coding the whole car. Got errors as expected on the mulf/2urad modules (well, I assume, coding all at once the error just pops up after a bit). No luck. I found an SG_RESET job in the 2URAD module as well - I ran that successfully (the module reset), and for that matter I also ran SG_RESET on the MULF, also successfully. But I still don't see a nice telephone menu coming up

[gjimmy]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

So I downloaded Revtor's profile, recoded the VO with $644 (just for giggles), then tried coding the whole car. Got errors as expected on the mulf/2urad modules (well, I assume, coding all at once the error just pops up after a bit). No luck. I found an SG_RESET job in the 2URAD module as well - I ran that successfully (the module reset), and for that matter I also ran SG_RESET on the MULF, also successfully. But I still don't see a nice telephone menu coming up

Any luck after the computer went to sleep?

[alexwhittemore]

No joy . It's been sitting overnight, but I've still got nothing this morning. In theory, resetting the module directly (as I did last night) should have been sufficient.

Anyway, that doesn't mean your car is out of luck. I'm busy all saturday, but do you have any time Sunday to stop by?

EDIT: Also, I sent an email to my dealer to ask if they'd do the retrofit (since in theory, some will) or if they'd even just code it for me. I'm mostly just interested to know if they would/what they'd charge. Still haven't heard back, I emailed Monday.

[alexwhittemore]

Update: Heard back from MY dealership. Talked to a guy in Service and he said that basically they probably couldn't do the retrofit. Which I found odd since the biggest PITA part of it is running the harness (my car has no SA640 prep) and the BMW-official retrofit guid provides the part number for a kit that has the harness augmentation, as well as instructions etc etc. Another interesting thing is that I have a MULF2 High for the USB, but the MULF (NOT TCU) they picture in the retrofit guide looks different - bigger and mounts on the top of the bracket. The guide doesn't give a part number.

Anyway, for giggles I called the dealership closer to me and got someone in parts. He insisted that every car 2008 or later CAME WITH bluetooth. Which is of course wrong. But he seemed unsure when I insisted that wasn't the case, so I'll probably bring my car over later today or tomorrow just for fun and pull out some panels with him.

EDIT: reupdate. Drove the car INTO the closer dealership. Guy took a look at it, seemed puzzled, announced that the only real option is to retrofit BMW Connect (so TCU et al), but then said he wanted to talk to his shop manager and run the VIN to see why it didn't come with bluetooth. I'm pretty sure that'll go nowhere, but whatever, we'll see. It's looking dangerously like I'm just going to get a Parrot.

EDIT: rereupdate: Finally got this isht working! For my car it took writing the full car with a blank .MAN (revtor profile), THEN doing an SG_RESET on the whole car. For gjimmy's (2009 335i, idrive, 6fl, no s640) it took coding with a blank .MAN (though I think that didn't accomplish anything but resetting the date/time) then doing the SG_RESET as well.

Initially, coding the CIC with a blank .MAN got the 'telephone' option to show up, but it had the aforementioned problem from earlier in the thread where it just sits at 'please wait' for ever. The whole-car SG_RESET fixed that, we paired his phone, made a call, and all was good. Now I've just got to install a mic and antenna, and in his car we need to repin the mic and install an antenna.

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

Update: Heard back from MY dealership. Talked to a guy in Service and he said that basically they probably couldn't do the retrofit. Which I found odd since the biggest PITA part of it is running the harness (my car has no SA640 prep) and the BMW-official retrofit guid provides the part number for a kit that has the harness augmentation, as well as instructions etc etc. Another interesting thing is that I have a MULF2 High for the USB, but the MULF (NOT TCU) they picture in the retrofit guide looks different - bigger and mounts on the top of the bracket. The guide doesn't give a part number.

Anyway, for giggles I called the dealership closer to me and got someone in parts. He insisted that every car 2008 or later CAME WITH bluetooth. Which is of course wrong. But he seemed unsure when I insisted that wasn't the case, so I'll probably bring my car over later today or tomorrow just for fun and pull out some panels with him.

EDIT: reupdate. Drove the car INTO the closer dealership. Guy took a look at it, seemed puzzled, announced that the only real option is to retrofit BMW Connect (so TCU et al), but then said he wanted to talk to his shop manager and run the VIN to see why it didn't come with bluetooth. I'm pretty sure that'll go nowhere, but whatever, we'll see. It's looking dangerously like I'm just going to get a Parrot.

EDIT: rereupdate: Finally got this isht working! For my car it took writing the full car with a blank .MAN (revtor profile), THEN doing an SG_RESET on the whole car. For gjimmy's (2009 335i, idrive, 6fl, no s640) it took coding with a blank .MAN (though I think that didn't accomplish anything but resetting the date/time) then doing the SG_RESET as well.

Initially, coding the CIC with a blank .MAN got the 'telephone' option to show up, but it had the aforementioned problem from earlier in the thread where it just sits at 'please wait' for ever. The whole-car SG_RESET fixed that, we paired his phone, made a call, and all was good. Now I've just got to install a mic and antenna, and in his car we need to repin the mic and install an antenna.

glad you finally got it all sorted out. enjoy the BT phone functions.

[alexwhittemore]

Originally Posted by snoozee

glad you finally got it all sorted out. enjoy the BT phone functions.

Well, I will after I get the mic and antenna sorted. Ebay is dicking me around pretty royally right now. I forgot how badly this site is designed, I'm totally spoiled by amazon prime.

Thanks

[gjimmy]

So after Alex successfully coded my car this evening my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go behind the glovebox to see how difficult it would be to re-pin the mic.

The original post on this thread showed that there were 6 wires going to the harness behind the glovebox. Basically two sets of Black, Yellow and Clear wires. When I got back there I saw there were only 1 set. So I thought, "oh, that is the set that runs from the mulf, so I need to re-pin it at the MULF to tell it where to go."

I pulled out the trunk liner and looked at the MULF wiring harness and much to my chagrin, noticed there were no mic wires being run to the MULF. Very surprising because I thought that the Voice Command mic was controlled by the MULF unit. If the MULF doesn't control the voice command, what does? Am I missing something? There are definitely no yellow, black and clear wires going to my MULF unit in the trunk.

So, now I am thinking I need to run the mic from the trunk to the mic location. Just another roadblock in my quest for bluetooth!

Getting my phone paired and having it be able to make calls made my night…if only I can get the mic to work!

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by alexwhittemore

Well, I will after I get the mic and antenna sorted. Ebay is dicking me around pretty royally right now. I forgot how badly this site is designed, I'm totally spoiled by amazon prime.

Thanks

if you are able to buy from dealers/stockists, just buy brand new. i searched eBay for parts when i was doing the retrofit and the price difference between used and brand new is not much. at least buying brand new guarantees that the parts are in working condition.

[snoozee]

Originally Posted by gjimmy

So after Alex successfully coded my car this evening my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go behind the glovebox to see how difficult it would be to re-pin the mic.

The original post on this thread showed that there were 6 wires going to the harness behind the glovebox. Basically two sets of Black, Yellow and Clear wires. When I got back there I saw there were only 1 set. So I thought, "oh, that is the set that runs from the mulf, so I need to re-pin it at the MULF to tell it where to go."

I pulled out the trunk liner and looked at the MULF wiring harness and much to my chagrin, noticed there were no mic wires being run to the MULF. Very surprising because I thought that the Voice Command mic was controlled by the MULF unit. If the MULF doesn't control the voice command, what does? Am I missing something? There are definitely no yellow, black and clear wires going to my MULF unit in the trunk.

So, now I am thinking I need to run the mic from the trunk to the mic location. Just another roadblock in my quest for bluetooth!

Getting my phone paired and having it be able to make calls made my night…if only I can get the mic to work!

technically the voice control is by the MULF. do you happen to have a TCU in your car as well?

maybe some photos of the modules in your trunk and the wiring of the connectors will help identify what's happening.

[gjimmy]

Alright, here is what I have found with some pictures which may help.

I am referring to the box in my trunk as the MULF, which I think is correct, but it is entirely possible that I don't know what I am talking about and therefore it may be a TCU instead.

I have:

• a picture of what I found behind my glovebox.

• 2 pics of the MULF (?) unit in my trunk. (sorry for the poor quality)

• 2 pics of the wiring setup on the connector going to the MULF (with no mic wires)

Please have a look and see if this makes any sense to anyone.


Also, even though I do not have a BT antenna i had my iPhone in my car up by my center console and it was paired just fine and I could find the contacts. I would have made a test call but knew that the other person wouldn't be able to had me.