Official: Dynavin E46 Radio - Installation, Question & Troubleshooting Thread

Originally Posted by jeffb325

im installing right now, taking pics and noting problems, ill have something to post once Im done and everything is working, give a day or two as I want to put together a single dynavin thread with only factual info to replace the three we have going now.

that would be great. btw are you installing the reverse camera today aswell?

Does anyone know if the navigation has voice turn by turn capabilities?

Originally Posted by Alex323Ci

yes it does.
you can turn the volume down or off for this if you don't want it

Thanks,
Received mine today and will hopefully get it installed this weekend.

Without any for the price caveats, is it better then the OEM nav? I really like that it is about $2,000 less and doesn't require a new harness, but the Dynavin system seems too sketchy. Also, can you see the artist/song name when playing music off the iPod? And can one scroll through artists/songs from iPod on the deck? Thanks in advance.

two quick questions still kinda on the fence on the unit

1. when navigation is on and the turn by turn voice directions is on does the music stop playing while navi talks or do both play together?

2. for bluetooth i know steering wheel controls work but if the phone u paired to the unit supports voice command, can you use voice commands to call someone?

Basically does dynavin bluetooth work just like the factory one??

Originally Posted by Tate325xi

Without any for the price caveats, is it better then the OEM nav? I really like that it is about $2,000 less and doesn't require a new harness, but the Dynavin system seems too sketchy. Also, can you see the artist/song name when playing music off the iPod? And can one scroll through artists/songs from iPod on the deck? Thanks in advance.

Yes, the Dynavin nav is better than the OEM. The OEM GPS technology is circa 2000, maybe older. I have the iDrive nav on my '04 645 and my wife's Droid navigation is better.

EDIT: I MOVED MY INSTALL WRITEUP TO A NEW DYANVIN INFO THREAD, HERE:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=754606

^ can u post a diy IF you happen to install the LOC i wanna see how the wiring is cut and incorporated with the dynavin wiring thanks!

I think I should start a new thread and move my previous post to it for a start, ill add in the stuff about installing a LOC, then add the newly edited question/answers from the original TR_MS3 post. One source for current dynavin info, not a hundred pages of people arguing over who worked for who and radio bleed issues. Then I would just edit the original post if any unanswered questions come up.

EDIT: DONE, NEW DYANVIN INFO THREAD, HERE:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=754606

Originally Posted by Alex323Ci

that would be great. btw are you installing the reverse camera today aswell?

no reverse camera for me, my lexus has one, and it needs it. I can see just fine in the bmw however.

Originally Posted by jeffb325

no reverse camera for me, my lexus has one, and it needs it. I can see just fine in the bmw however.

Thanks Jeff, did you let the a/c controls cycle thru turning on/off when checking the clearance on the a/c arm. I could have had mine too far down, wasnt screwed down at the time when mine hit the arm, when the car first came on, cant remember what mode but know the arm moved, thats when I noticed the arm hit the dynavin.

I would suggest everyone that once the unit is installed and screwed down, leave the glove box out and play with the a/c controls switching between all modes to make the air come out different vents and also between low and max air just to make sure there are no clearance problems, also watch when turning the car on and off, it could have just been me because I didnt have the unit screwed down properly is why mine hit.

If using the RCA's only produces good sound, I may take another stab at it, dont have to reply here Jeff, Ill wait for your other write-up, you have alot of good info just in your one post, thanks!

P.S. I also have the non-HK, your car looks really clean, what year and miles, specs, just curious?

Originally Posted by jeffb325

I think I should start a new thread and move my previous post to it for a start, ill add in the stuff about installing a LOC, then add the newly edited question/answers from the original TR_MS3 post. One source for current dynavin info, not a hundred pages of people arguing over who worked for who and radio bleed issues. Then I would just edit the original post if any unanswered questions come up.

Thoughts?

Jeff,

Thanks for the fantastic write up, pictures and review! Your install looks nice and clean.

Disappointing to hear about the iphone and itouch not synching correctly. Of course I just got an iphone and the contacts synched perfectly with factory business CD head unit.

I’m installing mine in a convertible, do you think the glare will make it unusable.
I’m also ordering the 3m anti-glare film.

Thanks again,

Originally Posted by jeffb325

I think I should start a new thread and move my previous post to it for a start, ill add in the stuff about installing a LOC, then add the newly edited question/answers from the original TR_MS3 post. One source for current dynavin info, not a hundred pages of people arguing over who worked for who and radio bleed issues. Then I would just edit the original post if any unanswered questions come up.

Thoughts?

Thanks for the info Jeff!

You dont have the BMW assist functionality by chance do you?

I have it on mine although I currently do not subscribe to the service. If I go the Dynavin route I would really like to have a seamless 'OEM like' installation for resale/future purposes. Do you have any experience or ideas with making the BMW assist functionality work with aftermarket solutions?

Originally Posted by damills

P.S. I also have the non-HK, your car looks really clean, what year and miles, specs, just curious?

Thanks, I take care of it. Its a 2002 coupe, 80k miles, I bought it used from the original owner, a lawyer with 5 cars, who used the BMW as his "road trip" car. I replaced the steering wheel and the shift knob with the M/ZHP versions. Very nice stuff.

You didnt see the back seat though, I have a 2 year old daughter I clean it regularly but I still try not to look back there....

Originally Posted by BG in NJ

Jeff,

Thanks for the fantastic write up, pictures and review! Your install looks nice and clean.

Disappointing to hear about the iphone and itouch not synching correctly. Of course I just got an iphone and the contacts synched perfectly with factory business CD head unit.

I’m installing mine in a convertible, do you think the glare will make it unusable.
I’m also ordering the 3m anti-glare film.

Thanks again,

I am also going to try the anti glare film, I will edit my post once its installed. I dont think a vert will be any worse (cant be really) as I am getting a direct reflection of the back window. I do wish the adress book worked right and it probably will with some phones, but with my iphone its a mess. It does keep recent calls though so your common numbers are pretty easy to access and this part works correctly.

As for the ipod, im still working on that one...

Originally Posted by GCoop

Thanks for the info Jeff!

You dont have the BMW assist functionality by chance do you?

I have it on mine although I currently do not subscribe to the service. If I go the Dynavin route I would really like to have a seamless 'OEM like' installation for resale/future purposes. Do you have any experience or ideas with making the BMW assist functionality work with aftermarket solutions?

I do not have BMW Assist and I dont know how it functions, sorry. If it is integrated with the head unit in any way it will of course not work, but if it is inline between the HU and the amp, it just might work. If someone posts who knows how it works I will add the info to the post.

Hi Everyone,

First of all, Jeff, this thread is AWESOME! Secondly, I’ve been itching to trash my factory MKIV NAV for a while because it is so NON-Intuitive. I needed to add the POS Dicelink as an iPod adaptor which has been nothing but a nightmare since I got it. Been through 2 already, they always fry my electrical system, latest problem is it now shorts my left turn signal. It also resets my playlist every time I connect my iPhone to it. No other iPod/iPhone devices I own do that and it really annoys me.

The other problem with the OEM NAV is the cost of adding Bluetooth support. So I have to use a Parrot minikit box, which works but does not sound too great. I know Dynavin was making a 5 meter cable to connect the unit to the rear audio bus for factory NAV systems too. Hopefully it works.

Can anyone tell me if the Dynavin E46 has:

1. Decent iPhone support for controlling tracks, changing playlists and search?
2. Does not reset current playlist when connecting or switching sources. (Biggie to me)
3. Has good quality Bluetooth sound.
4. Traffic updates for NAV
5. Sound quality is on par with factory audio with HK speakers and amp.

I really appreciate your feedback on these.

Thanks

Ray

Originally Posted by jeffb325

I do not have BMW Assist and I dont know how it functions, sorry. If it is integrated with the head unit in any way it will of course not work, but if it is inline between the HU and the amp, it just might work. If someone posts who knows how it works I will add the info to the post.

Thanks JeffB
I had read somewhere before that it is inline @ the factory amp and the only thing the head unit accomplishes is the visual indicators of when you are connected and the like (something I could live without). However I do not know if this information was accurate or not. Hopefully someone who is familiar with how the BMW Assist actually uses and integrates with the sound system can report back.

Can someone please answer these two questions... Im really close to buying this thing...

1. when navigation is on and the turn by turn voice directions is on does the music stop playing while navi talks or do both play together?

2. for bluetooth i know steering wheel controls work but if the phone u paired to the unit supports voice command, can you use voice commands to call someone?

Basically does dynavin bluetooth work just like the factory one??

Thanks in advance

Originally Posted by SPQR ROMAN SPQR

Can someone please answer these two questions... Im really close to buying this thing...

1. when navigation is on and the turn by turn voice directions is on does the music stop playing while navi talks or do both play together?

2. for bluetooth i know steering wheel controls work but if the phone u paired to the unit supports voice command, can you use voice commands to call someone?

Basically does dynavin bluetooth work just like the factory one??

Thanks in advance

1: nav interupts music, they do not play over one another, there is a current thread on dynavins site discussing this, dynavin says it is hardware limitled.

2: I do not see a way to voice dial with the steering wheel buttons on my iphone 3gs. My parrot bluetooth would voice dial if I pressed the "talk" button. Does not work with the dynavin. At this point I am just dialing with my phone.

Originally Posted by laureynsr

Hi Everyone,

First of all, Jeff, this thread is AWESOME! Secondly, I've been itching to trash my factory MKIV NAV for a while because it is so NON-Intuitive. I needed to add the POS Dicelink as an iPod adapter which has been nothing but a nightmare since I got it. Been through 2 already, they always fry my electrical system, latest problem is it now shorts my left turn signal. It also resets my playlist every time I connect my iPhone to it. No other iPod/iPhone devices I own do that and it really annoys me.

The other problem with the OEM NAV is the cost of adding Bluetooth support. So I have to use a Parrot minikit box, which works but does not sound too great. I know Dynavin was making a 5 meter cable to connect the unit to the rear audio bus for factory NAV systems too. Hopefully it works.

Can anyone tell me if the Dynavin E46 has:

1. Decent iPhone support for controlling tracks, changing playlists and search?
2. Does not reset current playlist when connecting or switching sources. (Biggie to me)
3. Has good quality Bluetooth sound.
4. Traffic updates for NAV
5. Sound quality is on par with factory audio with HK speakers and amp.

I really appreciate your feedback on these.

Thanks

Ray

1: tracks and playlist work
2: the iphone interface is a bit flaky..... most of the time it starts at the first song on my iphone, alphabetical, but not always, havent made sense of it yet.
3: bluetooth works fine.
4: no traffic, that requires some kind of real time connection to the internet or satellite and the dynavin has neither.
5: sound quality is not good if you just plug and play....read up on these threads.....install a line output converter and you will be in good shape, dyavin is producing a fix however so I will tentatively say quality is better with caviats...

does euro spec have any more available?

Originally Posted by jeffb325

1: nav interupts music, they do not play over one another, there is a current thread on dynavins site discussing this, dynavin says it is hardware limitled.

2: I do not see a way to voice dial with the steering wheel buttons on my iphone 3gs. My parrot bluetooth would voice dial if I pressed the "talk" button. Does not work with the dynavin. At this point I am just dialing with my phone.

Thanks jeff for the response i appreciate it.