E91 330i LCI

[ocrx8]

Individual audio is massively rare - good find!

[chunkytfg]

ocrx8 said:

Individual audio is massively rare - good find!

And there was me thinking i did well finding a car with Logic7!

My spec

S609A Navigation System Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S616A BMW Online
S620A Voice Control
S633A Preparation Mobile Phone Business
S677A HiFi System Professional DSP
S694A Provisions For BMW 6 CD Changer
S6FLA USBAudio Interface

[Sn1ckers]

chunkytfg said:

ocrx8 said:

Individual audio is massively rare - good find!

And there was me thinking i did well finding a car with Logic7!

My spec

S609A Navigation System Professional
S612A BMW Assist
S616A BMW Online
S620A Voice Control
S633A Preparation Mobile Phone Business
S677A HiFi System Professional DSP
S694A Provisions For BMW 6 CD Changer
S6FLA USBAudio Interface

I’d probably swap Bluetooth & Logic 7 for no Bluetooth & Individual audio tbh! It’s going to cost me circa £350 to get oem style Bluetooth retrofitted.

[Sir_Dave]

Sn1ckers said:

It’s going to cost me circa £350 to get oem style Bluetooth retrofitted.

Glad the car is going well after the initial scare (sorry about that ebay link lol).

I retrofitted CIC/Combox/Blueooth to my old e90 330i and used the following parts, might be slightly different for you as you already have CIC, but should give you something to work on:

BMW Basic Handsfree retrofit wiring (£100): 84640441949
e90 Combox Media unit (£150): 84109257160
Combox retrofit plug (£15): 61136913644

That will give you bluetooth for phone calls & music streaming. Then if you want to control the iPod/iPhone via the idrive/get album art etc, you will need to buy a USB cable/interface to plug directly into the combox, something like this worked for me: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aux-Switch-Wire-Cable-A...

Some further reading here: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53...

The whole lot will then need coding with NCSExpert to update your vehicle order etc

Edited by Sir_Dave on Wednesday 10th July 10:11

[C350]

I added combox to my old one too, well worth doing! It also gives text message delivery to the CIC screen too which was very handy.
You couldn’t reply, but it allowed you to see if it was important enough to call them while driving

[Sn1ckers]

Sir_Dave said:

Glad the car is going well after the initial scare (sorry about that ebay link lol).

I retrofitted CIC/Combox/Blueooth to my old e90 330i and used the following parts, might be slightly different for you as you already have CIC, but should give you something to work on:

BMW Basic Handsfree retrofit wiring (£100): 84640441949
e90 Combox Media unit (£150): 84109257160
Combox retrofit plug (£15): 61136913644

That will give you bluetooth for phone calls & music streaming. Then if you want to control the iPod/iPhone via the idrive/get album art etc, you will need to buy a USB cable/interface to plug directly into the combox, something like this worked for me: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aux-Switch-Wire-Cable-A...

Some further reading here: https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53...

The whole lot will then need coding with NCSExpert to update your vehicle order etc :thumbup

Edited by Sir_Dave on Wednesday 10th July 10:11

Should have said thank you earlier for the heads up, so will take the opportunity now

The engine was running well so I may not have spotted any problem for a while. Your diagnosis was also on the money so full PH points on all counts.

I’ll look into your suggestions; a retrofit of some description is definitely on the cards.

[Sn1ckers]

I got around to cleaning the car properly this weekend and whilst cleaning the inner reaches of the rear hatch came across this;



This, though not completely obvious from the photo, is rust coming through under the rear window hatch. There are actually 3 areas of rust corresponding, I assume, with the clips holding the rubber surround.

So, on Monday I pottered down to the local BMW dealership and enquired about a warranty repair. Today I got a call from the body shop manager confirming that the repair was approved and booking the car in for the 22nd. Result me thinks.

[C350]

While you’re in that area it’s worth checking out the diversity unit under the black cover hidden behind the tail gate on the roof. It’s a common fault for them to leak and affect the central locking or radio reception. It’s due to BMW only putting a half hearted seal on the lid.
My remote locking stopped working randomly one day. I had the lid off the diversity unit and there wasn’t a single sign on damp on the PCB, but as soon as I replaced it with a 2nd hand on it worked again. Thankfully they don’t need coding.
Obviously I then gave it a good load of silicon under the lid to keep it from happening again

[Sn1ckers]

Control arm replaced:



Also, I had the car hooked up again to check the fault codes having had all the old codes deleted last week and the car was clear which I’m taking as a positive.

Next up is an oil & filter change plus I’m thinking the gearbox oil will need doing. Does anyone have experience of this? In particular is it best to get bmw items (££££) or are there good aftermarket kits available (the bay of e has plenty but without knowing what’s good I’m reluctant to take the plunge).

[harrykul]

Don't skimp on the gearbox service was the advice I received from an autobox specialist. be sure to go for ZF stuff. Not sure if it's available from motor factors, I ended up buying the kit from the BMW dealer: £250ish iirc.

[helix402]

ZF gearbox kit is the same as BMWs, last one I bought even had a BMW sticker on the sump.

[Sn1ckers]

helix402 said:

ZF gearbox kit is the same as BMWs, last one I bought even had a BMW sticker on the sump.

This is what I was thinking, a ZF kit would do the job but if bought the same kit from BMW, in BMW boxes, I could double the price??

[B'stard Child]

Interesting thread - hope it all works out for you

[majorjoy]

Great choice OP - such a capable car...I have the E91 pre LCI manual 330i in the same Le Mans (best colour!) blue...160k on the clock and still going extremely strong! The N52 at full chat is a beautiful thing...Be sure to get the water pump changed if it's not been done because that's a when, not if for when it fails.

[dave_s13]

Gearbox service looks pretty easy if you have access to a lift.
I would not attempt it without though, my block paved drive might not appreciate it.

I paid £350 for mine doing (it was leaking a bit) by a local transmission specialist, local BMW specialist wanted £450!! It's been spot on since had it done.
(N53 E93).

[Sn1ckers]

OK, the car went in on Monday to sort out the minor rust issues around the rear window hatch. I got a call today that it was ready and duly went to collect the car this afternoon. The repair was well done and I thanked the garage and went to drive away but noticed the idrive wasn’t working .

I pointed this out to the body shop manager who took the car back and said he’d investigate. I got a call about an hour later saying the car is back with the paint shop and they are looking into the problem.

I have my ideas but anyone else want to take a guess at what happens next?

[CB 987]

This might be a long shot, but when I purchased my E91 the i drive screen would sometimes not come on. It also came with a bag of fuses in the glove box for the corresponding fuse, which didn’t bode well!

I couldn’t work out why it would blow the fuse and then when replaced it would sometimes be days before it went again. After some googling it turns out the fuse for the i drive screen is also on the same circuit as the boot light in the lip of the boot. What can happen is the silver metal reflector inside the light fitting becomes unclipped, it is then loose and moves around in the light fitting. When the boot is opened it moves and shorts the circuit blowing the fuse.

Of course as I didn’t open the boot every time I used the car it explained why the fuse didn’t always go pop straightaway. I simply opened up the light fitting re-clipped the reflector and replaced the fuse. It was then fixed and in 4 years of ownership was never an issue again.

If they’ve been working on the boot and removing trim etc the reflector may have been dislodged in the light fitting. It’s worth checking the boot light and the corresponding fuse.

Hope that might be of some use.

Cheers.

[C350]

Funnily enough I had the same problem on my e91. Screen not working, it took me days to work out what was going on, then I realised it only blew at work which was when I opened the tailgate before the doors.
I checked the bulb reflector,which was loose but not the cause. It turned out to be a dodgy aftermarket interior LED bulb!

[Sn1ckers]

I’ve been given a little more information though it just adds to the confusion.

Apparently the body shop manager took the car back to the body shop (a sub contractor, not BMW owned) and the idrive came on after about 5 miles of driving. He carried on to the body shop so they could run a diagnostic. When they switched the car on again the idrive failed to start. This would indicate a fuse is unlikely to be the problem?

The body shop, for their part, claim the only electrical item they touch was the high level brake light which they disconnected while carrying out the repair.

[Stussy]

First thing I can think of trying is to get it working again and then open and shut the tailgate/glass a few times and see if that affects it.
I can only guess some wiring may have been disturbed?
As above, the Idrive screen power is definitely linked to the tailgate in some odd way.

Just to confirm, does the radio work but not the screen? I could get sound but no image. I was getting close to rewiring the screen power from another circuit!