[a4r0]

i have been trying to workout how to do a retrofit sat nav in to a 2005 mini cooper,
ive searched the forum and asked the dealer for a wiring diagram and all sorts but i have come to a dead end.

i have got as far as i can get by installing the wiring loom behind the dash that goes into the back of the sat nav itself and down to the fuses

ive installed the dvd drive underneath the drivers seat and wired the loom and still cant get the screen to turn on, there is power running to the screen cos the airbag light is on and the petrol indicator.
but thats it ive even got the shark antenna and the two speedo's, ive come to a stage where i cant do anymore, im thinking off taking everything out again and putting it back to normal and selling it all

if there is someone out there who could give me some advice or help, i would very much appreciate it...

thankyou.

[DaFlake]

Not sure if this will help but there is a forum on X5World that has a lot more information with a lot of guys that have retrofitted into different BMW's.

Navigation System - X5world

Perhaps you can post there and see if they can help. Kiwijochen is very knowledgeable on the MK3/4

[chris.lamb]

You will need to get the new instruments coded to your car before they will work OK.

Whoever does it will need your old speedo to read out the old codes to flash the new instruments.

Should take less than 1 hour.

Do let the forum know how you get on as this retrofit is one of the few not yet 100% done.

TTFN

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by a4r0 (original)

i have been trying to workout how to do a retrofit sat nav in to a 2005 mini cooper,
ive searched the forum and asked the dealer for a wiring diagram and all sorts but i have come to a dead end.

If you ask the dealers about the wiring for the sat-nav systems it normally ends up in confusion , because although you can get retrofit systems from the main dealer, they are not the same as the genuine OEM one fitted at the factory .

Quote: Originally Posted by a4r0 (original)

i have got as far as i can get by installing the wiring loom behind the dash that goes into the back of the sat nav itself and down to the fuses

Is that the only piece of loom that you have fitted? .

Quote: Originally Posted by a4r0 (original)

ive installed the dvd drive underneath the drivers seat and wired the loom and still cant get the screen to turn on, there is power running to the screen cos the airbag light is on and the petrol indicator.

When you say "wired the loom" have you done this yourself? (made the loom up yourself or used some loom butchered from the car that the sat-nav was fitted to?) .

Quote: Originally Posted by a4r0 (original)

but thats it ive even got the shark antenna and the two speedo's, ive come to a stage where i cant do anymore, im thinking off taking everything out again and putting it back to normal and selling it all

When you say "ive even got the shark antenna and the two speedo's" have you wired these in or have you just got them? . you haven't mentioned the drivers rear quarter window (this has a replacement antenna fitted to it in place of the roof antenna in conjunction with the shark fin (on earlier models up to 04, later models changed ie no shark fin)).

Quote: Originally Posted by a4r0 (original)

if there is someone out there who could give me some advice or help, i would very much appreciate it...

thankyou.

Quote: Originally Posted by chris.lamb (original)

You will need to get the new instruments coded to your car before they will work OK.

Whoever does it will need your old speedo to read out the old codes to flash the new instruments.

Should take less than 1 hour.

Do let the forum know how you get on as this retrofit is one of the few not yet 100% done.

TTFN

If you have only got or wired only part of the sat-nav system or wired it wrong then it's not going to work no matter what you do.
If you have a complete system removed from another car and cut out the complete wiring, you will need to get it all programed to your car as "chris.lamb" says, it may then work, but you only need 1 wire to be out of place and whole system wont / may not work, and may / may not be able to be programed and could cost you plenty of ££££££££! , if you send it in and it's not wired in right , It could also damage other items so be careful.

I have done it but I'm not quite sure you can call it a retrofit though , I'll do another post as it's going to get long zzzzzz!

[Randall Raines]

How to fit / retrofit? a genuine OEM sat-nav system into your MINI

I have actually done this a couple of times and I have had everything working , but I'm not sure that you can call it an actual retrofit , hence the question mark :.

1st of all I found a MINI at a salvage yard with the complete system in it (all in working order), I removed all the components and the complete wiring loom, I removed the complete loom to see if I could un-pick it and get the wiring that I needed.

On inspecting the loom I realised that it was a lot bigger job than I had imagined (wires linked to ABS and Body Control Unit and interlinked to all other components etc... etc...), I am no stranger to wiring things into cars that weren't originally fitted, and with signal wires more and more common (components talking to each other not just +poss +poss;switch & -neg, like the old days ), it's not as simple as it used to be .

It was at that point I decided It would be easier changing the full wiring loom as I would have removed my original loom anyway so that I could wire it in properly (make a neat job and tape everything up nicely (no wires all over the place )).

Changing the full loom also entails changing anything else over that is different (other options, so always find a loom with equivalent spec +sat-nav or much better spec than you originally have +sat-nav, the extra components can also cost you extra ).

The dash and the full interior had to come out anyway (making a neater job & making it easier to access components), so the loom didn't take much extra work to take out, it was a little fiddly through the bulkhead on the left because of the ABS unit (UK RHD MINI) and the a plastic panel behind it but apart from that quite easy (In my opinion).

Changing the full wiring loom, It is less likely to go wrong and if it doesn't work out you can always put it back to original, If you start to chop and change and mix up the looms you could mess up both looms and be in quite a predicament .

The 1st one I did I changed almost everything, no alarm - alarm, ABS - ASC+T, brake pad sensors, non Air-Con - Air-Con (this included changing the rads & the air-box but as the dash was out it was easy), halogen lamps - xenons & washers, so I got quite a few extras as well (at a price ).
This also included changing the Body Control Unit so in this case I didn't need to send it in to have everything programmed in, I didn't even need the mileage programing as they were only a couple of hundred miles out either way (can't remember which way ), so the only thing that I did need programing was the actual remotes in the keys. I kept the ECU and the original keys "Original". the only thing that the dealer picked up on was the slightly different mileage, the one programmed in to the key & the one on the speedo (as they were slightly different) .

The 2nd one I did, I did the same as above plus, panoramic sunroof (changed the roof skin), heated seats, heated screen, climate control, but unfortunately no xenons (you can't have everything ).
But on this one I had to send it in to be programmed as I didn't get a Body Control Unit (it was already missing) and the original would have needed programing (due to the sunroof) so I sent it in to be reprogrammed.
After a little confusion with the tech guy (he was putting in the original chassis number in which didn't now relate to the spec of that car, so I had to explain what I had done and give him the chassis # of the donor car , They actually replaced the Body Control Unit at my expense as the warranty was voided due to the upgrades (what I had done) but they actually programed everything in and it all worked (I have had warranty work done since and no one has mentioned anything and I haven't been charged )
The mileage on both cars were totally different so I wanted to keep the original mileage which they did (re-programmed the speedo).

So you need to keep a note of the donor chassis numbers in case of any problems or differences in the future or any upgrades you may be thinking of .

Quote: Originally Posted by chris.lamb (original)

You will need to get the new instruments coded to your car before they will work OK.

Whoever does it will need your old speedo to read out the old codes to flash the new instruments.

Should take less than 1 hour.

Do let the forum know how you get on as this retrofit is one of the few not yet 100% done.

TTFN

So it can be done and it may be possible without programming (you normally need something programing even if its only the mileage or remotes) depending on the way you do it and whether you can get all the equipment needed to do it in working order at a price that's right .

The parts can be hard to get hold of in a complete set as a lot are removed and sold in bits and pieces, normally on eBay or purchased by someone who thinks that they can just have the screen fitted & programed.

Can you call it an actual retrofit, I'm not sure , it depends on how you look at it .

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by Randal Raines

So it can be done and it may be possible without programming (you normally need something programing even if its only the mileage or remotes) depending on the way you do it and whether you can get all the equipment needed to do it in working order at a price that's right .

The parts can be hard to get hold of in a complete set as a lot are removed and sold in bits and pieces, normally on eBay or purchased by someone who thinks that they can just have the screen fitted & programed.

Is it worth doing? That depends, a general member of public, possibly not, some one who is quite handy and can do the labour himself apart from the programing, possibly, some one in the trade who can get the parts, but has to pay for the labour, possibly, Me, I can normally get the parts cheapish (the cost can still mount up £££), I do all the labour myself and I get the programming done at trade price, I would only do this on my own MINI / MINIs (if anything should go wrong it's down to me & at my expense) due to saving the labour charge and only if I'm keeping the car for a while.

Should any warranty claims be refused, I can just do them myself anyway , I think .

I have just done a retrofit Climate Control on a MINI for the other ½, plus a few other little mods the same way .

Can you call it an actual retrofit, I'm not sure, it depends on how you look at it .

Would I do it for anyone else, No!, not unless they were a very good friend and it was at their own risk, plus I would have to check all the parts are working myself as I couldn't think of anything worse than doing all that and then it not work due to faulty parts .

[chris.lamb]

Randall,

u iz da man!

[ALD0]

Crikey Randall and you have "Easy life" under your name!
Well done to the retro fit though, after reading that I think it would be easier to find a cherished specced Nav, or pay the extra £1600

Was the cost to you about £900?

[Randall Raines]

"chris.lamb"

I've messed around with many MINIs, I have no doubt that a proper retrofit factory-fit OEM sat-nav can be done by unpicking the wiring and fitting it to another MINI, but in my experience, you can trace the wires back in one MINI and that doesn't necessarily mean that that's where they go in another MINI (different spec's can effect the routing of the wires if you know what I mean).

As BMW don't do a retrofit factory-fit OEM sat-nav you have to get the wiring from somewhere ie another MINI (I think it would be to difficult / expensive to have a wiring kit made up (but not impossible)), so you might as well take all the loom rather than chop half out .

I have also seen plenty of people buy bits & pieces of genuine OEM sat-nav's from various places, but I have never seen anyone manage to actually fit it this way and get it all working (some only buy the screen ), 1 bloke told me that he managed it (he did however buy everything except the wiring), but he would never show me the evidence (so that I could see how he had done it) and then I heard that he was selling a sat-nav system, coincidence .

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by ALD0 (original)

Crikey Randall and you have "Easy life" under your name!
Well done to the retro fit though

I know "ALDO", it's only easy at times, "retrofit" it's more like transplanting the brains & nervous system of a MINI into another .

Quote: Originally Posted by ALD0 (original)

after reading that I think it would be easier to find a cherished specced Nav, or pay the extra £1600

It would be easier finding a cherished spec'd MINI, and OK if your in a position to be able to do that .

Well Worth the extra £1600 (I just priced a aftermarket stereo sat-nav system and that is £1500) when you are specking a new MINI, most of the extras are worth the extra cost when specking a new MINI but that specking business can add up £££££ , and some people wrongly think, I'll get that later when I can afford it, or have a go in another MINI and then think, I should have got that .

I prefer the Genuine Factory-fit system, as you would expect it fits in place nicely (No extra unit around the car, or some where you can't see it), plus it's more secure although you can't remove it from the car, and I even prefer the little speedo where it is, rather than being in the centre of the dash (that's just my preference).

Once you've used / had sat-nav's you can't usually do without them again .

Quote: Originally Posted by ALD0 (original)

Was the cost to you about £900?

You're probably quite close to the mark with that guesstimate, then you have to take my labour into account (although it can be a lot cheaper ), cost can vary as the Body Control Unit & programing can cost approx a couple of hundred if it's needed, I have seen sets of used Genuine sat-nav systems go for around the £500 - £600 without the wiring (in my opinion without wiring, it's only worth what you can get for it as parts)

I actually ended up with extras as well Air-Con, ASC, Heated Mirrors etc... etc...

I don't go picking & choosing specs, colours, models etc... etc... I just get the option of, do you want this (MINI), for this much (££££), Yes! or No! ?