BMW E39 5 Series DIY

E39 Seatbelt Click Fix

diymybmw — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 08:44:14 +0000

NOTE: Perform these steps at your own risk. All P/N’s listed are a “best guess”, so please double-check with your local dealer. These mods and repairs were performed on my US-spec 1997 540iA (11/96 prod date, M62 engine) but there is no guarantee they will work on other E39′s. BMW lists different b-pillar P/N’s for different years so I’ve included alternate instructions for a 2000 model-year E39 which appears the same as a 1999 528i (Euro) I received an e-mail about from FrankM. Both E39′s required removal from the bottom first, so proceed carefully. These instructions are provided for entertainment purposes only!

BACKGROUND: I noticed a soft but annoying clicking noise coming from my upper seatbelt anchor. After hearing other complaints regarding the same issue, I researched and found a BMW technical service bulletin (SI 72-01-01) recommending replacement of a spacer on a customer-complaint basis during the BMW New Vehicle Limited Warranty period. Cars built after 01/2001 have the updated part.

My car is out of standard warranty, so I performed the repair myself. Since the seatbelt anchor is a critical safety component, I recommend having a dealer perform the installation, especially if you are under warranty.

Required Parts:

(Qty 2) P/N 72 11 1 978 983 Updated plastic spacer ring (a few bucks at the dealer)

As you can see by the following pic, there is a definite tolerance difference between the original (left) and updated (right) spacer in both overall height and flange height.

Required Tools:

3/8″ Torque wrench, 17mm socket

Door panel puller

If you don’t have a 1997 E39 and your b-pillar appears to be firmly attached at the top, try the alternate instructions below for removing the b-pillar from the bottom first.

1. Move the seat and seat back to a position where the B-pillar is completely exposed. Pull at the very top of the B-pillar trim panel until the fastener snaps undone (left pic). Pop the 2 fasteners at the middle of the pillar as well (right pic). If the body-side of the fastener comes out (see red arrow), use the door panel puller to separate the pieces.

2. The B-pillar separates into 2 pieces making it easier for access to the belt anchor. Loosen the sleeved-nut using the 17mm socket (see red arrow). Carefully remove the nut and seatbelt anchor. There’s a washer behind the anchor which should be left there.

3. Gently pry two or more of the tabs (see red arrow) while applying pressure on the other side of the plastic snap assembly. The two pieces will separate, allowing you to replace the thinner spacer with the updated one. Be sure to position it correctly.

4. Reinstall the seatbelt anchor with the metal washer still behind it and torque the nut to 31Nm.

5. Reassemble the B-pillar and line-up the sliding portion of the pillar to the anchor and anchor nut (see left red arrow) before snapping the 3 fasteners back into place. If the seatbelt is difficult to retract or the anchor height doesn’t adjust properly when the seat is moved back and forth, most likely the sliding portion is out of alignment. I’m unsure how the door seal was placed against the B-pillar (see right red arrow). I believe it was tucked in for the most part, but I’m wondering where it changes from being tucked-in to tucked-out?

For those that have asked the question, “How do you manually adjust the seatbelt shoulder anchor height?”, the answer is “It’s completely automatic“. When the seat is moved forward or backward, the anchor height automatically adjusts in unison. In the pic below, you can see the height adjustment cable which comes up from the seat.

For 09/00 and possibly later E39′s (from John Taves):
“My 2000 seems to have a different attaching mechanism at the top of the top interior trim panel. I tried to pop it out as you described, but I was putting too much force into it. I looked from the side and found that it had a tab and slot design that indicated it should be removed from the bottom.

To remove the top panel, you first remove the bottom panel. There is a plastic 1/4 round trim piece that is carpet colored that covers the carpet and door sill where your feet kick on exiting. Pull the rear seat one from the bottom away from the bottom b-pillar panel, so that you can pull the bottom b-pillar panel out from underneath it. The bottom b-pillar panel will need to be popped out at the bottom, but only the rear part needs to come free. There are two pop fasteners at the bottom. One is close to the rear 1/4 round and one is farther forward. Once you get the rear part of the b-pillar panel out from under the 1/4 round, you can then bend the whole b-pillar bottom panel so that the top part of it comes out from under the top b-pillar panel. Look at what is happening from the rear seat as you try to pry it all free. There are three tabs at the top of the bottom b-pillar panel that need to be freed from the top b-pillar panel, and all of them can potentially break.

Once the bottom panel is freed from the top panel, you can pop the two poppers that hold the bottom of the top b-pillar panel with a screw driver. The top then comes straight down after folding back the black door opening trim.”

At this point, continue at Step 2 above.

“To replace the panels, reverse the above, but I suggest placing the bottom and top panels together and then popping the poppers found at the bottom of the top panel in.”

Prepared by VietSB

Apple Ipod Installation

diymybmw — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:52:13 +0000

Purpose: To add an auxilliary audio input using the Tape deck audio outputs. The audio input will be used to connect an external MP3 player like the Apple IPOD.

Since I never use the tape deck, we decided that sacrificing tape functionality was acceptable. Basically, we cut the preamp output from the head unit that carries the tape audio signals to the rear of the car and spliced in the output from the MP3 player. You select the MP3 player from the head unit, we set the head unit to TAPE mode. A “dummy” cassette is always kept in the head unit in order to fool it into thinking tape is still a valid source”

Instructions:

1. Push button to make NAV Screen Tilt Out

2. Quickly Yank Surrounding plastic Bezel off. You have 15 seconds before Nav Screen returns to normal Position. Yank the bottom off first and then the top.

Picture courtesy of Dave Zeckhausen

3. Remove 2 Screws (brass color) from each of the top corner. Remove 2 Screws (Brass Color) from the bottom of the unit.

Picture courtesy of Dave Zeckhausen

4. Disconnect the two harnesses. One White (NAV Video Output etc) and Blue (Audio and power)

5. Locate the two Twisted pair wires (yellow=right channel, blue=left channel) from the blue connector wiring harness. We decided to cut these wires (leave enough length to reverse the process) so that any noise from the tape source is eliminated. Connect RCA(left and right) cables to these wires. < /STRONG>

6. Since the audio signal output from the IPOD was low, we have to add a gain control in-between the ipod audio input and the factory stereo tape deck audio input. We found this Audio Control Pre-Amp Line Driver for 100 USD. We had to turn the gain all the way up.
Here’s a rough Outline of the connection.
IPOD OUTPUT —– > Audio Control Input ——> Tape Deck Audio Input Signal

7. Connect 12V, Remote Turn On and Ground for the Audio Control Unit using existing harness that powers the NAV Screen. The Audio Control Unit fits nicely in the roof of the NAV Screen Cutout. Just use double sided tape to secure.

8. In order to fool the tape deck, we had to fashion a special cassette with no guts. Note the rubber band to ensure that both sides will spin.

9. I used a Radio Shack Cell Phone Holder Model # 17-548 and some Home Depot magic and mounted it using the small wood panel to the right of the steering wheel.

10. Finished Install – 5 Gigs of Music!!!

NEW UPDATE!!!! 07/30/2002

I just got the interface module from Blitzsafe Model# BMW/ALP V.1 w/ Auxilliary Input Interface (make sure to mention aux…they shipped me the wrong one prior to this one).

This is an updated interface from Blitzsafe that comes with an RCA cable input to hook up an external audio source such as an Apple Ipod or any other portable mp3 player using the BMW Changer cables (DSP systems need not apply- no idea why). Cost was $145.00 shipped via Fedex. This model allows one to connect an aux plus an Alpine CD Changer simultaneously.
There is another cheaper ($10 cheaper) model that eliminates the alpine cdchanger connector input. I think PeripheralInterfaces make a similar product.

I wanted a cleaner and less invasive install and blitzsafe finally got their product out (BTW…their website needs to get updated).

The audio comes out thru the head unit as CD #1. The sound seems a little clearer thru the CD changer cables without the line driver than the Tape deck audio link with the line-driver. Now, I just need to run a long RCA cable from the rear of the car to the front.

Now if apple ever comes out with the remote control for the Ipod, I will definitely try to hook up the steering wheel controls. BTW, www.mediafour.com has software that allows the Ipod to be connected to a windows pc with firewire.

arnolds

Battery Maintenance

diymybmw — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:41:04 +0000

BACKGROUND: They say it’s maintenance-free, but some folks on the bimmer.org board check and top-off their battery cell levels yearly, especially before summer climate arrives. I’ll let you decide…

Also, if you drive your E39 only on “select” Sundays, you might want to look into a battery maintainer/charger. Lack of use will eventually drain a battery and with replacements going from $100 (Douglas OEM) to $180 (OEM), proper fluid maintenance and charge level is a very good idea.

Required Parts:

Distilled water (only)

VDC Electronics, Inc. BatteryMINDer charger/maintainer/conditioner (~$46 including cigarette lighter plug from BatteryMart)

Required Tools:

3/8″ Ratchet, extension, 10mm, 13mm socket

Proper-sized Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the caps (a penny or nickel might work)

Squeeze bottle or large liquid dropper

Good light source

1. Disconnect the negative lead of the battery if you don’t trust yourself. I chose to leave it connected since I’m lazy.

2. Remove the 13mm bolt and nut holding the battery brace in place. It’s the yellow metal bar in the pic above. If you have a newer E39, the cell towards the front of the car might be obscured by the positive battery lead. Use the 10mm or 13mm socket to carefully remove the lead.

3. Carefully peel back both stickers.

4. Unscrew the cell caps one at a time. Fill with distilled water till the fluid touches the very bottom of the internal black plastic depth indicator coming down from the top of the battery cells. Do not overfill! Use a sports bottle w/ flexible straw or turkey baster to fill the cells with minimal spillage. Unscrewing the cap near the positive terminal might be difficult, but it is possible. They might be fairly tight the first time around, so if you decide you need to use hand tools, please follow my advice about disconnecting at least the negative terminal.

5. Ensure all the cell caps are back on to their original tightness, put the stickers back down, reattach the battery brace, and carefully reconnect the battery leads.

For charge level maintenance, I looked at the following:

Deltran Battery Tender PLUS! Sharp-eyed readers will notice the Deltran Battery Tender PLUS! looks *a lot* like the BMW Advanced Battery Charging System, but with the convenience of interchangeable plugs (permanent rings, alligator clips, and optional cigarette lighter). The dealer version might also have interchangeable plugs, but only the cigarette lighter appears to be included. It can be found cheaper at places like Chaparral Motorsports. For occasional use, the Deltran Battery Tender Junior is attractively priced.

Battery Tender PLUS Pros:

Charges at a higher amperage (1.25A) than the BatteryMINDer (1A)
Appears to charge the battery up from any voltage

Battery Tender PLUS Cons:

A possibly biased report of a semi-dangerous failure.

VDC Electronics, Inc. BatteryMINDer A nice benefit of BatteryMINDer is the “desulfation” feature. In some cases, it can bring a battery back from the dead, which the sales rep confirmed based on customer testimonials. I’d tend to trust the rep since his company sells both products and they are equally priced. I’m sure that feature isn’t always effective, but it’s worth a shot. Regardless, both products have fans so they are probably comparable.

BatteryMINDer Pros:

Desulfation capability
A possibly biased report and feature matrix.
Small footprint
Includes a free offer for a battery condition display called SureGuard for $5.95 S&H. It’s basically an onboard voltage meter (since our cars lack a visible voltmeter) and also absorbs some power spikes during jump starting.

BatteryMINDer Cons:

More of a “maintainer” than “charger” since it charges slower and will only charge a battery that is above ~10.5V which is sometimes very inconvenient.

Here’s a pic of the SureGuard and hard-wired charging connecter in my car for quick and easy hookup. I highly recommend adding a fuse to the positive lead if hard-wiring anything to a non-fused portion of the battery. I hope this doesn’t throw off the SureGuard reading or BatteryMINDer charging capability, but I feel safer.

Battery Storage Compartment

diymybmw — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:40:57 +0000

Drawback to this mod: If you are a golfer, you can see by the last pic that it’ll be difficult or impossible to fit 3 golf bags in the trunk after performing this mod.

Required Parts:

P/N 51 47 8 159 478 Rear right trunk trim (~$24 from Pacific BMW)

P/N 51 47 8 159 479 Plastic storage tray (~$5 from Pacific BMW)

Required Tools:

Thin flat-head screwdriver(s) or door panel puller (preferred)

1. Fold back the spare tire cover and use the screwdriver(s) or door panel puller to remove the 3 expanding rivets. The expanding rivet consists of two separate plastic pieces. The top flat piece has an attached center pin and can be completely removed from the bottom expanding portion of the rivet if necessary. This will reduce tension on the rivet and allow removal. Twisting the head of a screwdriver or screwdrivers might be enough to wedge the two pieces of the rivet apart. Once the rivets are removed, the battery cover should come right out.

2. Install the plastic storage tray into the trunk trim. Be sure all (5) tabs are seated properly. Remove the white vinyl fuse description sticker from your old cover and transfer it to the new cover. If you prefer, a BMW dealer parts counter should be able to sell you a new label for a nominal charge.

3. Reinstall the expanding rivets and enjoy the results.

M-Sport Steering Wheel Side Pod Replacement

diymybmw — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 07:37:59 +0000

NOTE: Perform these steps at your own risk. All P/Ns listed are a “best guess”, so please double-check with your local dealer. This repair was performed on my US-Spec 1999 540iA (6/99 prod date) and is provided for entertainment purposes only! (Thank you to Vietsb for the advice and wording here and throughout the document!)

BACKGROUND: When I purchased my 1999 540iA I was disappointed by the condition of the buttons on the right and left side of the steering wheel. The wheel itself was very nice with tri-colored stitching, 3 spokes and the M logo at the 6 o’clock position. The paint around the buttons was chipping and the buttons themselves worn and dis-colored from use.

While the vehicle was still under both the new car and CPO warranty, BMW chose not to correct this problem under warranty calling it “normal use”. I have heard of others who have successfully had these cosmetic problems corrected at no cost – I was not fortunate enough to rate this treatment.

Based heavily on the research and write up by Vietsb on the retro-fit of his vehicle with an M Sport Steering Wheel, I began the process of replacing my worn pods.

My listing on BMWTIPS.com’s E39 forum resulting in many helpful suggestions. One was a response provided by Mike Ernst who provided a diagram of what turned out to be my model M Sport wheel.

There appears to be several versions of the M Sport wheel as I learned upon calling and visiting my local dealer. At first they pulled up diagram 32_1234 which looked very similar to Diagram 32_1136 show above with one major difference – each pod had 2 buttons rather than three. As my car had three buttons on each pod, I stopped researching Diagram 32_1234 so do not have the part numbers for that style.

(There was a great deal of confusion by my counting of 5 buttons on each pod. There are in fact 2 rocker buttons and one solo button on each pod. The Left Pod has the Station up/Down rocker, volume up/down rocker and the hand free telephone solo button. The Left Pod has the controls for the cruise control. The dealer counted 3 buttons on each pod, treating the rockers as one button. I counted 5 buttons, treating the rockers as two buttons. They are in fact the same thing.) If you are unsure of the part numbers, you can follow the instructions below to remove the old Pods. On the back of each is the part number. I believe they all start 61.31-

One nice and unexpected finding was that the new Pods are made of a tougher, rubber material rather than the harder painted plastic of the old Pods. I’m unsure when these changed but given the condition of my old Pods in only 3 years, I understand why BMW changed. Hopefully you can see the difference in the image below.

REQUIRED PARTS:

P/N 61-31-2-695-128 M-Sport Wheel Multi Switch (This is the Right side Pod) Price of $88.38 from Pacific BMW – 800 909-7278
P/N 61-31-2-490-233 M-Sport Wheel Radio/Telephone Switch (This is the Left side Pod) Price of $60.60 from Pacific BMW – 800 909-7278

REQUIRED TOOLS:

Flat-head screwdriver
1/4″ Ratchet, extension, T-30 Torx bit
10mm wrench

PROCESS:

Step One – Disconnect the negative lead on the battery. I found my battery needed a 10mm socket rather than the 13mm others have mentioned in their write-ups.

Step Two - Loosen the (2) T-27 Torx screws located on the back of the wheel until the airbag is free. Note that the screws will not come out – they are sunk into the back of the steering wheel. As the screws are loosened, the airbag/horn module in the center of the wheel will come free so keep a hand on it as you loosen the screws.

Step Three – Slowly move the Airbag/Horn module away from the wheel until you can see and reach the cable attached behind. This cable disconnects by squeezing the top tab down and pulling the connector out. (Red circle on picture.) Always handle the airbag very carefully and store it with the face (BMW emblem) pointing upwards and nothing lying on top of it. In the event of an accidental deployment, you don’t want it flying to the ceiling or launching a screwdriver at you.

Step Four – You can start with either Pod as they work much the same way. I started with the Left Pod. The steering wheel is made of a flexible rubber material (left picture) and the Pods attach with four small feet that stick into the wheel in pre-determined holes. Please note that the next 2 images are out of sequence and designed to show you how the system works.

The easiest way to remove a Pod is to gently place a flathead screwdriver between the Pod and the outer ring of the wheel (there is a little space) the smaller the screwdriver the better. The Pod is quite deep so you will need to drive the screwdriver down to get behind the Pod.

Gently pry the outer edge of the Pod from the wheel. It should move easily.

Once the two feet on the outer edge have come loose, you should be able to grab the Pod and begin gently rocking while pulling away from the wheel. Do not try to pull the Pod off by continuing the rotation that the screwdriver started (outer edge over inner edge) – this will break the inner feet! It is much better to square the Pod to the wheel once the outer feet are loose and pull directly away from the wheel.

You will see that the Left Pod is connected with one cable. (The Right is connected with two.) Simply detach the cable, swap the old Pod for the new replacement and reconnect the cable. The cable is designed to fit on only one way so do not force it. Note: I have circled in red two of the four feet for reference only.

Install the new Pod in the opposite manner as it was removed. Line up the inner feet with the two holes in the wheel and press firmly until they sink in.

Make sure that the cable is in the small channel at the rear, top area where the Pod and back of the wheel come together. Also, ensure the cable is in the channel that runs from one Pod to the other across the top of the center section of the wheel. (Highlighted by arrows in picture).

Step Five – Repeat the same procedure for the Right Pod. Gently place a flathead screwdriver between the Pod and the outer ring of the wheel (there is a little space) the smaller the screwdriver the better. The Pod is quite deep so you will need to drive the screwdriver down to get behind the Pod.

Gently pry the outer edge of the Pod from the wheel. It should move easily.

The only difference is that the Right Pod has two cables – one red like the Left Pod and one white. Take note to ensure that you place the proper cable in the proper slot on the new Pod. To make this easier, the two cables have different shapes. Simply detach the cables, swap the old Pod for the new replacement and reconnect the cables. The cables are all designed to fit on only one way so do not force them.

Install the new Pod in the opposite manner as it was removed. Line up the inner feet with the two holes in the wheel and press firmly until they sink in.

Make sure that the cables are in the small channel at the rear, top area where the Pod and back of the wheel come together.

Also, ensure the cable with the red connector is in the channel that runs from one Pod to the other across the top of the center section of the wheel (marked by #1 arrows). The Cable with the white connector should connect to the center top of the wheel next to where the Airbag/Horn module connected (#2 arrow). There is no reason to disconnect this side of the cable but you should know where it connects.

Step Six – Reconnect the Airbag/Horn module. Again, use care when handling the Airbag. Simply connect the cable to the center receptor and center the module onto the screws.

Line the screws up with the threaded holes on the back of the airbag/horn module. While holding the module, tighten the screws from the back of the wheel. The screws will pull the module into place.

Step Seven – Reconnect the battery – Test the buttons and controls. You’re done!

Based heavily on the research and write up by Vietsb on the retro-fit of his vehicle with an M Sport Steering Wheel, I began the process of replacing my worn pods.

My listing on BMWTIPS.com’s E39 forum resulting in many helpful suggestions. One was a response provided by Mike Ernst who provided a diagram of what turned out to be my model M Sport wheel.

REQUIRED PARTS:

P/N 61-31-2-695-128 M-Sport Wheel Multi Switch (This is the Right side Pod) Price of $88.38 from Pacific BMW – 800 909-7278
P/N 61-31-2-490-233 M-Sport Wheel Radio/Telephone Switch (This is the Left side Pod) Price of $60.60 from Pacific BMW – 800 909-7278

REQUIRED TOOLS:

Flat-head screwdriver
1/4″ Ratchet, extension, T-30 Torx bit
10mm wrench