Good day all!!

Well, here is the most annoying part of this whole project... The wiring!! This is a recap of what I have discovered so far...

The starting circuit is different between the two models (4.4L and 3.0L)... I would imagine the ability to convenient start the V8’s is the reason for the difference... I wouldn’t mind keeping the convenient start, but I am not sure the programming will allow it as some pins are reused for other functions... Notably is pin 8 on the A146 (EWS) module for the X5... The V8’s use it for a starter relay in the E-box. The 3.0L’s use it for the “Start Lock” or clutch start switch for the manuals... It is not used in the 3.0L automatics... Some of the circuits are not in WDS for the X5, so I am resorting to the E39’s... This works for the most part, but some of the wiring is a little different... Some modules are different names... I’m having to spend a lot of time confirming and verifying I’m pulling and splicing or swapping the correct wire(s)... What you are reading now is actually my way of keeping track of what I’m doing... I will be converting the starter circuit to mirror the 540i and 3.0L X5... They are essentially the same, as far as I can see and verify...

The process for this, I have concluded will be as follows...

I will pull the length of 4.0 RED wire from fuse 105 that feeds the EWS... That needs to connect to PIN 8 of S2 (ignition switch)... The wire that was in PIN 8 of S2 is coming from PIN 6 of the DME (??? Using 540i diagram)... This wire might be used for the reverse light circuit... The wire for PIN 8 of S2 doesn’t need to get pulled, but it does need to be heavy gauge... It’s a short hop between the EWS in the foot well on the driver side to the ignition switch... There are three feeders coming from fuse 105... They all have their own run from the fuse block behind the glove box... Disconnecting the correct feeder will give you the wire and the length you need, but I doubt you will be able to pull the whole run from the harness... Now, the wire in PIN 6 loc of the EWS can get pulled and tucked away in the harness... Leave the wire in PIN 8 loc of the EWS! It will be used for the “Start Lock” circuit... Moving over to the E-box, we need to pull the starter relay... PIN 6 and PIN 2 need to be pulled or snipped at the connector, stripped back, and connected together in some manner... I prefer to heat shrink and solder the wires... I will probably double heat shrink this area... The other wires going to the relay can be pulled from the nearest connector... One is the DME PIN 40 (??? Using the 540i diagram)... And the other is the wire we left in place in the EWS PIN 8 for the “Start Lock” circuit... OKAY!! This should conclude the start circuit mods...

******THIS REVERSE SWITCH WIRING HAD AN ERROR AT INITIAL POSTING!! IT HAS BEEN CORRECTED********

The easiest, I think, is the reverse light switch... Using the X5 and 540i diagrams, it is a basic runner using a pair of the old trans wires... It doesn’t matter which ones as it is only a status circuit, not high current... DME CONN 4 PIN 19 goes to IKE CONN 4 PIN 25... DME CONN 2 PIN 2 goes to Reverse switch PIN 1... (Either PIN will work on the switch, but the diagram says PIN 1, yada yada yada)... And Reverse switch PIN 2 goes to ground... Essentially, the trans switch tells the DME the reverse switch is closed, then the DME tells the IKE, then the IKE sends a signal to the LCM to light them up... AND that does it for the reverse light circuit...

Now for the crazy stuff!! Clutch switches... Both... I have to verify the circuit after coding, but essentially, I am going to use the old wires from the starter circuit to wire in the “Start Lock” circuit... Oddly, it uses the same PIN 8 on the DME... I think it is a ground status wire... I’m not sure how the NON-USA manual trans models deal with it... It might just be in the coding... Anyway!!! The way the 3.0L has it wired is F39 has three runners... One going to the EWS, one going to the shift lock, and one going to “clutch pedal position switch”... So, I could tap off the one going to the EWS to supply the power to both of the hall-effect switches for the clutch... These are PIN 3 of each switch...

The shift lock switch uses PIN 2 to go to the EWS PIN 8... And PIN 1 goes to ground... There is already a wire in the EWS PIN 8 that goes to the E-box (starter relay we pulled)... You can use this wire to route over to the shift lock switch (pedal all the way down)... This wire is blue/white...

The clutch pedal position switch uses PIN 2 to go to the DME CONNECTOR 4 PIN 23... And PIN 1 goes to ground... There is another wire in the EWS PIN 6 that goes to the TCU CONNECTOR 3 PIN 3... Maybe we will get lucky enough that the pins in the TCU and DME are the same!!! And the pins in the EWS and clutch pedal position switch are the same!!! We can pull this Pin from the TCU connector and move it over to the DME connector... And pull the pin from the EWS connector and move it over to the clutch pedal position connector... This wire is ALSO blue/white...

And that finishes out the clutch pedal switches...

Well, this is what I am going to go with... So far, all this has just been research... I haven’t actually cut any wires yet, except getting rid of the trans wires from the harness... The oxygen sensor wires are also in that harness, so don’t cut everything and yank the whole harness out...

Ahhhhhhhhh... Almost there... I’m still waiting on a few more parts!! Maybe tomorrow due to the holiday... I may take the cross member back into work and tweak it a little... Center things up and clean up the areas needed... Then it will be the shifter arm and shifter selector rod!!

Cheers for now!!!

__________________
2001 E53 X5 4.4i (03-07-2001 build date) White exterior / hellbeige interior (6MT swap vehicle - Manny)
2002 E53 X5 4.6is (12-20-2001 build date) Imola Red exterior / M-texture interior (Red)
2003 E53 X5 4.4i (06-26-2003 build date) Silver exterior / Black interior (Silvester II)
2008 Mini Cooper S ragtop (04-17-2008 build date) Dark Silver exterior / Gray interior ( Topless)
BMWCCA member (#4745)