e8x Carpc Installation

krolinx · #1 01-25-2010, 08:47 AM

Well my car is an e81 hatchback, but this installation was the same in the coupe e82 and the cabrio.

Need a navigation system? Video? dvd? OBD2 connection? Phone bluetooth? Internet? Rear Camera? This is the cheapest solution:

I want my instalation looks like OEM because of this I bought at ebay.de (obout 100€) an origial flap screen from the oem navi

and I put into it a Hinolux 7" led touchsceren with a dimmer system (it reduced the brightness of the screen when I conect the lights at night). You will find easily 7" scrEens like Lilliput or Xenarc in the US.

to install this I had to cut the dashboard, fortunately BMW sells a stencil hat fix perfect to cut the dashboad,

well, this is my carpc components

Asus mini itx with 2 GB ram and Intel core 2 duo 1.6
dvd rewritable (You will not need it all the time)
HD Seagate 500 GB
M4 atx 250W power supply
SMC usb wireless 11.g adapter
Hub 4 port usb self-feed located under the glove
Space navigator of 3dconection for joystic with the rbd9 driver (like de bmw idrive) without integrate
Usb bluetooth dongle
Navilock usb gps antenna located in the gove (srifstar III)

OBD2 elm327 usb (only works with centrafuse by now)

120°high definition night vision rear view camera RCA (not installed jet)

I used an old wine case made of wood for the pc case, painted in black, also a put a big fan at the top, yeah this was the worst part of my installation (now I'm making a custom fiber case in the left of the trunk, when I open the trunk no one notice that ther's a computer there).

software:

front end: centrafuse 2.1 with the daylight/moonlight skins customiced for bmw

Igo8 gps, sygic 7, and many other navigation software you can Install easyly, and believe me, all are better than the BMW navigation software
and many software for obd2 that dosen't work by now (I'll buy a better interface by bluetooth to get Gauges).

I want to buy an i-bus resler in the near future to use the stretching-wheel controls with the carpc and also decode the video entrance for using the original bmw screen, but this doesen't works in this model, because the new BMW models mount Can-bus protocols unfortunately the's nothing to do with it jet.

then here's some photos of the instalation just one explanation of the wiring , data cable left side and power cable in the ride side of the car :

I connected the BMW flip up at the back of the radio plug

flip up plug: -> radio plug

pin 1 : terminal 30 (plus) -> Radio = pin 15 (red/green - thick cable)
pin 3 : terminal 31 (minus) -> Radio = pin 12 (brown - thick cable)
pin 5 : K_CAN High -> Radio = pin 11 (orange/green)
pin 6 : K_CAN Low -> Radio = pin 9 (green)

The original flip-up comes with the curcuit board and 2 cables running through the hole on the left side in the housing.

You need the cables on the left side. One goes in on the electric board, the other comes from the electric board to the motor. You'll need to wire the end outside the case up:

You will need to buy the left parts from the BMW dealer...

part numbers:

61 13 6909058 plug for the cable on the 2nd picture
61 13 0006663 contacts for the terminals to go from the plug to the radio (need to buy 4 of this)

Well a quick video of it:

YouTube- BMW E81 MOTORIZED SCREEN + DIMMER

The final touch.

3M carbon-fiber vinyl, to get my installation a little more clean:

Well I bought too much vinyl:

Yeah I know it's fake carbon fiber XD

Well I'll updae soon with a new computer location in the trunk, the instalation of the rear camera, and the new Xenarc tranflective screen that I bought.

Last say sorry for my english and the quality of some of the photos and videos. I hope it will help someone

xmetrix · #2 01-25-2010, 09:44 AM

HELL YES, another fellow DIY Carputer guy! Awesome install. My carputer is in the works and will log info from obdII as well as 10 cameras, gps, wifi, and more. I love the oem look on yours (except for the computer case, need to order up a custom extruded aluminum enclosure or something a lil less bulky, otherwise, great job!