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Phone Install

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Motorola CPT series phones installed in E38s. The information from Motorola and BMW indicates that 740s built starting in May �97 or 750�s built starting in September �97 can be upgraded to CPT 7000s or CPT 8000s. I�m not certain, but I believe that the dates listed may coincide with the change from the hardwired handsets to the portable CPT 6000 phones.

The CPT 6000 phones are a Motorola non-flip analog model.

At first glance, the CPT 6000 eject box looks similar to the CPT 7000 and CPT 8000. The easiest way to tell the difference is to look at the plug. The CPT 6000 has prong shaped pins and a round connector at one side. (The CPT 7000 and CPT 8000 connectors are flat along one side with no round connector.)

(No picture at this time)
The CPT 7000 is a modified version of the Black Motorola StarTac phone. Most of them are single band dual mode, but I know that at least one dual band triple mode phone was made specifically for the AT&T One Rate plan.

The CPT 8000 is a modified version of the Silver Motorola Timeport phone. They are all dual band triple mode phone. The eject box is almost identical to the one for the CPT 7000, but it is actually slightly wider to accommodate the slightly wider CPT 8000 phone. I believe that it also has one more wire in the cable.

Here are some common components in the E38 electronics compartment in the trunk.
Upper row from left to right: CD-changer mounting bracket (front side down), DSP amplifier, navigation module with drive. Center row: CPT 6000 or CPT 7000 mounting bracket, the black finned box mounted to the bracket is the CPT 7000 or CPT 8000 compensator (the CPT 6000 power booster is almost identical), mounted under the compensator but not very visible is the auxiliary module for the MKII navigation system (the MKIII navigation system does not use this module), the small silver box above it in the picture is the SES voice module, the large silver box to the right is the video module. Bottom row: CPT 8000 mounting bracket, which goes in the same location as the video module, CPT 8000 telematics (electronics) box, CD changer.

This is what the electronics bay looks like with all of the electronics removed. Note some of the wires that can be seen in the picture are not part of the factory installation.

This is the CPT 8000 telematics (electronics module). The bracket does not appear to be the correct one to mount it in the space that was previously used for the CPT 6000 or CPT 7000 electronics module. It is at the wrong angle to fit properly. I can�t use the newer mounting bracket because it uses that same space as the video module and I already have the video module located there.

This is the SES voice module and adapter cable. Newer cars have the blue plug and wiring for the SES module built in. Older models need to have it added. There connections are as follows. The large blue connector plugs into the SES module. The large white connector �Ts� into the white connector mounted near the left tail light. The small white connector �Ts� into the microphone connector that goes into the phone module.

This is the video/television module and wiring harness. Minor modifications to the existing wiring harness are necessary to install this module. There is no way to hook up any video input into the system without it.

The wiring harness for the video module must be tapped into the existing wiring harness.
The photo on the left shows the wires being soldered together. They are then insulated with electrical tape. The harness that previously went to the navigation module gets split in half, with one of the two connectors being rerouted to the video module. One of the connectors from the added wiring harness then gets routed up to the navigation module.

This photo shows the CPT 8000 module mounted where the CPT 6000 and CPT 7000 were, but I must not be using the correct bracket. There is too much angle for it to fit in this position with the other modules mounted.

This is the DSP amplifier for the audio system.

Here is the DSP amplifier mounted in the car.

This photo shows some of the wiring near the tail light. The pink and brown wires connect to the backup lights to activate my rearview camera, which switches on whenever I shift into reverse or press an override button. The two black cables going through the grommet in the lower right corner are the power and signal cables for the bumper mounted rearview camera. The white connector about a third of the way up on the left is where the analog to digital and/or SES wiring harness cables plug into.

This photo shows the analog to digital wiring adapter.

Sorry for the poor focus, but this picture is attempting to show the SES voice module wiring adapter. The two white connectors toward the center �Ts� into the microphone input on the existing wiring harness. The white plug on the far left �Ts� into the white connector mounted near the tail lights.

Here, the bracket for the CD changer and the bracket with the compensator and navigation auxiliary module are mounted. The navigation auxiliary module is the aluminum box behind the bracket on the left side with the multicolored cable on top. Just behind it you can barely see the finned black box that is the compensator.

Everything is coming together nicely. The CD changer is now mounted in its bracket.

The video module is now mounted to the left of the CD changer. Not that this is the preferred location for the CPT 8000 electronics module. Since it can�t fit into this location with the video module, I mounted my phone module in the very back where the CPT 6000 and CPT 7000 came mounted from the factory.

The last part that goes in before the cover is the SES voice module. I don�t have the updated CD changer brackets with the mounting bolts for the SES module in this picture, so the module is just sitting loose in the lower right corner.

Here is a view looking down. The video module is in the front on the left. The silver box with the mounting ear behind it is the CPT 8000 electronics box. Since I have not been able to find the right bracket and haven�t taken the time to fabricate my own, it is just sitting loose back there. The back part of this area is padded and with all of the wires back there, the clearance is pretty tight and the module isn�t going anywhere. The navigation module is temporarily installed above the CD changer to test everything. The final installation has to be made with the cover on.

Here is everything with the cover back on.

Once the CD changer mount with the proper bolts for mounting the SES module arrived, I disassembled half of the components to install it.

I discovered that there wasn�t enough clearance for the video module cables as I had wrapped them earlier, so I have split the bindle in two so that it is thinner as it crosses over the mounting bracket.

This photo shows the Ford radio removal tool that can be used to remove the navigation unit. You can purchase one from just about any car stereo store. The last time that I checked, Wal-Mart had them as well. They run about $6. You can also use small finishing nails or coat hanger wire. All that you need is to insert metal pins into the two holes on either side. This releases catches that allows you to slide the entire unit forwards. There is normally a small trim ring that can be removed once the navigation drive is removed. I don�t use mine since I tend to be accessing the electronics compartment more than most people. It is not very visible, serves no other purpose and would tend to slow me down.

Please browse to the following pages:

1 Introduction
2 In the Beginning
3 From the Front
4 From the Side
5 From the Rear
6 The Interior
7 The Audio Video System
8 Both of My 750iLs
9 May Puget Sound Meet
10 June Puget Sound Meet
11 July Puget Sound Meet
12 Engine and Drivetrain
13 BMW Club Concours d'Elegance
14 BMW Advanced Driver Training
15 BassLink Install
16 Oil Change and Oil Pump Bolt Check
17 Quad Rear Brake Lights
18 Phone Install
19 Jets
20 Strong Strut
21 Eisenmann Exhaust
22 Sway Bar Upgrade