Bluetooth Installation: TCU version

I just finished installing my bluetooth system in my car, a 2004 330xi. I haven't found any pictorial DIY's on here for TCU versions, so here goes. Some background:

NOTE: This DIY is for cars with BMW Assist already installed.

- The TCU is a cellular module that mounts in the trunk, and supports both BMW Assist and Bluetooth.
The most up-to-date module is PN 84109195455

- This should be the same for all cars 03/2003 and on with the BMW Assist option. Allegedly, all cars from that date are pre-wired for Bluetooth and the Cellular Phone. I have the Prewired for BMW Cellular Phone label in my trunk, and Assist installed. The only other part you will need is the bluetooth antenna, PN 84506928461 I believe. You may need the bracket as well, the one I bought from a member already had it.

- NOTE that this is for a car with Assist and I already had the Mic in the overhead console. If your car is the same setup as mine, these are the only two parts you will need!

- Write down the BT PK and ESN numbers before your install your TCU. You will need the BTPK number to pair your phone and the ESN if you want to activate the assist.





STEP 1
I started with the antenna installation. Open up the rear ashtray, and pull out the ashtray liner. Unscrew the two screws holding down the inner liner, and pull that out. Unplug the little orange LED light harness, and set everything aside.

Now you will see two screws holding down the console piece itself. Unscrew these. This may take some finesse, but gently pull this piece up and out. It shrouds the hinge on the sides of the armrest as well, so just be careful.

Now start digging around for the antenna wire. It should be tucked in there. The plug will be wrapped in a piece of foam so it won't look like anything. It should be right there, but it IS UNDER THERE! This is what it looks like with the foam off:


And this is how it plugs in to the antenna:


Before you go crazy and plug this thing in, it has to mount BELOW the innermost plastic liner of the console and the bracket will set on bracket that those two screws fasten onto, BELOW the plastic. Some guys pull apart the whole console, but I just lifted it up enough so I could pass the antenna wire out, plug the antenna in, and align it onto that bracket. Then I set the console down, eyed up the screw holes to make sure they were aligned, and screwed it in. Re-assemble the astray.

STEP 2
This was a bit more difficult. The antenna part is easy. This is all about the TCU swap. Fold down rear seats helps immensely.

Start but gutting your trunk. Pull off the floor liner, and start to take out the driver's side trunk liner. The tabs that hold it in are a PITA, and having the tool helps. This liner is tucked in behind the taillight as well, so unscrew the cap on that and pull the headlight backer out, unplug it and set it aside. Keep working your trunk liner until it is completely removed. I had to fold down the back seat to get it out. It might be a bit of a process, but spending the extra few minutes to clear the area will help. This is what your trunk should look like:


That's an aftermarket Sirius module before anyone asks. The TCU is the silver box on top. This thing is a pain to get out. Start by unbolting the (4) 10MM (?) bolts that hold the actual TCU down. The clearances are tight, but be patient.

And this is what your old TCU should look like. Neither of the antenna wires are the BT wire.



The only conceivable way I could do this was to unbolt the TCU bracket as well. It's just too tight to work back there. There are two little bolts on each of the opposite corners, unbolt them so you can pull the whole TCU assembly out.

The reason I suggest this is because there is literally no room to unplug the main wiring harness behind the TCU, and you need to dig around back there to find the BT antenna wire. The main plug locks in with a white clip. I accidentally broke this off, but I believe it rotates to unlock. This gave me the most problems.

Once you have the TCU completely out of there, pull the plug wiring harness out as much as you can. There is virtually no slack. You will see a bulge in the harness wrapped in that same foam as before. Undo this. There will be 3 plugs in there. One is a big blue harness (i believe this is for the ULF version), a black/purple antenna (not sure what that does) and a cream/pink antenna. The CREAM/PINK plug is the BT antenna wire. Pull this out and route it back towards the tail light so you can plug it into the TCU.

Plug in the 3 antenna wires as shown in the pic below. Each end is slightly different so they will only attach to their particular ports.


Now plug the main harness in. Refer to step 3 to pair your phone and do this before you put everything back.

Bolt the TCU back onto the bracket, and then rebolt the bracket onto the car. the final setup should look like this:


Re-assemble your trunk when you're done.

STEP 3

Here is how to pair your phone. This should be easy. Set your phone to Bluetooth "discoverable" or "On". I have a 2G iPhone and it paired in 30 seconds, FYI. Turn your car on, and press the R/T button on the wheel. The display should say "SEARCHING..."



On your phone, BMW should show up in about 10 to 30 seconds, and it will ask you for a PIN. Type in the PIN you wrote down from before, and hit OK. Your display willl now say "LOADING" which means it is downloading your contacts.


Once it is done, your contacts will be available. To bring them up, press the R/T and use the arrow buttons on the wheel to scroll through. Find the name/number you want, hit the talking head, and you will hear the music mute and the phone start ringing.

This should only take you about an hour to do. If you are prewired for Bluetooth and Assist, this is as good as it is going to get for you! 90% of the work is done already. Good luck with your projects and feel free to PM me if you have questions.

Great DIY. Coding will also add voice control to the TCUs.

Yes, I forgot to mention that. To get voice commands and/or assist up and running, you need to go to the dealer to get them coded.

And does anyone know what that 4th purple antenna wire is that is tucked in with the other stuff? I never plugged it in and my system appears to be working fine.

I spoke to my dealership (several times) today and they still can't figure out anything about adding voice recognition to the Bluetooth system. Even though I told them I added the TCU myself, they insist 2004 does not have bluetooth and there is nothing they can do. Huh?

I hope you don't have a warranty because if the dealer finds out that you have done work on your car, they could void your warranty. sshh..
There is an ses module diy somewhere which adds voice command I think. TCU's voice control only control the phone, ULF's can control phone and navi.
I believe the reason your voice control isn't working isn't due to the bluetooth, its because you have a 2G Iphone which doesn't have voice dialing. If you were to pair a bluetooth phone with voice dialing (3Gs or motorolla anything really) then you might find that you have working voice commands already. I would get a friend to help you try that before looking into the ses thing as that might be a waste of time and money.

Glad to see that you found a TCU and it installed without a hitch.

The newer TCU's are supposed to have voice commands but it needs to be activated by the dealership from everything I have read.

Also, everything I hear is that the 2G iPhone doesn't support voice commands, which is what I have, so its a sort of dead issue. But that's still not an excuse for the dealership to have no clue what I was talking about.

A good way to get the dealer to code the TCU is to call in and say you want to change the sound of the siren for the alarm, or to change your fogs to come on when the headlights come on. Then just when you get to the dealership for your appointment, mention that you also want voice commands enabled while they are messing with the settings. I have heard stories of fanatics who tip the service advisor $20 and the advisor brought them to the back and let them hand select which things they wanted switched on or off. Worth a try IMO. Good luck either way.

wow, nice write-up. thanks mate

What else can they program???

Hello,
this is i great postand i realy need help to replace my Siemens BIT-II with a used TCU i maneged to find with bluetooth support 2007 84109115729 and i found it on the tested TCU list with positive feed back from this link

http://www.bimmerboard.com/members/p...artNumbers.pdf

the problem im trying to figer out the needed parts and connectors to finish the job and is it posible to use the same BIT-II harness after some modifications!?

If your car is a 2001, it's not prewired for the bluetooth system... I'm not entirely sure what you would need to install it properly, but probably the OEM wiring harness. Perhaps someone who did a retrofit into a pre-2003 car can chime in.

My car is 330i 2003
mkiv
tv
euro version
latest upgrade v32
bit-ii wireless phone

some forums say it's posible but couldn't find what's needed to complete the solution!

There is a huge pictorial DIY for this in here.
You must have missed it.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...=bluetooth+oem

Originally Posted by xxenycejattxx

THIS BLUETOOTH INSTALLATION WAS DONE ON A 2003 330I WHICH WAS PREWIRED FOR BMW CELL PHONE.IT WAS COMPLETED IN 1 HOUR ON SEP 25TH 2008.I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.I WENT TO THE STEALER AND THEY SAID I HAVE TO BRING IT TO THE STEALERSHIP FOR CODING.BULL SH*T.USED A 7TH GENERATION MODULE AND IPHONE 2G WITH 2.1 SOFTWARE.
THIS WAS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AND WOULD DEFTINATELY LIKE SOME FEDDBACK.

IT WAS DONE ON MY BABY WHICH LOOKS LIKE THIS-

BEGIN THE PUNJABI WAY!!!!
PLEASE CHECK FOR THIS SIGN ON THE TRUNK .IF YOU HAVE THIS,IT MEANS YOU JUST NEED THE PARTS I USED FOR INSTALLATION AND NOTHING ELSE.MY INSTRUCTIONS ARE GOOD TO GO WITH THIS SIGN.THIS WAS THE BEST TIME FOR ME TO VACUUM ALL THE MESS I HAD IN MY CAR.

PARTS NEEDED FOR INSTALLATION

1. BLUETOOTH MODULE PART #84106969268 ($300 From Buddy)
2. BLUETOOTH MODULE BRACKET PART #84136924553 ($12)
3. BLUETOOTH MIC PART #84318380319 ($45 From Buddy)
4. BLUETOOTH ANTENNA PART #84506928461 (Free from Buddy)
5. BLUETOOTH ANTENNA BRACKET PART #84136912160 ($ 5 From Buddy)
6. PAIRING BUTTON PART #275-644($3 RADIO SHACK)
7. PAIRING BUTTON HARNESS PART#84110302181 ($18 Dealer,u can bypass this too)
8. BOLTS 5 PART#3069936198($1.07 HOME DEPOT)
9. NUTS AND SCREWS 4 ($ 1 LOCAL HARDWARE STORE)
10. SCREW DRIVERS
11. COMMON SENSE

START WITH BLUETOOTH ANTENNA INSTALLATION
LETS START WITH TAKING OFF THE ASH TRAY.ITS EASY AND SIMPLE.PLEASE DON'T RUSH OR PUSH ANYTHING HARD AS IT MAY DAMAGE THE ASH TRAY.

NOW TAKE OFF THE SWITCH TRIM.IT IS REQIRED TO TAKE OFF IN ORDER TO GET TO BLUETOOTH ANTENNA FAKRA CONNECTOR.IT WILL MAKE IS EASY FOR THE ARM REST TO PICK UP AND GET ACCESS TO THE BLUETOOTH ANTENNA INSTALLATION POSITION.

REMOVE THE CUP HOLDERS

YOU WILL SEE THE PHONE WIRING HARNESS AFTER TAKING OFF THE COIN HOLDER.YOU CAN LEAVE IT THERE, DON'T TOUCH THE WIRING HARNESS PACKED IN COVERING.WE'LL TAKE IT OUT LATER.

LOCATE YOUR BLUETOOTH ANTENNA WITH BRACKET.

ATTACH THE BLUETOOTH ANTENNA HERE

NEXT STEP IS TO INSTALL THE BLUETOOTH PAIRING BUTTON.LOCATE THE PAIRING BUTTON WIRING HARNESS.UNWRAP THE COVERING.

INSTALL THE WIRING HARNESS FOR BLUETOOTH PAIRING BUTTON.

I WOULD RECOMMEND YOU TO LEAVE EVERYTHING UNSCREWED, UNTIL YOU FIND OUT THE SYSTEM WORKS.BUT I DID NOT DO IT BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT USUALLY WORKKS,AND IT DID.LOL

NOW PUSH BACK THE PAIRING BUTTON HARNESS TO THE FRONT OF THE ARM REST THROUGH THE COIN HOLDER HOLE.AND INSTALL THE PAIRING BUTTON TO THE HARNESS.

LEAVE THE PARING BUTTON UNDER THE COIN HOLDER.TAPE IT THERE SO IT DONT MOVE AROUND.YOU WILL ONLY NEED THIS ANYTIME YOU PAIR A NEW PHONE.

LETS INSTALL THE MIC.IT IS THE EASIEST PART OF THIS INSTALLATION---

PUTTING THE TRIM BACK IS EASY.START FROM THE FRONT AND THEN JUST PUSH UP AND HEAR ALL THE CLICKS.SOME PEOPLE MAY WANT TO SWITCH THE MIC POSTION WITH THE ROOF SWITCH.MY MIC IS GOOD AT THE CURRENT LOCATION.AND IT WORKS PERFECT SINCE I ASKED 5 PEOPLE WHEN MAKING CALLS, AND THEY TOLD ME THEY HEAR ME CLEARLY.AND ALSO THE MIC HOLE HAS TO ADJUSTED/CUT.ITS LITTLE SMALLER THAN THE SWITCH HOLE.I DON'T WANT ANY CUTTING ON MY BABY

NOW LET'S GO IN THE TRUNK AND INSTALL THE BLUETOOTH MODULE.THIS COULD BE THE HARDEST PART OF THE INSTALLATION.DEPENDING ON YOUR EXPERIENCE.

PULL THE TRIM/BOARD AND YOU SHOULD SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS,WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE WRAPPED WIRING HARNESS FOR BLUETOOTH MODULE.YOUR'S MIGHT BE CLEAN.OH WELL WHO CARES!!

NOW LOCATE THE 26 PIN CONNECTOR AND OPEN IT BY PRESSING ON BOTH SIDES WITH A SMALL SCREW DRIVER.

TAPE THE PINS AND RECONNECT THE CONNECTOR.INSTALL IT ON THE ULF MODULE USING THE WHITE COLOR LEVER ON THE CONNECTOR.IT SHOULD BE EASY.

HOW TO PAIR YOUR PHONE

PRESS AND HOLD THE PAIRING BUTTON FOR ABOUT 3-5 SECONDS,WHILE HOLDING THE BUTTON TURN THE IGNITION KEY TO POSITION #1.HOLD THE BUTTON FOR ANOTHER 3-5 SECONDS AND RELEASE THE BUTTON.THE DISPLAY SHOULD SHOW "BT PAIRING".NOW PUT THE 4 DIGIT BLUETOOTH CODE THAT CAME WITH THE BLUETOOTH MODULE IN YOUR BLUETOOTH CAPABLE PHONE.THE PHONE SHOULD SAY "PAIRED WITH BMW***.." AND THE CD DISPLAY WITH SHOW "SUCCEEDED".TURN THE KEY OFF.
HELP WAS ALSO TAKEN FROM http://www.bimmernav.com/BMW_E46_Blu...tructions.html
THANKS TO THEM.
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR BLUETOOTH SYSTEM.NOW IF YOU HAVE TESTED EVRYTHING POSITIVE REINSTALL EVERYTHING TOGETHER.GOOD LUCK.
IF YOU THINK THIS WAS HELPFUL PLEASE DONATE WITH PAYPAL TO XXENYCEJATTXX@HOTMAIL.COM
OR ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT INSTALLATION.I AM WILLING TO HELP MY FELLOW FANATICS WITH FREE INSTALLATION,JUST BRING YOUR PARTS AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT ON MY FREE TIME.IN NYC.

Not to be a jerk but what was the point of posting the entirety of someone else's DIY into mine? And thats for the ULF module, not the TCU.

Originally Posted by WRamahi

My car is 330i 2003
mkiv
tv
euro version
latest upgrade v32
bit-ii wireless phone

some forums say it's posible but couldn't find what's needed to complete the solution!

From what I have read, US versions of the BT module (ULF or TCU) won't work in Euro cars. I don't know why, or if that is even true, but that's what has been said. If your car is a 2003 you should be prewired and just need the ULF bluetooth system as wonderfully quoted above.

Originally Posted by redrum0486

Not to be a jerk but what was the point of posting the entirety of someone else's DIY into mine? And thats for the ULF module, not the TCU.

Hey buddy,
No offense I think I posted that to show there was also a ULF DIY write up as well on older cars.

Originally Posted by redrum0486

If your car is a 2001, it's not prewired for the bluetooth system... I'm not entirely sure what you would need to install it properly, but probably the OEM wiring harness. Perhaps someone who did a retrofit into a pre-2003 car can chime in.

It was also a response to you strongly advising that pre-2004 cars do not have prewiring for Bluetooth.

I still don't quite understand what is the difference between TCU and ULF? I undertand ULF and TCU must be different but honestly the DIYs look identical with the addition of the 2003 car needingthe mic and the DIYer opted to have a pairing button under the armrest.

Originally Posted by redrum0486

If your car is a 2001, it's not prewired for the bluetooth system... I'm not entirely sure what you would need to install it properly, but probably the OEM wiring harness. Perhaps someone who did a retrofit into a pre-2003 car can chime in.

What exactly is it pre-wired for then?

My 7/2001 car has exactly the same prewiring connectors under the armrest console and trunk lining
as your 2004 car and the ULF -DIYer's 2003 car.

damn i want your stereo.

so this kit will work for a 2/2002 car?

Originally Posted by jasonknezo

so this kit will work for a 2/2002 car?

No. his DiY is for 2004 on cars that are pre-wired for BOTH Bluetooth and BMW Assist.


if you have a 2003 or earlier car you need to follow the DIY in this thread: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...=bluetooth+oem