BMW 1998 e39 Hands Free Car Kit Installation.

Disclaimer:

These instructions are for 1998 BMW e39 and shall be used for informational purposes only.  I CAN NOT be held responsible for any misfortune you might have trying to do this installation.  YOU ARE DOING THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.  

Parts purchased:

From Smarteq (http://www.smarteq.com/)  1X Nokia 8260 Handsfree Pro P/N 70939.

From Digi-Key (http://www.digikey.com/)       1) 1X Header P/N 22-55-2181-P   2) 8X Pins P/N 16-02-0114-C (You can use a header from Radio Shack P/N 910-1530 instead of Digi Key header parts.)

From Radio Shack (http://www.radioshack.com/) 1) 1X 1/8" Mono Phone Plug P/N 274-0286  2) 1X 2.5mm Inline Plug DC Power Connector  P/N 274-0289

From BMW Dealer   1X Microphone P/N 84 31 8 380 338

I used above parts to connect the hands free control box to the BMW wiring harness under the center console. I used two short pieces of speaker wire to solder on the 1/8" Mono Phone Plug PN 274-0286 and the 2.5mm Inline Plug DC Power Connector P/N 274-0289 to connect the Mic and Speaker ports on the Nokia unit to the car wiring. The wiring harness which came with the hands free kit contained 4 wires; power, ignition, radio mute and ground these were soldered onto the header in the appropriate positions using wiring code provided below. All wiring color codes are a courtesy of DRaven.  

Visit  http://www.bmwtips.com/  Tips and Tricks, Stereo/Nav/Cellphone/Electronics: #17 for 99+ phone wiring and  #18 for more  98 e39 phone wiring pics.

Center Console - AMP 18-pin Female

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Pin#   Wire Color/Function

  1. Blue Pin 11 of DB-25 in trunk
  2. White/Red Pin 12 of DB-25 in trunk
  3. White/Green Pin 18 of DB-25 in trunk
  4. Yellow/Red Pin 1 of DB-25 in trunk
  5. Not Used
  6. Blue/Green Pin 6 of DB-25 in trunk
  7. Yellow Pin 23 of DB-25 in trunk
  8. Violet Ignition 12V
  9. Yellow/Black Battery 12V
  10. Brown/White Ignition 12V
  11. White Unknown
  12. Not Used
  13. Orange Pin 8 of DB-25 in trunk
  14. White/Grey Pin 21 of DB-25 in trunk
  15. Grey Illumination
  16. White/Blue Pin 7 of DB-25 in trunk
  17. Brown Ground
  18. White/Black Pin 24 of DB-25 in trunk

Left Side of Trunk  (Driver Side) - Female DB-25

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Pin#   Wire Color/Function

  1. Yellow/Red Pin 4 of AMP in center console
  2. Not Used
  3. Brown Ground
  4. Red Battery 12V
  5. Violet Ignition 12V
  6. Blue/Green Pin 6 of AMP in center console
  7. White/Blue Pin 16 of AMP in center console
  8. Orange Pin 8 of AMP in center console
  9. Not Used
  10. Black Radio Mute (Ground to Mute)
  11. Blue Pin 1 of AMP in center console
  12. White/Red Pin 2 of AMP in center console
  13. Not Used
  14. White Microphone (+)
  15. Brown/White Microphone (-)
  16. Red Battery 12V
  17. Brown Ground
  18. White/Green Pin 3 of AMP in center console
  19. Yellow/Black Speaker (-)
  20. Brown/Black Shield for Microphone
  21. White/Grey Pin 14 of AMP in center console
  22. Not Used
  23. Yellow Pin 7 of AMP in center console
  24. White/Black Pin 18 of AMP in center console
  25. Green Speaker (+)

Male connector for AMP 18-pin connector located in center console

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Pin#  Wire Color/Function

  1. Speaker (-)
  2. Speaker (+)
  3. Yellow from Nokia Harness (Radio Mute)
  4. Not Used
  5. Not Used
  6. Mic (-)
  7. Not Used
  8. Blue from Nokia Harness (Ingnition 12V)
  9. Not Used
  10. Not Used
  11. Not Used
  12. Not Used
  13. Red from Nokia Harness (Battery 12V)
  14. Not Used
  15. Not Used
  16. Mic (+)
  17. Black from Nokia Harness (Ground)
  18. Not used

Wiring harness from hands free kit plugged into the BMW phone wiring.

  1. Wiring harness supplied with hands free kit.
  2. Speaker plug (P/N 274-0286).
  3. Mic plug (P/N 274-0289), not showing.
  4. Hands free kit control box.
  5. Cable & connector from phone cradle.

Harness routing through the center console.

You also have to make a Male DB-25 connector for the trunk.  Sorry but I don't have a picture or part number, but you can get it at Radio Shack.

DB-25 Adapter for Trunk

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Pin#  Wire Color/Function

  1. Not Used
  2. Not Used
  3. Not Used
  4. Loop to Pin 8 (Battery 12V)
  5. Not Used
  6. Loop to Pin 15 (Mic -)
  7. Loop to Pin 14 (Mic +)
  8. Loop to Pin 4 (Battery 12V)
  9. Not Used
  10. Loop to Pin 18 (Radio Mute)
  11. Loop to Pin 19 (Speaker -)
  12. Loop to Pin 25 (Speaker +)
  13. Not Used
  14. Loop to Pin 6 (Mic +)
  15. Loop to Pin 7 (Mic -)
  16. Not Used
  17. Loop to Pin 20 (Ground for Mic Shield)
  18. Loop to Pin 10 (Radio Mute)
  19. Loop to Pin 11 (Speaker -)
  20. Loop to Pin 17 (Ground for Mic Shield)
  21. Not Used
  22. Not Used
  23. Not Used
  24. Not Used
  25. Loop to Pin 12 (Speaker +)

Wire Routing From Phone Cradle to the Hands Free Control Box.

Remove circled screw. (Passanger side front foot well)

Slide panel in the direction of arrow (rearward) to remove.

Remove the plugs (driver and passanger side) then remove the screws.

Remove the rear cup holder by opening it and gently pulling back, remove and disconnect the HVAC vents and finally the arm rest can be removed.  Remove both  circled screws.  This loosens up the center console to push the wire between it and the carpet from the phone cradle.

Remove two circled screws.  Gently push the wire in the crack between the lower dash and the center console (indicated by arrows) then follow the center consoles lower edge towards the rear of the car (arrows).  When you fed the wire under the center console to about where the sliding door storage box is, push the connector underneath also. Now it would be a good time to remove the above mentioned storage box by opening it and pulling it parallel to the bottom of this box.  Now connect everyting and test for proper operation.

I used a PRO-FIT  (http://members.roadfly.com/tslupek/e39.html) bracket (1. P/N BM-51-97 ) to mount the phone cradle on the passenger side of the radio.  If everything works then you can tie wrap all  loose wires and start putting evrything back in the reverse order you took it off.

Here is what the completed installation of the phone cradle looks like and it can be removed with minimal amount of work.

Features that work with the aftermarket hands free phone kit.

  1. Charger (ignition on or off)
  2. Radio Mute
  3. Voice through front speakers
  4. Built in microphone (above the rear view mirror)
  5. Phone operation with ignition on or off

The complete installation took about 2.5 hours and $220 worth of parts.  I did not install an antenna for this, because I do not have reception problems where I travel.  This whole installation was worth the time and effort.  It makes it so much safer to shift gears for you that have stick shifts, and no dropped phone.  The only drawback of this is that you look like a nut case driving and talking to yourself.


Adjustable Clutch Stop By Tom S.

This part was designed by me and machined out of aluminum bronze.  I adjust it by either putting a 10mm nut or some stainless steel washers between the head and the car floor.  Clutch feel and engagement is a lot better.  No rigging to the start switch was required.  The clutch engagement point on my car is right at or slightly above the start switch so the clutch stop is adjusted right below the start switch.  I experimented with different heights and I tend to like this clutch stop height, about 1/2" to 5/8" higher than the BMW clutch stop.

Tom Slupek

98 528i 5 spd Oxford Green, NW Burbs of Chicago