Replacement of OEM Sat Nav with Garmin, retaining ‘pop-up’ functionality

[AndyJ1]

Fantastic project Mojito!
I’ve also started cloning your project. Machined down my pcb enclosure to 32mm today on the milling machine and turned 4 nylon standoffs for mounting the pcb.
Hopefully extending the wiring tomorrow.

[Z4Mariner]

AndyJ1, Looking good ! Please post more as you go.

Mojito, look what you’ve started ! Thanks for encouragement.

AND the 32mm height is just about perfect ! Thinner risks being too tight to the circuit board, and much thicker can give some issues installing the project box (PB) in the available dash space.

- TIP on installing / securing the PB:

After I took the picture of my 'completed' PB, I realized that access to the connectors for the climate controls needed more room, and I re-cut the apertures for the wire bundles coming out of the PB. Unlike my photo, the new aperture centers are offset 2.7 cm from the center of the box - closer to the interior. I installed an M5 X 15mm flat head countersunk screw in the box bottom (from the inside) and epoxied it. The screw is centered laterally, but it is about 3.7cm from the center of my box, again toward the interior – allowing the box to be pushed further forward under the radio. These numbers are approximate, especially since the boxes may differ a bit..

To secure the PB, I repurposed the mount that originally located the white electrical connector for the display module. I added reinforcements along the horizontal beam that supports this mount, epoxying them to the beam and to the dash side frames at a height to match the mount itself. Viewed from above, the PB sits on a very wide "T", with the reinforced beam capping the "T". I extended the rectangular cut-out all the way to the edge facing into the interior. I put a washer on the M5 screw in the PB bottom, and I loosely started an M5 wing nut. As I installed the box, I guided the washer under the slotted mount, and I tightened the wing nut using a right angle pick to pull/push the ears.

What you see in this out-of-focus photo is the bottom-half interior edge of my PB, oak reinforcements epoxied in place, and the M5 screw and the wing nut.

[Mojito]

I’ve also started cloning your project

Hi AndyJ1 ... and welcome onboard. Impressive work milling down the pcb box to size Wish I had ready access to that kind of kit.
The great joy of these kind of projects is that they develop with more details and photos added to help others. Keep us updated, looking very good.

[Mojito]

TIP on installing / securing the PB:

Hi Z4Mariner. Well done, some really useful details there on the pcb and how to fit it under the radio

I arrived at the 32mm box thickness by trial and error with a series of carboard box mockups. Took a while and I was relieved when it slotted in neatly. Very nice work... a better fixing than my cable tie pcb box fixing under the radio, but that works too ... if not so nicely engineered

You're going to be up and running very soon

[Nuts]

Fascinated by this. Eagerly awaiting more images. Feel like somebody with access to a 3D printer could really take this to the next level. Would be great to have another solution than the Garmin that gives Apple Play functionality and potentially a wider screen.

[B21]

Great work chaps..come over to the (semi) dark side on E89s and start a whole new ball game!

[Z4Mariner]

Funny thing, but before I bought my E86 I was "supposed to" buy an E89 from a friend-of-a- friend. The negotiation began in the Fall, was interrupted by the seller's Arizona wintering, resumed the next Spring, and then the seller found out his wife really liked the car . . . and there was no sale.

Another friend thought I should buy an E85 like his, though I'm more a fixed-top person. I searched specifically for LCI, manual transmission E85's here in the States - and behold, my search included a "hatchback" selling from a Hyundai dealer, which now lives at our house

[B21]

Funny thing, but before I bought my E86 I was "supposed to" buy an E89 from a friend-of-a- friend. The negotiation began in the Fall, was interrupted by the seller's Arizona wintering, resumed the next Spring, and then the seller found out his wife really liked the car . . . and there was no sale.

Another friend thought I should buy an E85 like his, though I'm more a fixed-top person. I searched specifically for LCI, manual transmission E85's here in the States - and behold, my search included a "hatchback" selling from a Hyundai dealer, which now lives at our house

[Mojito]

come over to the (semi) dark side on E89s and start a whole new ball game!

Ah... been there and had a lot of fun - I had an E89 directly before the E85. Loved it... but ran out of upgrades I was 'happy' to take on With a lot of support from AnubisZed I did an OEM Sat Nav retrofit. Not in the same ball park as your amazing Digital Cluster install though which is mind blowing and well outside my comfort zone. Really enjoying your thread

[B21]

come over to the (semi) dark side on E89s and start a whole new ball game!

Ah... been there and had a lot of fun - I had an E89 directly before the E85. Loved it... but ran out of upgrades I was 'happy' to take on With a lot of support from AnubisZed I did an OEM Sat Nav retrofit. Not in the same ball park as your amazing Digital Cluster install though which is mind blowing and well outside my comfort zone. Really enjoying your thread

Yup that ID4cluster was a bridge too far...

[AndyJ1]

Z4Mariner, thanks for the very detailed heads up on the PB and thanks of your words of encouragement Mojito

I have completed the milling of the PB with the overall height coming out at 31mm, must have been a slight error in marking out! However, I have machined pockets into the base for added clearance for the components on the bottom of the pcb. The pcb sits just right with 5mm nylon standoffs.

IMG_1706.jpeg (122.22 KiB) Viewed 265 times

Machined cooling slots in the top of the PB. Lucky I haven’t yet positioned the wire holes, so will position them as per your recommendation Z4Mariner.

IMG_1707.jpeg (94.13 KiB) Viewed 265 times

IMG_1709.jpeg (103.29 KiB) Viewed 265 times

Despite being careful dismantling the original screen I have managed to scratch the soft touch coating on the housing . Going to have to remove it all and spray with Matt black and Matt clearcote as you did Z4 Mariner. Lucky I have paint left over from refurbing my MF steering wheel!

IMG_1713.jpeg (81.41 KiB) Viewed 265 times

[Mojito]

Really helpful refinements Z4Mariner & AndyJ1 Not my area of expertise, but sure someone could 3D print a box ... but that would take away the fun bit of cutting an off the shelf one down
Very useful info to take care not to scratch the soft coating on the housing. Irritating, but at least sortable.

[Z4Mariner]

Project Complete !

Summary of major features added:

a) Garmin® DriveSmart® 66 in OE enclosure
b) Garmin® BC50 Wireless Back-up Camera
c) BMW Business CD Headunit (CD53, line display w. CD controls)
d) BlueBus® Bluetooth module for handsfree phone & music streaming
e) Beüler (Crutchfield) Flush-mount USB-C / USB 3.0 charging port

Steps for (a) through (c) follow Mojito's mod closely. Parts (d) and (e) are a bit different, but in the same spirit.

After I organize a few more pictures, I'll add DIY comments for specific refinements. These include:

- How to unplug the Nav Computer but retain the Pop-Up feature of the Display Module (and why one might want to)
- How to fish wire through the rear bumper efficiently (don't waste as much time as I did)
- Options for wiring extra ignition-on, switched circuits
- How to mount the BC50 backup camera neatly on a car with bulky US/Canadian number plates.

I removed the console-mounted ashtray module for better access. The open space, together with the removable panel under the HVAC controls, gives more room to move wire harnesses and run new ones properly. While the ashtray and 12V power socket were accessible, I replaced the socket with a USB3/USB-C power port. The one from Crutchfield was not the cheapest, but it seems of very good quality. Grinding out the original power socket mount to exactly the outline in the module, it just fit. The new power port allows me to shut the ashtray when it is not in use, it displays battery voltage as well, and it turns on/off with the ignition.

I added Bluetooth by installing a BlueBus® - It’s more costly than some other options, but it’s been designed (by a BMW enthusiast, Ted) explicitly to modernize certain BMW platforms and integrate BT calling and music streaming with steering wheel and headunit controls in a manner that feels OE. Installation is straight-forward, and an E86 Z4 How-To can be found online. When BlueBus® is installed in supported and unmodified vehicles, it polls the I-bus and adjusts to the user interface it finds. It offers both streaming content and telephone connectivity - you can configure either or both. Ted's support is superb - he's experienced with BMW's, and with Z4 owners who have removed their Sat Nav systems. But he commented that Mojito's (and now my) mod of removing the display but leaving the PCB active was a new one. He was able to direct me to unplug the Nav computer to keep BlueBus® from thinking it had a GUI display instead of the CD53 headunit with its one-line UI.

The Garmin BC-50 camera works great, turns on in reverse, and the guide lines are adjustable to one's taste - or they can be turned off.

Thanks, Mojito !

[Mojito]

Project Complete !

Well done Z4Mariner... and thank you for all your input. It's always a leap of faith following someone else's mod and I'm pleased it's complete and working well

You've added some really useful information for anyone else considering this. I was particulary interested to hear you had gone for the BlueBus Module - a very nice piece of kit. Looking forward to seeing more on your specific installation and how you mounted the camera - never cossed my mind about different styles of number plates

[Z4Mariner]

Added comments in parts -

Shut off the Nav Computer but retain Display Module (CID) ‘pop-up’ feature. The Nav Computer uses the I-bus to send video signals to the Nav CID. Power for this comes from Fuse 49, and if you want (need) the Nav Computer off the I-bus, you could pull Fuse 49. But Fuse 49 also powers the PCB that we moved to its own project box, and the CID will no longer ‘pop-up’ or adjust for angle. Why can’t the Nav Computer be on the I-bus? I installed a BlueBus® Bluetooth module, which looks to see what hardware is on the I-bus, and adjusts to whichever of the BMW UI’s (user interfaces) it finds. In my case, the swap is partial – the Nav Computer is present, but there’s no GUI screen for configuring and using BlueBus®, so I need the Nav Computer off. I did this by removing the powder-blue connector on the back of the Nav Computer. Why not pull the computer? That requires removing the upper rear console, a complicated task with old, possibly brittle plastic parts. The back of the Nav Computer is slightly above and in front of the pass-through in the passenger compartment bulkhead, where the CDC (CD Changer) connectors are found. Fortunately, the blue connector I needed to remove is the lower one, and accessible (barely) via the pass-through. Once I knew what the connector looked like, which direction to move the latch lever, and how to press the button to release the lever, I managed it by feel. A mirror and good light are necessary, to train your brain for the blind manipulation – and it took me a few tries. Sorry the photos aren’t better, but they give an idea of what and where.

Nav1.jpg (204.15 KiB) Viewed 99 times

Where . . . .

Nav2.JPG (16.24 KiB) Viewed 99 times

What . . . It's the blue one on the left in the picture

Nav3.jpg (178.96 KiB) Viewed 99 times

Done . . .

The connector latch lever swings from left to right (and forward) to release. I leaned on a rolled-up towel in the boot, with a hex key to press the release button, so that my left thumbnail could push the lever and release the connector. With the Nav Computer off the I-bus, the BlueBus® immediately found the CD53 headunit and its single-line UI. It connects whenever the ignition switch is in P1 or greater, and it functions well with the multifunction steering wheel controls.