Possible to connect phone without bluetooth?

atakordie · #1 04-21-2009, 12:39 AM

At my wit's end; have searched many boards looking for my answer, including (the former) x5world , and would like to see if there is someone here who can help, since it looks like there are many very knowledgeable people here.

In short, I am looking to connect my iPhone to my 2001 E39 540i *without* installing a bluetooth kit via the eject box I have installed in the armrest here:

The eject box is new, the iPhone snap-in adapter is for the first gen models. The harness is plugged in, and charges the phone when I insert it into the cradle here. The antenna cable wasn't connected at first, but I found a fakra to uhf adapter to go in the armrest there (which, I don't think does anything for the iPhone from what I have read).

I'm getting a red light on the nav bezel (as seen) for the phone [not sure if this is normal]. When I start the car, "BMW assist inactive" appears in the OBC every time, regardless of iPhone being connected or not. BMW assist was active and working prior to my removal of the OEM Motorola phone that was installed by the dealer. Also, pressing the "face" button on the steering wheel or drilling down to the dial function on the nav display yields the angrifying "phone connected?" on the OBC. When the BMW Motorola phone was still installed, I could actually dial numbers using these methods, albeit the call was redirected to activate through Verizon. The phone number would show up on the OBC.

So, gentle reader, what I am asking is, why does it look like I must install the bluetooth kit from bimmernav in order to get my iPhone to send/receive calls if I can have it directly wired into the armrest adapter as shown (in a similar manner as the BMW phone)? The installation of the bluetooth kit is what so many people have done - and I may do it some day - but is there no other way to make calls than through bluetooth pairing??

I have purchased an E38/E39 Digital Phone Adapter Harness (part number 84 11 0 009 112) to install, hoping this would resolve the issue, but I don't even know where to begin to install this, to even see *if* it works. Took some pics of the trunk/wires I'm looking at:

This is the new adapter

There is a four-pin connector that came loose with the harness, and the free leads (white, yellow, brown, red) have sockets crimped on the end to (seemingly) be inserted into the extra connector here. Yet another thin yellow wire has a thin pin-looking connector which may or may not go somewhere

Above the CD changer, there is a mass of wires and modules about which I will not pretend to be knowledgeable.

This connector seems to have the same pin/socket type as the new adapter, but it has something like 6 pins instead of 4, so the adapter can't plug in here:

The male side only has 2 pins; the female side has 3 sockets

Also, this is back there...the parallel printer port looking connector, which from what I have read is part of the phone wiring.

Lastly, there is a white connector above the wheel well (that I think has something to do with the telephone) that I can't really get to easily:

Any help or direction of action would be supremely appreciated!

Sorry for the blurry pics and long post, I just want to be complete.

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Brian-bmw · #2 04-21-2009, 06:40 AM

No, the Bluetooth kit is your only option here.

The Bluetooth eject box (what you have), does not have any wiring that connects the phone's dialing control and speaker outputs to the car. It assumes that everything else is going through Bluetooth. The eject box only has the wiring in place to charge the phone.

Second, you would need a Telephone Control Unit in the trunk that could recognize the iPhone. The TCU in the car now can only recognize the Motorola handset that you have removed. The Bluetooth ULF module is the component that would replace your existing TCU and connect the phone to the car.

ccfj1 · #3 04-21-2009, 10:04 AM

Welcome to the forum,

Brian is correct, No is the short answer.

You have done as much as you can with out going the BT route, there is just no way to connect the phone to the cars wiring and for it to work as you want.

If you want the phone to "work" (make/receive calls, VR, on screen caller ID, SMS reading and phone book storage) then you will need to get either a TCU or a ULF and connect it to the 26pin d type plug (second from last pic), bimmernav make a converter lead I think.