BMW E39 530i M-Sport Individual Aegean Blue Edition 2003

[kokwei9035]

Close enough...I'm from Sg Petani, Kedah originally. but will try to find work in KL when I get back.

oic, very nearby.....when r u coming back? probably Sept or Oct?? and you did mentioned that your e39 will be reaching about Nov.....can't wait to see your car...

 

[e39touring]

One of my friend suggested that I repaint the car to white and tint the window black once I get back to Malaysia. He said will look better. I said noooo waaaayyyyy this is a special edition colour..no chance of me changing it. Even if I need to repaint I'll repaint the same colour again.

Hehe..I guess its just my luck that I'm here, choices are plenty. There are even 3 more (THREE!) of the exact same car (Aegean Blue special edition) selling on Autotrader but for so much more money. I'm lucky I got mine quite cheap. And its years of researching and looking at photos and drooling before i know what spec I want and I stuck to those specs that I've set.

I spent at least 1-3 hours everyday on autotrader over the past year looking at these cars. Been drooling mostly but didnt know when I could buy one.

Been living the dream since I bought it a month ago...everyday also trying to find an excuse to drive the car somewhere..when I come back home normally I took the long road. Near my house is a highway and sometimes I even turned back and do another round before I come home (highways are free here..no tol tol) and when arrived I stayed in the car for at least 10 mins..belek belek...before I went into the house. hehe. Living the dream.

Nooo! Hell No! Too many white re-sprayed on the road today. Its the colour of my Wira in the late 90s. Furthermore not all cars look good in white. E39 with those soft edges, Blue is awesome, let alone Agean Blue. Its a keeper

 

[minivan]

Sell off the e46 and buy e39..racunnnn..:stupid:

Have tot of dis many-many times, especially given the prices of e39s nowadays... but even tho i'm going :banghead: the car's got no hutang, been super reliable, but most of all its sentimental. Shes taken me all over the UK.. Scotland, Wales, London...

i went :banghead: as it could have been an e39 m-sport that was sentimental... tu je... especially after seeing dis superb example :top:

 

[haywire]

Officially failed attempt to repair the pixel problem. Sending it to a specialist to repair it.*Sigh*

UPDATE: Still trying to repair it myself, but requested another ribbon cable from the seller since the one I got have been damaged. Free replacement.

 

[haywire]

oic, very nearby.....when r u coming back? probably Sept or Oct?? and you did mentioned that your e39 will be reaching about Nov.....can't wait to see your car...

Coming back in August. car probably gonna be out in Nove due to all the paperworks/tax and also raya (government standstill - all holiday hehe)

 

[haywire]

Anyone know where I can get a DVD navigation dics for Malaysia? (BMW navigation - not Garmin etc) Will need one when i get back

 

[IanDaddy]

Retrofit Cup-Holder

Dear Haywire,

Nice ride you've got there. Just wondering where you got that cup-holder retrofit.

Thanks in advance.

 

[haywire]

Dear Haywire,

Nice ride you've got there. Just wondering where you got that cup-holder retrofit.

Thanks in advance.

BMW dealer (AB should have it I guess in Malaysia), but eBay also have this item. Costed me about £33. Part number 51168190206.

This is an ebay listing for the item: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Genuine-BMW-E39-Front-Cup-Holder_W0QQitemZ120544571111QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item1c11042ee7

See also here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=DT62&mospid=47546&btnr=51_2264&hg=51&fg=35

Its the number 7 in the diagram

Easy fix, just take out whatever in its place out, put that cupholder in and two screws. Thats it.

My advice: Don't buy second hand for this item, because it is quite fragile and would easily break if its quite aged. Also the new item (as the one in the ebay listing) is of a new improved design and better quality. I know because I tried both.

 

[bimmerholic]

Bro any latest updates on your meter cluster so far or any other thing that you've done to "her" lately?

 

[haywire]

Bro any latest updates on your meter cluster so far or any other thing that you've done to "her" lately?

I have done the AV plug in..thats all ok.

But the screen pixel repair..i'll say 95% success. I've given up. All numbers show properly now, but from certain angle theres horizontal line that can be seen.

I'll upload some photos tonight when I got some time

 

[haywire]

Pixel Repair (not 100% successful yet)

Ok this is my DIY pixel repair steps...definitely not recommended as it is too dangerous for your instrument cluster..basically you're attacking your working (but annoyingly imperfect) instrument display with a hand drill. Not a pleasing experience.

Ok here goes:


This is the problem with the pixel display that needs fixing:

First take out the trim under the display (aluminium trim/wood trim, whatever - no photos sorry). Basically pry it out, its just been held by two steel bars.


Then take out the display fascia (3 torx screws on top, 3 phillips where the trim was, take out the wiring for the lights):

Take the instrument cluster out (2 torx screws, then take out the wiring behind):

Instrument cluster out:

Take the front bit out (too complicated to describe here, simple description from now on):

This is the SCARIEST part: Drilling!

There's screws behind the display that need to be taken out to remove the LCD. Actually there's another way to access the screws behind that white bit, but involved taking out the needles on the front which will mess up the reading and need recalibration. This is to bypass that procedure.

This is the screw hidden behind that white bit (there's 4 of them, so 4 holes to drill):

There's one each behind the speed and RPM display:

After screws has been removed, take the LCD out, carefully detach the ribbon cable (which is the cause of the fault):

Clean these residuals on the LCD and on the board:

New ribbon cable versus the old faulty one:

This is the tricky bit - aligning the new ribbon cable to the LCD and the board (this is the trouble I had, its quite difficult to get it to align):

Put everything back together and test in the car - not good result - ribbon cable incorrectly aligned:

After numerous times trying, this is my cluster now - not 100% perfect but that'll do for now - I'm tired of trying it. At least all the numbers are displaying correctly but there's annoying horizontal lines across the screen. Not sure how to fix that yet. Wait until I have more time to fix it again hehe.

 

[haywire]

AV Input Retrofit DIY

This DIY is to enable me to have an AV input in my car, whether video from my iPod or a portable DVD player to play through the car's head unit display and using the car sound system.

Here we go again:

This is all the modules in the boot of my car - from bottom: CD changer, TV tuner, GPS module, something Bluetooth on the top (I think for the phone, but I'm not sure because havent explored that yet) and radio tuner on the side towards the rear light.

Install the AV adapter bought from eBay (£35). Plug and play.

This adapter allows AV input to the head unit display, another bonus is that you can also install a reverse camera using the same adapter (Read: Probably my next project, reverse camera is quite cheap on eBay just about £24, might as well do it)

Test the head unit - new AV channel appears (not available before installation of AV adapter):

Test playing a movie through my iPod - everything works fine:

Next: Wiring from the boot to the front of the car - take out the back seat to reveal the wiring hole:

Run extension AV cable from boot through the back seat wiring hole:

Take out door sill trim and run wire under the carpet:

Extension cable ends at the front passenger seat (3m cable):

Take glovebox out:

Drill hole in the glovebox compartment and install the AV socket (I'm finding a lot of use of my Makita drill recently..he he he he):

Connect all the wiring together:

Install glovebox back and test - everything ok:

Tidy up the wires with cable ties and put everything back together:

This is how it works inside the glovebox compartment:

Basically how I will use it in the car to play movies/TV series/video clips from my iPod or portable DVD player :top::

As the AV adapter includes the functionality of a reverse camera, I am seriously considering installing a reverse camera to my car :rock: It is just a matter of replacing one of the number plate light with the reverse camera module and connecting it back to the AV adapter, and some minor wiring work and the rear view will appear automatically on the screen whenever the reverse gear is engaged. But this will have to wait as funds is running low, remember I'm a poor student in a foreign land hehehehe...summore going to Amsterdam in two weeks time so need the money.

Enjoy the photos guys, let me know what u think.

 

[snchin]

I'm a poor student in a foreign land hehehehe...summore going to Amsterdam in two weeks time so need the money.

Enjoy the photos guys, let me know what u think.

Poor?? My @ss...hehhehe. Got nice car, can go holiday lagi. hehehe

Good DIY bro. and i really like how neat the install looks. Good job man.

 

[haywire]

Thanks man. Sadly I really needed to do this DIY now, as the UK west region (where I am) TV broadcast will go completely digital on April 7, leaving my TV screen blank as the TV tuner in my car is only an analogue tuner (replacement Hybrid tuner - both analogue and digital costs £500 so out of question) to fill the blank screen hehe.

Is Malaysia TV broadcast going digital soon? Is it still analogue now? Would love to have my TV in car back once I return to Malaysia

UPDATE: Just read on Wikipedia, Malaysia is going totally digital (no more analogue signal) from 2015, so have around 5 years to enjoy TV in my car hehe

 

[B33mEr]

I already have an AV channel on my car (it's a '02)... How come yours doesn't???

Been to dam a few times (way back in '99)... Adam's cafe my fav joint

 

[haywire]

I already have an AV channel on my car (it's a '02)... How come yours doesn't???

Been to dam a few times (way back in '99)... Adam's cafe my fav joint

Maybe I missed it? Do you have an AV input in the car? (the red white yellow socket) Maybe this is an option?

This is my third time there, first two as a bujang guy with friends...now bringing my wife and kid to see the tulips (spring season now)

 

[B33mEr]

Maybe I missed it? Do you have an AV input in the car? (the red white yellow socket) Maybe this is an option?

This is my third time there, first two as a bujang guy with friends...now bringing my wife and kid to see the tulips (spring season now)

The sockets are at the back right? If so i'll have a look at it ...

Ahhh!! so it's a family trip then ... :top: Yup the tulips are beautiful ... but you do need to visit the countryside to visit the tulip fields not sure if they have it in amsterdam ... make sure you take lot's of pics (and your bimmer too) when visiting the fields :love: I didn't get the chance ... spending way too much time in cafes lol

 

[bmw7833]

Cool!

Your thread is my favorite thread after initialM' thread. Keep it coming.

 

[haywire]

The sockets are at the back right? If so i'll have a look at it ...

Ahhh!! so it's a family trip then ... :top: Yup the tulips are beautiful ... but you do need to visit the countryside to visit the tulip fields not sure if they have it in amsterdam ... make sure you take lot's of pics (and your bimmer too) when visiting the fields :love: I didn't get the chance ... spending way too much time in cafes lol

Bro if you havent got the AV adapter I doubt you'll have the sockets.

I've been to the tulip garden the last time I was there, its called Keukenhof about half an hour outside of Amsterdam. Biggest flower garden in the world i think. See here: http://www.keukenhof.nl/ I've driven to Amsterdam from Bristol that time (2007) in my old Rover, but this time taking the flights as I got a small baby (10-12 hour drive to Amsterdam versus over 1 hour in flight - also cheaper by flight) and I've booked this holiday late last year before I bought the E39. If I knew I was gonna buy the car i would probably drive there and enjoyed the driving.

This brings back memories:

My old trustful Rover 214Si on the Dover-Dunkirk ferry crossing:

Keukenhof Tulip Garden, Amsterdam

Tiba-tiba thread BMW jadi thread bunga pulak...hahahahha

 

[haywire]

Cool!

Your thread is my favorite thread after initialM' thread. Keep it coming.

I think mine is only minor mods, can't even compare to initialM's work of art. Don't have much money to continue..pelan pelan jalan. Furthermore labour cost is cut-throat here..so need to do everything myself. Probably do more once in Malaysia.