Today I did something to my car (volume 2)

YbFocus

How would you know if your car got any updates that it needed bmstuff?

Is there some mfd shortcut to display a code or anything or must it be plugged in? Interested to know if there was anything available for mine that it didn't get.

bmstuff

YbFocus wrote: »

How would you know if your car got any updates that it needed bmstuff?

Is there some mfd shortcut to display a code or anything or must it be plugged in? Interested to know if there was anything available for mine that it didn't get.

Yeah I need to plug in the computer to see.
Usually you can tell by the idrive, if it is brownish if it usually a sign the car has an old software.
But I have seen cars up to date with an old idrive too. It was just replaced after the update as it died.
If your car was never updated of before 2008 then it makes a big difference. Especially if the car is automatic. Runs smoother, better fuel economy etc

YbFocus

bmstuff wrote: »

Yeah I need to plug in the computer to see.
Usually you can tell by the idrive, if it is brownish if it usually a sign the car has an old software.
But I have seen cars up to date with an old idrive too. It was just replaced after the update as it died.
If your car was never updated of before 2008 then it makes a big difference. Especially if the car is automatic. Runs smoother, better fuel economy etc

Well mine is a 2004 530d in manual, non-msport.
No nav in the Idrive and it's the type with the brownish tint



Such as this.

I may organise to call to you someday bm and get you to take a look

Black_Knight

Mar4ix wrote: »

ordered THIS THING .... with 91 % discount .. fingers crossed i will receive til the end of this year ( happy Christmas thing ) and it'll work :pac:

Ive used Aliexpress a few times. Granted 9/10 you'll be buying off different sellers, but any of the good feedback ones ive bought off have been spot on. China post will be about a month. Hong kong post got to me in 2 weeks the last thing I got.

Toyotafanboi

love that 5 series, full leather interior and a tesco value rubber mat :pac:

bmstuff

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

love that 5 series, full leather interior and a tesco value rubber mat :pac:

Rubber keeps you safe.

Spike Witwicky

Time to dumb things down a bit after that Beemer post
Wind Deflectors fitted

Interslice

bmstuff wrote: »

Rubber keeps you safe.

Tesco value rubber though? Wouldn't trust it :pac:.
I hate them mats, they always slide up behind the pedals.

Hal1

Nice ad Interslice .

TheBigGreen

NCT coming up tomorrow so have to remove my front tints for it.

Marty McFly

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Picked up the 7 from Lester Engineering today after the wheel refurb, got them to pop the new rubber on too. Have to say the Vreds are the best looking tyre i've seen to date, they look the business. Pleased with the results as the wheels and tyres were in rag order.

Not a perfect job all the same, some paint chipping around the center caps (shouldn't be visible when the new caps go in) and there's a tiny bit of rash still on the rear left, not sure how that happened. Pics are a bit iffy as I was loosing light but not bad:

How you finding the Vredestein? Have to say I'm loving them much better than the Bridgestone run flats that were on mine in every way.

Voodoomelon

Certainly smoother and quieter than the mishmash of worn Michelins and Pirellis that were on it. Been driving like a granny recently so not sure of grip yet but happy so far.

Cleveland Hot Pocket

Nothing major just some after work truck modifications:

Sprayed some hinges black that were rusty. I'll have to sand it back and do it again. Who says election leaflets are useless!


And then cleaned the alloys (which are not in great nick - I thought they were just dirty)
The other paper is from where I'm treating some rust on the surface. Not structural or crunchy yet so I wanted to nip it in the bud.

SniperSight

Replaced loose, worn and not working properly window switches.....
Before:

New OEM switches:

First remove door trim using plastic prying tool to avoid scratching surface...

Remove the screws behind removed trim...

Pry off plastic tab behind door handle and remove the screw that's now visible...


Lastly, remove the long screw at the bottom off the door...

Now separate the door card from the door body....YOU WILL break some of the clips, but if you don't have any replacements its no biggie as the door card will fit on again without them, and will be secure once screwed back into place.
To remove the door just pull it away, with force, fromt the door body, starting from the bottom. When you reach the top lift the door upwards and away from the body.
Then disconnect the interior door handle cable hook...
IMG_3063 by SniperSight
Disconnect the speaker cable (squeeze and pull up).....

Next the window control wire, just undo the pink tab and it'll plug out....

Now the door can be set aside to work on.....

Unscrew these Hex screws, there are 11 in total holding the door handle to the door card...

Next, release the two wire tabs connected to the switch unit, simple push and pull tabs.....


Now just separate the handle from the door card...


.....

SniperSight

Now, whilst pushing in these small rectangular tabs push down on the switches with force, the whole unit should just come out the bottom of the handle...

Here is the offending unit, the swivels on the switches were almost all broken/worn meaning they weren't making proper contact with the electrical switches...


Fitting is the opposite of removal, I now have complete proper function of all windows from the driver's door, including one touch up-down. Plus they aren't worn looking...

Noccy_Mondy

Wrapped some of the centre console in black gloss today. What a job. Awful tedious and annoying to do. Kind of rushed job when I got home from work, but despite that it took well over an hour and a half to do. I cut a few slits a bit short a few times so it looks a bit compromised in places, especially around the cup holder. But there is plenty left, so when I get Summer Holidays, I'll re-do it, when I can take my time at it!

Anyway, from the beginning...
Before:




After:
Sorry about the poor quality first pic, camera moved when I was taking it.


 

 

 

 

Karl Stein

The wipers were jamming on intermittent and lowest speed so after doing a bit of internets research (props to npoc.co.uk) I:

removed the wiper motor
drilled out the old rivets
cleaned the inside and put some new grease on the screw drive
bent the contacts forward a little
ground flat the old rivet remnants
scraped off the worn gasket/glue
drilled new holes
pop-riveted the mechanism housing back together
sealed it up with silicone to keep dust out
replaced it back on the car
problem solved.... for now.

Toyotafanboi

a big thanks to our local ded_zerba today for his donation to my bangernomics attempt.

4 pirelli p6000 with a reasonable amount of thread left. i'm very pleased. it'l be nice to get the bald cheng shangs off the corolla :pac:

date stamped the 22nd week 2008 so their 6th birthday is any day now :P

Black_Knight

Before:


After:

MuppetCheck

Very nice, they make a huge improvement.

bmstuff

2006 US specs Jetta owned by a lovely American lady that brought the car all the way.

Grom Audio handsfree module installation. You can stream music from your phone too directly to the radio. Works as an emulated CD changer.

YbFocus

You really come across some weird stuff BM

Noccy_Mondy

Some people probably like the reg plate where it is, but I would rather it up in the "normal" place.

bmstuff

YbFocus wrote: »

You really come across some weird stuff BM

I don't see the big deal personally I own a LHD too.

What I would consider weird is the guy calling me a 11PM on a Saturday night asking me if I can install police sirens on his 2 Ice Scream vans or another guy calling me and he goes like "Hey remember me, I am the guy with the BMW", Sure lol, "Or the Professional DJay calling me from the maternity hospital 10mn after his wife gave birth to his baby girl, confirming me the order for his new digital surround sound system in his epic X5"...or the guy giving me a used bag of rice so I could give him a discount.
Now that's weird lol

Bpmull

Today I went at fixing the non functioning bluetooth kit in the golf. It wasn't working since I got it and I've always been used to having one.
First I carefully remove all trim. Luckily I didn't break any clips as they are delicate. I suppose you just have to take you time and be delicate.

All the trim off in order to take out the radio.


The cables were not that neat and masking tape was used. It was a blown fuse that stopped the kit working. It is just an inline fuse once that was replaced It worked perfect. I decided to tidy up the cables and remove the masking tape and use insulation tape and then put the whole lot back together.


All the cables and cradle that were removed


After much neater without the cradle.


I had to go to 4 motor factors to get a fuse getting one was nearly the harest part of the whole repair. Total cost of repair 10 cents for the fuse. I done a good bit of driving today and the kit works flawlessly and connects itself to the phone straight away everytime.

bmstuff

BMW iDrive in e39. What the hell, why not. Let's get started.

The screen would actually fit perfectly and only a small custom made frame will be needed.
The original black plastic frame around the screen will be removed.

For the radio wiring, not a problem. All the same.
+/- and 8 wires for the sound.

Navigation is enabled already.

GPS signal: Not sure yet. Normally sent over CAN bus.
Technically a GPS device works fine without the impulse from a wheel sensor, but on those BMW navigation systems it is normally a requirement.
Maybe I can make it work without that input. A guy got it working on his Volvo so...

Stay tuned.

bmstuff

BMW E60.
HVAC module upgraded from manual to automatic
Nice little touch

colm_mcm

What's annoying about that is BMW went to the trouble and expense of dumbing it down just so they could charge extra for the proper system.

challengemaster

Not a bad weekend all in all, certainly not unproductive

Started out with a rover 75. Was prepared for hardship after servicing my own M47 last week, turns out it's stupidly easy due to the engine orientation!

Was well well overdue a service, but got the following:
Oil (6.8L :eek) + Filter
Air Filter
Fuel Filter
Cabin Filter

I've no idea how it takes an extra 1.3L above the M47 fitted to mine, but I'm glad it was the halfords stuff got for €2/L around christmas!

Actually amazing how much of a difference the above made. Car is much smoother and quicker, and quieter.

Then on to my own yoke.... to address the room full of parts lying doing nothing for months :pac:

DIY electric seat retrofit. Mother of god this is not for the faint of heart. That said, having never tackled electronics/wiring previously, it all went fairly smoothly apart from the contortions one has to do to work in the BMW fuse box.

Decided to run them relatively stock, so tapped into fuses 65 & 70 for the +12v, added 2 30AMP fuses in place. The passenger side was pretty straight forward. The driver side you need to take out half the dash :pac: The sunglass holder, cig lighter etc all needs to be shifted, as well as the window switches etc. Wire then run from the fuse box, down along side the stock wiring harness, across under the passenger seat mounts, up the side of the transmission tunnel, around near the gear stick, down the other side and over to the driver seat, all the time trying to follow the stock wiring.

There's a load of grounding points running along the door sills and all the way along the car, in the form of a bolt with a multi-plug block with one O ring on it. If you have the correct connector, you can plug into the spare spaces, or you can get your own O ring connectors from BMW and just add that. Either way, it's very, very straightforward to add the grounding wires.

Then just disassemble the seat harness plug, attach the correct connectors and plug them in the correct slots. Pop the whole lot back together and you're good to go.

Word of warning - do not try start the car without a seat in place and this harness connected. Otherwise the seat occupancy sensor check will fail, and you're left with an airbag warning light on the dash.

I'll post more detailed stuff later in the week (connectors to use, part numbers, etc)

bmstuff

I drove her all the way to the Vikings land

Casting day in Wicklow for season 3. What the hell. Who knows.