Bluetooth Installation July 2004

First off, I must say a huge thanks to Martin Bishop and BIMMERNAV for doing all the research and leg work to get this program rolling. Without them, we E38 owners would not have Bluetooth as an option.

I am not including detailed installation instructions here. I will just show the basics of what will need to be done during the install. Martin provides very clear and concise instructions with the kit. Feel free to email me if you have questions.

Here is an overview of what the kit contains.

This is the Bluetooth eject kit fitted with the standard oddment tray. BMW manufactures and sells "snap-in" connectors that your phone snaps into for charging and to connect it to an external antenna. Only select phones have snap-ins made for them. Check your local BMW Center for information. The snap-in's are NOT a necessity for the Bluetooth system to operate, just a nicety.

This is the Bluetooth eject box fitted with the snap-in for a Siemens S56.

Phone installed in the snap-in.

These are the connections under the armrest that must be made upon installation.

This is the BMW Bluetooth ULF module installed in the trunk. You can see the DB25 connection at the bottom as well as the Bluetooth antenna connection coming off the top. The Bluetooth antenna wire goes into the rear of the car into the C pillar where it connects to the Bluetooth antenna.

The Bluetooth antenna installed in the C pillar.

The Bluetooth ULF contains Voice Recognition for dialing names, numbers and a notepad feature. If your car has a NAV system installed, you can give it voice commands as well.

Your address book can show on the MID or the instrument cluster.

There is also a call timer built in. Some phones support reading of SMS messages on the MID as well.

SMS message displayed on the MID. Use the left and right arrow (next/previous song buttons for CD) to scroll the message across.