Thread: BMW E46 Interfaces?

Originally Posted by upspace

thx jonessc.

i don't have a cd charger in the trunk but business cd radio (hifi system) with amplifier on left side in trunk.

many wires here. the only one that is not documented is a white cable. i assume this is the i bus. since it is serial i only need one cable right?

Most of the e46's are pre-wired for a cd changer, even if you dont have one, theres a good chance the wires are still there.

Its a small square block with 4 pins. Its only 1 cable, thats wot the interface connects to to link to the ibus.

i am going nuts on this.

okay i found a white cable on the plug for the amplifier. but where to connect to the resler interface (which pin).

am i the first one trying this. why is it so hard to find any information on this since hacktheibus.com is down (not allowed to join). trying for days no without success...

Originally Posted by jonessc

get the serial version if you got it on your computer...

I don't have an available serial port. I see the seller also provides a USB version. Is the USB version just as good if not better than the serial?

I am sitting with the same problem as above. It is extremely difficult to find any information on the interfaces.

I have contact the reseller at the link above, and he gave me the yahoo links and the bmw link to follow. But none of the sites actually provides detailed information.

I have asked the seller numerious question and none were really answered according to the information I seek.

Please I am urgently looking for this information if someone can share or someone from the group provide me / the other guys also on this thread with sufficient documentation. I don't even know to which wires I should tape into for the USB interface, ect... should I solder it, do I need an fuse between the wires for the interface to protect it, ect... ???

same here. the seller of the interface does not give any support. even the pin layout which unclear on the interface which is unclear to me is not documented nor does he care to explain/anwer emails.

which one is grnd, +12v etc?
what happens if wrongly connected?
risk to destroy module?
what exactly need to be connected? i-bus, 12v, grnd or only i-bus

forums and site are all down.

could anybody who was a member once re-post relevant information. please, please

Chaps, I've also got Reslers interface on it's way to me from Germany, but I don't know how to actually connect it.
I have an E46 Coupe, which has Nav AND a CD changer.

From what I've found, there should be a plug going into the CD changed that has four connections on it.

Can anyone advise how many of these wires need to be tapped into, and which wire is what?

I have no idea how to wire reslers interface into the car when it comes, and I don't want to damage anything.

Cheers,
Glyn.

Hi guys,

Have you had any luck or new leads on the interfaces???

I am begging and desperate for some assitance please!

Thanks!

Ok, I think I can help a bit now that I've got my interface..
FIrstly, you need to remove the carpet in the left hand boot area, to get access to the CD changer, or at least the area where it should be.
There are two plugs going into the CD changer. You want the one with 3 wires into it. It will have a brown wire, a red wire, and a white and yellow wire.
You need to pull back the foam self amalgamating tape far enough to tap into these wires. Either scotch block them or cut them and solder your new wires on. I did the latter, but I'm quite good at soldering. Heatshrink the joints if you do solder! don't rely on insulation tape as it loses it's adhesive qualities after a couple of years and could cause shorts in your ibus system, potentially taking out all your expensive modules.

So.. here are the wires and what they do.
The white/yellow wire is the Ibus wire.
The red wire is the positive 12v
The brown wire is the earth.

You need to connect these three to the resler interface.
I actually found a perfect connector on an old computer CPU fan. I cut it off complete with wires, and used that to connect directly onto the resler board.

When you look at the resler board, it is labeled up Ibus, +12v, GND and NTSC.
That runs from left to right, as you read the labeling.

You don't need to connect the NTSC wire, so you should be able to work out which way to connect the wires based on what I've just told you. You do need to connect the Ibus, +12v and GND though.
As I say, rip an old computer apart and you'll find the correct connector you can salvage to plug straight onto reslers board.
This applies to the serial AND usb version as well.

If you connect the wires incorrectly, I suspect you will damage the interface beyond repair.
Only issue I have now is ibus errors when I'm trying to code it! but I know it's wired correctly.

Additionally! I've just been onto Rolf Relsers web page again..
If you have the USB version of the interface, then you only need to connect to the white/yellow Ibus wire. On the interface, this is the first pin labeled 'ibus'.
The interface then gets it's power from the USB on the PC.

Does it matter which one we get? Pros/cons of serial/USB? I intend to get USB, but want to make sure I make the right decision.