Attempting The 11 Button To 18 Button Conversion, Pics To Come Soon..

[bmwpower007]

Hey guys,

I decided to go with the conversion. I got my 18 button yesterday and planning on doing the installation today. Ill try to take pics of the install to simplyfy if its easy or not. Since no one has ever done it on the forums. Ill keep you posted.

Guys I updated it a little...


DO NOT FOLLOW THE DIAGRAM PROVIDED BY PELICAN TECHNICAL ARTICLE:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/bmw/tech...BD_Convert.htm

THIS IS NOT THE SAME FOR ALL E36, THE WIRING COLOR IS DIFFERENT.

THIS ILUSTRATED HERE IS FOR A 1998 BMW, THE ONE I HAVE WRITTEN IS FOR A 1994 BMW 325IS.

FOLLOW EACH PINS CAREFULLY FROM PIN TO PIN, GO MY NUMBER THEN COLOR NOT WITH COLOR.

REMOVE THE OLD 11 BUTTON OBC OUT





STEP 1: (LOOK AT THE BLACK CONNECTOR X1070 BACK OF YOUR 11 BUTTON OBC) AND REMOVE IT. CUT THE SMALL BLACK ZIP TIE WITH YOUR PLYER WHERE THE WIRES ARE HELD INTO PLACE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE WIRES. WHERE THE BLACK TAPE IS. DO THE SAME FOR THE WHITE CONNECTOR X1071..



STEP 2:

YOU WILL SEE A SMALL BLACK COVER THIS HAS TO BE REMOVED CAREFULL.



STEP 3:

USING A NEEDLE NOSE PLYERS CAREFULL REMOVE THE SIDE




STEP4:

AFTER YOU REMOVE THE COVER, YOU SHOULD SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS.




STEP 5:

REMOVE THE CONNECT SIMPLE BY SLIDING IT OUT.




STEP 6:

NOW YOU SHOULD SEE ALL THE WIRES AND PINS. YOU WILL ALSO SEE THAT IT IS LABLED. FROM PIN 1 - 9 AND THE OTHER SIDE 9-18

LABEL ALL THE COLORS FROM 1-18.

EXAMPLE: PIN 5 (RED/BLK) SO YOU KNOW WHAT IS WHAT.

DO THE SAME PROCEDURE FOR THE WHITE CONNECTOR X1071




STEP 7:

I USED THESE THROUGHT THE INSTALLATION. GET SOME TOO IF YOU DONT WANT TO CUT YOUR ORIGINAL HARNESS. RECOMMENDED...



STEP 8:

TAP THE RED/YELLOW FROM THE BLACK CONNECTOR X1070 AND CONNECT IT TO THE WHITE CONNECTOR WIRE RED/GRAY (WITH YELLOW MARKS)

THIS IS FOR THE POSITIVE VOLTAGE

THEN TAP BROWN WIRE FROM BLACK CONNECTOR X1070 AND ATTACH IT TO THE BROWN WIRE ON THE WHITE CONNECTOR.



CHECK EVERYTHING. AND POWER IT UP. THE UNIT SHOULD WORK AS A 11 BUTTON.. THIS IS HOW FAR I GOT, IM GOING TO CONTINUE THIS HOPEFULLY TOMORROW.. ALL THIS TILL HERE SHOULD TAKE 10 MIN.



I PUT THIS BACK IN THE DASH CAUSE IM WORKING ON IT TOMORROW.

JUST TO SEE HOW IT LOOKS:




BACK TO THE CHART...

TAKE OUT YOUR CLUSTER SIMPLY BY REMOVING THE TWO SCREWS ON THE TOP, PUSH ABIT ON THE BUTTON OF THE CLUSTER AND IT SHOULD SLIDE IN AND THEN PULL IT FROM THE TOP GENTLY... AND THE CLUSTER SHOULD COME OUT BY WINGLING AND JIGGLING IT OUT FROM THE STEERING WHEEL.

AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS PICTURE. THE 18 BUTTON OBC I BOUGHT, CAME WITH BOTH WHITE AND BLACK CONECTOR, SO SINCE I HAD THE BLACK, I HAD AN EXTRA ONE THAT I COULD USE FOR THE SETUP. EXTRACT ONE OF THE PINS, MINE I TOOK OUT THE GREEN ONE. WITH A SMALL STRAIGHT SCREW DRIVER, PRESS ON THE METAL TAB AND PULL OUT THE WIRE. SINCE THIS WIRE IS NOT THE SAME SIZE AS THE CLUSTER SOCKET SIMPLY BEND THE EDGES SO IT BECOMES A PERFECT SQUARE.. TEST TO SEE IF THIS SMALL SQUARE PIN SHAPE FITS THE CLUSTER PINS. SIMPLY BY TAKING THE WIRE AND INSERTING IT IN AND OUT ON ONE OF THE PINS ON THE CLUSTER.



USING THE SAME METHOD WHICH WAS DESRIBED IN TAKING OUT THE PLASTIC HOUSING ABOVE DO THE SAME FOR THE CLUSTER WIRING.


THE HOUSING WHERE THE BROWN WHICH IS LOCATED IN THIS PICTURE IS TAKEN OUT OF THE BLUE CONNECTOR IN BACK OF THE CLUSTER.

ONCE THE SQURE SHAPE PIN IS GOOD AND FITS ITS TIME TO INSERT IT IN THE EMPTY SLOT PIN 10 AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE PICTURE.

PLACE IT FIRMLY IN THE PIN 10 AND RUN A WIRE FROM THAT TO PIN 9 ON THE OBC WHITE CONNECTOR



PUT THE HOUSING BACK INTO THE BLUE CLUSTER CONNECTOR. PUT THE SMALL PLASTIC TAB, AND ZIP TIE WHERE THE CONNECTION OF THE WIRE IS. WHERE THE PLASTIC BLACK ZIP TIE USE TO BE. AND NOW YOUR DONE WITH THE BLUE CONNECTOR.




WHITE CONNECTOR FOR THE CLUSTER. THIS ONE DOESNT HAVE TO BE OPENED UP OR PLACED A PIN INTO IT.

SIMPLY TAP THESE WIRES FROM THE WHITE CONNECTOR AND RUN THE WIRE TO THE FOLLOWING PINS ON THE OBC:

WHITE/VOILET to pin 5 on OBC WHITE CONNECTOR
WHITE/BLACK to pin 6 on OBC WHITE CONNECTOR
WHITE/YELLOW to pin 7 on OBC WHITE CONNECTOR




HERE IS HOW IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE WHEN YOUR DONE WITH THE CLUSTER WIRING. I ZIP TIED THE WIRE SO ITS NEAT. PUT THE CLUSTER BACK.





SINCE I DIDNT HAVE THE TURN SIGNAL FUNCTION AND I DIDNT WANT TO USE THE CODE BUTTON, I DIDNT BOTHER HOOKING IT UP.. SO ALL THE OTHER FUNTIONS WORK EXCEPT CODE.. THE GAS, THE SPEED, MPG, ETC..... ALL FUNCTION



PLUG BOTH SOCKETS ON THE 18 BUTTON AND GIVE IT A TRY.... MINE WORKS I HOPE YOURS WILL TOO..

MORE UPDATED PICS TOOO COME...

THE WHOLE PROCESS TOOK LESS THEN 1 HOUR, SO ANYONE TELL YOU ITS ALOT OF WORK NOT REALLY...

THE CAR USED WAS A 1994 BMW 325IS

[DJ Genius]

Good man. It would really simplyfy the hole process.

[CLEANM3whipz]

Good luck! keep us updateda

[bmwpower007]

Good luck! keep us updateda

Updated abit.. hope its good so far..

[DJ Genius]

Very good, excellent. Very easy to follow. This DIY shoud be parked.

[bmwpower007]

Good luck! keep us updateda

Guess no one was intrested on my post and doing the 18 button swap... oh well I guess I wont update more pics.. since no one replied.

[johnf]

Guess no one was intrested on my post and doing the 18 button swap... oh well I guess I wont update more pics.. since no one replied.

If you had a question, there, somehow I missed it. If you have any, just ask.

From various write-ups I have done, I'd say there could very well be people interested in your posts, but if there are, no more than a few percent will let you know that (and that's probably optimistic), and then mostly with sentence fragments and one-liners. As Samuel Johnson famously remarked, no one but a blockhead wrote except for money. Welcome to the club.

[Quickstrike]

Guess no one was intrested on my post and doing the 18 button swap... oh well I guess I wont update more pics.. since no one replied.

Please keep updating the guide.

I find this very helpful... so far so good .

[johnf]

I just noticed the blue quick connects. Aren't those for 1-2mm^2 wire? I thought all or almost all the wires to the OBC are smaller than that which could lead to reliability problems. I prefer solder and heat shrink as it doesn't fail.

[bmwpower007]

I just noticed the blue quick connects. Aren't those for 1-2mm^2 wire? I thought all or almost all the wires to the OBC are smaller than that which could lead to reliability problems. I prefer solder and heat shrink as it doesn't fail.

You can go around of what I listed, but some people dont prefer to cut their original harness and I am one of those people. This way, if you plan on selling your car afterwards you can un-fasten the clips and put back your old 11 button. And keep the 18 button.

[johnf]

You can go around of what I listed, but some people dont prefer to cut their original harness and I am one of those people. This way, if you plan on selling your car afterwards you can un-fasten the clips and put back your old 11 button....

And leave behind a bunch of damaged wires. Those fast connects cut the wires -- only a lot of people do not realize that until the connections fail on them.

[bmwpower007]

And leave behind a bunch of damaged wires. Those fast connects cut the wires -- only a lot of people do not realize that until the connections fail on them.

Not really, the way a fastner works is, it takes the wire and forks it inside meaning that. It slits the both sides of the wire so it can touch the wire inside. The metal inside the clip that slits it, is like a "u" which sits on the wire. It doesnt cut the wire. Trust me ive installed alot of radios using this method, not even one failed.

[johnf]

The first BMW-issued installation instructions I grabbed start with the following guidance about laying cables:

To prevent faults, it is essential to adhere precisely to designated cable-layout lines in vehicle. Under no circumstances should you work with "Scotchlock quick connectors" as these can cause malfunctions in vehicle electrical system.

The funny thing is you should not need them to add this particular accessory.

You have been warned.

[jarozila]

Guess no one was intrested on my post and doing the 18 button swap... oh well I guess I wont update more pics.. since no one replied.

Your write up would have to be one of the best I have seen. The pictures show the appropriate level of detail and with the text the DIY is easy to follow.

PLEASE do continue with this. People will find this thread and it will be a god send. At the end of the day if you were to only hekp one person, and you will be helping a lot more, then this alone is reward for your effort!!

On another note, do consider johnf's advise. He has helped me with some electircal work and does know BMWs very well.

Personally, if I were to do this I would hard wire the unit in place. As for being able to remove it, nice thought, but once done I would just leave it in the car when I sold the car. I think it is better for a future owner that any electrical work is done to such an extent that the possibility of failure is as remote as possible. Just imagine the hassle if something comes loose 5 years down the track and how hard it would be for someone else to find the source of the problem.

[johnf]

It would be pretty easy to revert the car back to the 11-button check control, even if you permanent wired everything, that is soldered and heat shrinked -- which I would recommend for peace of mind. It's easy to remove contacts or move contacts from one connector to the other. The contacts you have to remove to revert back to the CC, you can safely insulate with pieces of heat shrink. There's plenty of room behind the middle console to tuck them away.

When it comes time to sell the car, you can ask if the buyer might want to retrofit an OBC someday. If they do, you can tell them, oh yeah, the car is pre-wired for that. You just need to move these, take off those, slide them in here, and BAM, you're done.

[Chaosbunny]

is there any hope for thsoe of us with 7 button OBCs .. to convert an 18, or even an 11?

[johnf]

Converting the 7-button outside temp. display to an OBC is straightforward and reasonably fast if you don't bother adding check control.

Converting the display to an 11-button check control unit or adding that to the OBC is a lot more work and expense. That and the BRAKE LIGHT CIRCUIT problem convinced me not to bother. (I have since added a check control of my own design to monitor the brake lights and improve their reliability. It doesn't use the OBC.)

[DJ Genius]

So, how is the rest of pics going on?

[schwarzII325is]

i just find it hilarious that as your are plugging it in, it is giving you an errior

"low beam failure"

[bmwpower007]

i just find it hilarious that as your are plugging it in, it is giving you an errior

"low beam failure"

No its not, cause my left right bulb is acting weird its goes on and off. I have the HID setup and I think one of the xenon is going bad.

[dlight26]

the 7 button conversion is not that difficult and it is possible:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=551795

[bmwpower007]

So, how is the rest of pics going on?

I finished the project success...

[Zaks]

good thread.. i'll be doing this very soon... i'll PM you if i have questions

[BMWL7]

mine already had the 18 button its a 92 , whats the deal did someone do that to it or was it like that stock i just bought the car

[bmwpower007]

good thread.. i'll be doing this very soon... i'll PM you if i have questions

Sure dude why not..