[Rotary Rasp]

Originally Posted by grzes

Please don't take it the wrong way, I made it to work, but here is some questions and observations I have:

for once you have never mention the canbus errors that are constantly coming up, second my directional lines are on and off, seams like they are having a good day and bad day which as nice as I would love to have them they are not crucial. The canbus errors indicate that this system is not working as everyone would expect, I am not sure how or why they were never mentioned here, unless for some magic thing you do not have any errors. Last thing I want is coming to the dealer for some service or when something is off with the car and they scan it and then say "well, here you go, you played with our system and it is your fault now".
I can't say it is not working, the camera is working, I don't understand why other have problem as well, after all if they do follow my diagram (colour connection not working, in my case every colour on the emulator did not match colours on the vehicle harness). Is it how those cables are twisted?? well maybe but again, bus errors is not something I want to see after doing DIY like this, might as well have no camera but have error free car. I honestly wish the errors were mentioned cause I would not touch this if I knew.

I'm not sure what guidance lines are you talking about? Are you referring to the ones that are integrated with iDrive? They should never work.

The lines that come with ebay kit are a function of the camera unit, not the emulator. They are just static super-imposed lines over the image that are completely useless. By default, the are disabled but you can enable them by cutting the little white wire on the camera connector.

I'm pretty sure your canbus errors are likely because you don't have enough twist in the canbus cables. I bet they would disappear if you disconnected and re-twisted them.

[Ozam]

I have the utmost respect for those people who got this install to work. However, if you scour the BMW internet forums (E9x and others) it is hardly a guaranteed end result. There seem to be a lot more failures than successes. Are we stupid....perhaps. Can we not follow directions.....maybe. But, the point is that if one wants to retrofit a rear camera they can eliminate a lot of potential aggravation and frustration by simply paying Bimmertech or whoever for a plug and play solution.

[Ozam]

I finally got the rear camera to work.....thank G-d! The camera image looks great in the day and night and the image turns on and off extremely quickly. My image even pops up before the CIC has even finished "warming up."

I still stand by my earlier posts that this is not a simple install and most would be better served to pay the extra money for a more engineered solution to eliminate issues.

Here are some helpful hints in no particular order.

1. follow the coding instructions from the OP. works perfectly. you can code before or after the install. please note that if you code before the emulator installation you will not see the PDC screen (only hear it) until the emulator is in place.

2. if you do not have a fold down rear seat you will need to remove the rear seat and back to access the grounding post. search the internet for instructions how to unlock the back from in the trunk.

3. use dish washing soap or something similar to pull the cables from the truck through the rubber gasket into the rear compartment. at first blush you think no way, but with the lubrication it is not problem. use a lot of electrical tape to connect to a hanger and to protect the connections. if you don't pull through gasket water can potentially leak into trunk.

4. definitely buy the 40 pin wiring harness. you want to do your splicing into this harness and not the original one. the wiring schematic posted by Grzes is perfect but note that it is a mirror image of the wiring harness. Only the original harness shows pin numbers so work VERY carefully to ensure that the wires you splice will flow from the correct pins on the original harness. The pins are very small and the area is tight so get your reading glasses!

5. there is a small ledge above the CIC where you can place the emulator but the original harness and the wiring harness will needed to be tucked back into the space in the bottom right. reach back in the CIC space with your hand and and you will feel the open area to the right. it is tight behind the cic unit!

6. there is no need to remove the glove compartment. there is a panel behind it that comes off with two screws. the video/power cable can easily run behind it.

7. fortunately, all the electrical clips connecting the video screen, start/stop, door lock, blinkers, A/C unit, etc. are reasonably obvious to remove (this can otherwise be a nightmare!). virtually impossible to hook back up wrong....take pics just in case. the only thing you need to unplug from the CIC is the harness....the CIC pulls out far to do the work.

8. the scariest times were removing the A/C unit controls (it is really just a thin control unit and pops out with some gentle nudging) and the large face plate covering the CIC (is also just pulls off with some encouragement!)

9. make sure you snap the rear camera in good. if it does not seat well try again.

10. i have not scanned for any Canbus errors but everything seems to be working normally.

11. Having an assistant helps!

[bluposeidon]

[QUOTE=Ozam;17328412]

10. i have not scanned for any Canbus errors but everything seems to be working normally.

if you don't try whit a scanner there are no problems!!I noticed that by connecting different points in the network can change the error. The emulator for nbt recommend connecting behind the klima..
I'll try.
I deleted the errors and made 500 km, no error. When the car sleeps errors return.

[grzes]

Originally Posted by Rotary Rasp

I'm not sure what guidance lines are you talking about? Are you referring to the ones that are integrated with iDrive? They should never work.

The lines that come with ebay kit are a function of the camera unit, not the emulator. They are just static super-imposed lines over the image that are completely useless. By default, the are disabled but you can enable them by cutting the little white wire on the camera connector.

I'm pretty sure your canbus errors are likely because you don't have enough twist in the canbus cables. I bet they would disappear if you disconnected and re-twisted them.

oh, so the white should be cut? And I was under the impression that the white was suppose to be untouched, will try this, thanks for the info. The kit did not mention anything about the white wire.
I know the lines will not turn with each wheel turn but they do give you extra guide while backing up especially in the tight space and you can still judge your distance to the object by them, other than that no need for them.
The canbus really worries me as my car is still under the warranty. I will try the twisting once again, I have already re-twisted the original harness as it was except the little splice area and the cables from the emulator. I will take everything apart once again and try to re twist all as much as I can. Once again Thank You

[Rotary Rasp]

Originally Posted by grzes

oh, so the white should be cut? And I was under the impression that the white was suppose to be untouched, will try this, thanks for the info. The kit did not mention anything about the white wire.
I know the lines will not turn with each wheel turn but they do give you extra guide while backing up especially in the tight space and you can still judge your distance to the object by them, other than that no need for them.
The canbus really worries me as my car is still under the warranty. I will try the twisting once again, I have already re-twisted the original harness as it was except the little splice area and the cables from the emulator. I will take everything apart once again and try to re twist all as much as I can. Once again Thank You

Yes, if you want the lines you'll need to cut the wire.

[grzes]

Originally Posted by Rotary Rasp

Yes, if you want the lines you'll need to cut the wire.

well it is cut and no lines what so ever, I had lines showing for couple of days when I re-connected them but then magically they did disappear and never came back so I split the wire again.

[Rotary Rasp]

Originally Posted by grzes

well it is cut and no lines what so ever, I had lines showing for couple of days when I re-connected them but then magically they did disappear and never came back so I split the wire again.

Weird, sounds like your camera is bunk. Ditch the lines

[grzes]

Originally Posted by Rotary Rasp

Weird, sounds like your camera is bunk. Ditch the lines

ya, not worry that much about those line, would be nice to have but it is not crucial, as long as PDC still working I can see the difference in the distance between left and right I might upgrade the camera one day when they start selling the wide angle one

[grzes]

ok, so latest update on the adventure of installing the camera
well, it is finally working as I wanted it, guide lines are also present, as Rotary Rasp said, the white cable has to be cut, also this is the most important part: it was not stressed enough how important it is to keep those can-bus wires (pin 9 & 11) twisted as it was by the factory and wires from the emulator also as twisted as they came from the seller. Only after re twisting all the wires the camera started to show guide lines or no lines (depending if you keep that loop cable broken or not). The $130 camera project works, was it worth of the troubles, well it was frustrating at the moments but now knowing what I have learned yes. Thank's to Rotary Rasp for help and placing this DIY.
Key things to remember:
- double check your connections as per diagram I have posted previously (do not follow the cable colors as depending on the emulator you get wires might be different colors)
- double check your wires once again (I did it twice but till i used the multimeter I did not see my mistake)
- make sure if you untwist some wires to make the connection you twist them back as tight as they were before (applies to both from original harness as well as the one from emulator)
- if your wire that suppose to power up the camera has no voltage in it, most like your connections are not working, check the wires and connections again.
- if you see some codes popping up (using ODB2 reader) that means your can-bus cables are not twisted enough and there is some communication issue (re twist the wires)

To be honest, after doing it and learning a lot from it, I can honestly say if you know what you are doing (or if I would have to do it again) it should take you anything between 1 to 2 hours and you should be done (not including the coding). I think getting the trim pieces off takes longer than the actual connection of the emulator

[PAUL335D]

Has everyone that had issues or errors on there car had a retrofitted cic that has a emulator?

Has any one tried it on a factory fitted cic that doesnt have emulator to activate navigation

[PAUL335D]

Just wandering if it could be the two emulators causing issues and errors together

[esberelias]

Originally Posted by grzes

ok, so latest update on the adventure of installing the camera
well, it is finally working as I wanted it, guide lines are also present, as Rotary Rasp said, the white cable has to be cut, also this is the most important part: it was not stressed enough how important it is to keep those can-bus wires (pin 9 & 11) twisted as it was by the factory and wires from the emulator also as twisted as they came from the seller. Only after re twisting all the wires the camera started to show guide lines or no lines (depending if you keep that loop cable broken or not). The $130 camera project works, was it worth of the troubles, well it was frustrating at the moments but now knowing what I have learned yes. Thank's to Rotary Rasp for help and placing this DIY.
Key things to remember:
- double check your connections as per diagram I have posted previously (do not follow the cable colors as depending on the emulator you get wires might be different colors)
- double check your wires once again (I did it twice but till i used the multimeter I did not see my mistake)
- make sure if you untwist some wires to make the connection you twist them back as tight as they were before (applies to both from original harness as well as the one from emulator)
- if your wire that suppose to power up the camera has no voltage in it, most like your connections are not working, check the wires and connections again.
- if you see some codes popping up (using ODB2 reader) that means your can-bus cables are not twisted enough and there is some communication issue (re twist the wires)

To be honest, after doing it and learning a lot from it, I can honestly say if you know what you are doing (or if I would have to do it again) it should take you anything between 1 to 2 hours and you should be done (not including the coding). I think getting the trim pieces off takes longer than the actual connection of the emulator

Where in Canada do you live?!?!

[n8s 330xi]

Has anybody coded this using the BMWhats app? I'm trying to find something in there to activate, but I don't see it. Is it because I don't have PDC?

[esberelias]

This is great write up man Nice work!

Could someone push me in the right direction as in coding? like add option $3AG to VO....

Where can I find threads/YT videos to teach me?

EDIT: Found some PDF's that walk me thought some of it I'll keep digging!

[Panda-Man]

I had my car door replaced last week and when I picked up my car on Friday, everything was fine. Today, while picking up some groceries after work, my backup camera's picture became upside down. Know what might had happened? Would changing the door mess up the camera? It was fine over the weekend and Friday but not today (Monday). Thanks.

[grzes]

Originally Posted by n8s 330xi

Has anybody coded this using the BMWhats app? I'm trying to find something in there to activate, but I don't see it. Is it because I don't have PDC?

you can't use BMWhat app for that type of coding, you need someone who uses laptop for coding and they do have to enter those things manually.

[grzes]

Originally Posted by esberelias

This is great write up man Nice work!

Could someone push me in the right direction as in coding? like add option $3AG to VO....

Where can I find threads/YT videos to teach me?

EDIT: Found some PDF's that walk me thought some of it I'll keep digging!

the codes and modules that have to be changed and updated are posted by the OP on the first post. For coding, well I found it easier to find someone who can do it, someone who knows how as I heard you can mess it up if you don't know what you doing. So if you have no experience in coding I would advise you to find someone who does and is willing to do it for you, sometimes it is safer just to pay

[grzes]

Originally Posted by llee5354

I had my car door replaced last week and when I picked up my car on Friday, everything was fine. Today, while picking up some groceries after work, my backup camera's picture became upside down. Know what might had happened? Would changing the door mess up the camera? It was fine over the weekend and Friday but not today (Monday). Thanks.

LOL that is funny
which door?? site door?? or trunk?? if they played with trunk then I would advise you to check the wires and connections First thing that comes to my mind is RCA wires, maybe they are reversed, but I am not sure if that would turn the screen up side down or you would loose the video feed, don't have the experience with up side down displays but it would be the first thing I would check. Or maybe there is a way of twisting the camera, not sure what handle you got

[Panda-Man]

Originally Posted by grzes

LOL that is funny
which door?? site door?? or trunk?? if they played with trunk then I would advise you to check the wires and connections First thing that comes to my mind is RCA wires, maybe they are reversed, but I am not sure if that would turn the screen up side down or you would loose the video feed, don't have the experience with up side down displays but it would be the first thing I would check. Or maybe there is a way of twisting the camera, not sure what handle you got

It's passenger door. It is indeed an odd problem, not sure what is really wrong....

[Rotary Rasp]

Originally Posted by llee5354

I had my car door replaced last week and when I picked up my car on Friday, everything was fine. Today, while picking up some groceries after work, my backup camera's picture became upside down. Know what might had happened? Would changing the door mess up the camera? It was fine over the weekend and Friday but not today (Monday). Thanks.

That's a first. My bet would be a defective camera. Try plugging a different source into the rca connector in the trunk.

[wildcatcrazy]

Originally Posted by grzes

you can't use BMWhat app for that type of coding, you need someone who uses laptop for coding and they do have to enter those things manually.

I can do it remotely if needed. I also have extra cables that I can mail to keep you from buying one.