jonmentor

My 04 E60 530i is off to the shop tomorrow to get the programming done for the satellite radio just diy prep'ed. I'm sure things will go just fine. Thanks for everyone's help and the wealth of information on the web here. Things went together very smooth.

I didn't take any pics but i can take some when i get the car back. The ones posted by jomo (http://forums.e60.net/index.php?show...60013&hl=sa693) are good and mine will be the same. I will take them when the car gets back from the shop....which will be in a couple weeks because on my way to get the software updated (Friday morning) I slid off the road through a snow bank and into a couple trees, so needless to say i've got some damage to the front driver's side of the car (fender, hood, headlight, bumper looks superficial). I'm fine but, the car isn't drivable. So, when i get it back (maybe end of next week or the week after) i'll take some pics.

But, here is what i did notice about the install:

1. If you're going to perform the DIY satellite prep and it's cold (like under 40) be careful. Plastic parts are very brittle and i broke a few pieces and parts trying to get things installed (here in northeastern ohio it was 20F the evening I worked on the car)

2. The harness that needs to be built has Plastic Optical Fiber as the main transport medium to and from the sirius receiver (as all entertainment components do for late model BMWs). If you have not worked with it before don't freak out, it's very simple and straight forward if you remember some simple guidelines:
A. When you cut the fiber you don't need anything special. Make sure the fiber is warm and you can use a utility knife to slice through the sheathing and fiber. Make sure your cuts are clean and 90 degree. Do not touch the end of the fiber with anything, especially your fingers.

B. When you go to connect the MOST Ferruls to the POF carefully cut and peel back the insulation (called buffer) from the fiber. If you need a reference for how much to peel look at the other connectors tied into the MOST block (in the trunk) as an example. When you are ready to adhere the connector to the fiber use the hardest and fastest drying glue you can find (i used Sinbad glue from the motorcycle show in cleveland). The most important thing is to not interfere with the tip of the fiber, so glue where the buffer meets the connector.

3. For connecting the FAKRA sirius antenna you'll notice that there needs to be a groove cut into the connector in order to fit on the receiver. So I just heated up a small regular (flathead) screw driver and melted a 1/16 or so slot about 3/4 of an inch on the fakra.

4. For routing and placement of the antenna I just drilled a 1/4" hold through the rear shelf of the car and fed the antenna through the hole into the trunk and over to the receiver. Once the antenna is in place (against the rear window by the vent) i'm going to hold it in place with hard-core velcro to cover the majority of the hole. My reasoning for not feeding the antenna through the car seat rear post is because my 04 has a power sun shade in the rear. If i used the car seat mount hole to feed the wire through i'd have to find a way to run the wire like 6 feet around the sun shade (i just chose to deal with a small hole and to be honest it's only noticeable from 3 feet or closer)


Overall i think the DIY is very doable and anyone who wants sirius and is missing SA693 can probably get satellite if they do the 4 hrs worth of research and 2 hrs worth of work. It kind of sucked for me b/c i did the install in my driveway outside in the cold snowy weather of cleveland. But it's done and i might have frostbite....

By the way i have an IPod kit installed and logic7. No gps or cd changer. I have the cd changer i took out for the ipod install for sale if anyone wants it.

If i think of more i'll post. Feel free to call or email with questions. (PM for phone number) When i get the car back i'll get pics.

Jon