Backup Camera?

[STOOF]

hmmm I think i may be missing a wire harness.

I dont have any of this on the right




and i dont have anything with this black box




I dont have a cable that plugs into the navi plug, mode, or program on the module.




According to aleks he said hes had no problems getting the wire to fit next to the screen. But how i see it its completely impossible to fit it.

He also says the red screen is a sign of a bad/damaged wire, BUT it just doesnt make sense to me, if the wire was damaged or bad why would the normal idrive system show up totally fine.

I think im just missing something.

[sDrive35i]

Wasting no time with those mods I see. I would but don't really wanna do that to a lease.

[HpDellNestle]

Kudo to your patient. I will set my car on fire if I have to go through all those. I wish you luck, and would like to see the final product when you finish.

Originally Posted by STOOF

hmmm I think i may be missing a wire harness.

I dont have any of this on the right




and i dont have anything with this black box




I dont have a cable that plugs into the navi plug, mode, or program on the module.




According to aleks he said hes had no problems getting the wire to fit next to the screen. But how i see it its completely impossible to fit it.

He also says the red screen is a sign of a bad/damaged wire, BUT it just doesnt make sense to me, if the wire was damaged or bad why would the normal idrive system show up totally fine.

I think im just missing something.

[STOOF]

Originally Posted by sDrive35i

Wasting no time with those mods I see. I would but don't really wanna do that to a lease.

lol you saw my G37 bro you know how i do.


So Aleks said Persian54 has the old module and those wires were replaced with the ones i received so im not missing anything.

He said the red screen is normally a symptom of a bad wire, Ill see about getting a replacement.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by sDrive35i

Wasting no time with those mods I see. I would but don't really wanna do that to a lease.

Mine is a 24 month lease but I can't have a car without these goodies

and 2 years is 2 years, gotta enjoy it to the fullest

Originally Posted by STOOF

So Aleks said Persian54 has the old module and those wires were replaced with the ones i received so im not missing anything.

He said the red screen is normally a symptom of a bad wire, Ill see about getting a replacement.

This module I have is indeed an old one.

It was installed on my 09 Z4 prior to being installed on my current 11 Z4.
But before that, it was installed on my 2009 e93 335i by Aleks himself.
I was (IIRC) the first e93 he did an install on, it would be 2 years this sept if my memory serves me correctly

[STOOF]

Yeah i talked to aleks today and he told me exactly that.

Some good news, he found a picture he found from a Z4 install, it seems the cable going to the screen has a junction cable in the middle of it. So i have to find that and connect the cable to that. So im crossing my fingers that is the issue and it all works out.

Heres the pic he sent me.

[sDrive35i]

Originally Posted by persian54

Mine is a 24 month lease but I can't have a car without these goodies

and 2 years is 2 years, gotta enjoy it to the fullest




This module I have is indeed an old one.

It was installed on my 09 Z4 prior to being installed on my current 11 Z4.
But before that, it was installed on my 2009 e93 335i by Aleks himself.
I was (IIRC) the first e93 he did an install on, it would be 2 years this sept if my memory serves me correctly

What about voiding warrantee?

[STOOF]

^wgaf


I found that wire when i got home from work today, wired it all up properly and it works perfect! I still cant believe it, the factory wire has some processor or some shit in it that requires it to be first between the navi and module.

Gonna finally finish tucking away all the wires and putting her back together. Now i dont remember which screws go where :-X

[persian54]

Originally Posted by sDrive35i

What about voiding warrantee?

It's all about who you know my friend

Originally Posted by STOOF

^wgaf


I found that wire when i got home from work today, wired it all up properly and it works perfect! I still cant believe it, the factory wire has some processor or some shit in it that requires it to be first between the navi and module.

Gonna finally finish tucking away all the wires and putting her back together. Now i dont remember which screws go where :-X

Glad you got it worked out

[STOOF]

Thanks, I am too. lol I was honestly about to either give up, or take the screen apart and break out the soldering iron LOL

[persian54]

Now it's time for a SmartTop!!

I'd take the SmartTop over the camera any day. And that's saying a lot coming from me as I hate driving cars without rear cameras.

Believe it or not one reason I didn't get a GTR was I couldn't figure out how to install a rear camera (well I mean I personally can't do anything lol but the couple places I asked)

[STOOF]

ehh i dont see the need for the smarttop. I have CA so i can already do it from the remote.

[persian54]

Originally Posted by STOOF

ehh i dont see the need for the smarttop. I have CA so i can already do it from the remote.

CA has nothing on SmartTop

Since you've never had it you won't ever be able to understand my friend :P

[rrjacoy]

http://www.bimmerretrofit.com/store/...&product_id=52

I installed the above unit into a 2012 Z4 (E89). Not a trivial task. It took me a good 10 hours. It would have been easier if I'd had a service manual to refer to when removing panels and such. If you are going to install it yourself, here are a few things that might help.

First of all, purchase a set of automotive trim removal tools. If you are in the U.S. you can get a set at Harbor Freight for around $10. I have this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece...set-67021.html.

The control module plugs into the back of the radio so you just need to pull the radio out from the front to get to it. You'll have to remove the shift knob by lifting the trim around the knob and then pulling straight up (hard) on the knob. Careful because there is a ribbon cable attached to the knob so disconnect it first or be real careful. Once the knob is removed you can pull out the radio. You unplug the module from the back of the radio, remove a pair of optical wires from the module and plug them into the new module. Then you plug the old module into the other end of the new module. Very straightforward. Getting the radio back in with the extra wiring was a bit challenging. There is an empty space below the rear of the radio that the cables can fall into but it sometimes takes a little wiggling of the cables at the back to get it to fall into that hole. Once they do, the radio slides back in fairly effortlessly.

You need to run the wires back to the trunk. I ran them on the passenger side but you could do either side. I removed trim panels under the glove box and next to the lower speaker as well as the threshold panels to run the wires back. I ran the wires up next to the rear speaker and into the trunk.

To get the wiring back to the license plate light (which is the only option on the E89) I removed one taillight assembly and drilled a hole below the compartment where the light sits to route the wires from the truck compartment to the license plate light. I used a rigid fiberglass rod (the kind used to fish electrical wire through walls in houses) to get the wires from the license plate light hole to the compartment that houses the rear taillight. There isn't any access directly from the license plate light hole into the trunk so you have to make one.

There were a few issues with the camera assembly. For one, the camera was loose in the assembly so I had to take it apart to tighten the screws. (Easy enough) It replaces the existing license plate light which you remove by pushing it to the right (to compress a spring loaded tab) and then pulling down. It is connected with a quick release connector. The replacement contains an LED light module that you need to connect to the existing wires. Unfortunately the wires from the replacement LED are just bare wires with no connector so you need to cut the existing connector from the wiring harness and then splice the wires on to it. The wires are extremely thin so it's hard to crimp them. Also, there is a polarity to the LED so make sure you test it by turning on the lights before you make the connections permanent. There are no instructions for the light so you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right the first time. I installed bullet connectors on the wires and then sealed all the connections with heat shrink tubing.

The biggest issue with the camera is that the spring clips in the camera assembly are too narrow to fit in the hole above the license plate. I had to drill holes in one end of the assembly and then screw it into the bumper to hold it in place. Now that I am writing this I wonder if it would have been easier to remove the camera from the unit supplied by Bimmerretrofit and attach it to the existing light assembly? I would definitely give it some thought. I now have one regular stock bulb on the left side of the plate and the new LED on the right side so the lighting doesn't match exactly. Not a big deal though.

Once installed and coded using the iClick method the camera worked great. I have the park distance control (PDC) and the camera integrated with it nicely. It still functions on the right side of the screen rather than the middle. It is now oriented vertically instead of horizontally which is an improvement since now it matches the direction you are facing. When the camera first comes on, the text "BACK UP CAMERA" is displayed on the screen for a bit. I wish there was a way to turn that off. Also, the rear camera stays on for about 100 yards after you shift into drive. It would be nice if turned off as soon as you shifted into drive.

If you good with tools and you have a lot of patience then you might want to tackle this job yourself. Bimmerretorfit suggest you use a professional installer. I can see why, but that would have cost me about $1,200 more so it was worth it to give up a weekend. Sorry I didn't take any pictures but hopefully this narrative will help.

[VailM3]

do you leave hast the mounting position of the camera on the rear of the car?

[rrjacoy]

Originally Posted by VailM3

do you leave hast the mounting position of the camera on the rear of the car?

Do you mean a picture of the camera installed in the license plate light? I will take some pictures tonight after work and post them.

[rrjacoy]

Here are 3 pictures of the install. One is of the rear camera as you are facing it from the rear. Those 4 yellow spots around the camera are LEDs that come on when the camera is activated -- presumably to illuminate the area behind the camera when it is dark.

The second picture facing up at the camera shows how I had to screw it into the bumper because the supplied clips weren't wide enough.

The third picture is a shot of the camera view on the screen when it is active. The lines you see are from taking a picture of a video image. The image is actually clearer than what you see in the picture.