hhk31257

As promised, here is the first Diy i did.
I hope it can be of some help to some people, its an easy diy that takes about 15 minutes if you have the right tools at hand.
Ofcourse i'm not a pro, so it is most likely that this mod can be done better (post your suggestions and instructions.)
As always, use at own risk!

Special thanks to nicke60gre for the help and to andy545 for informing me about nicke60gre.

Comparison between the original and the M5 shifter


Pull out the protective leather around the shifter


Remove the shift knob, easiest way to do this is by putting the shifter in 4th gear and pull the knob upwards


Remove the I-drive knob by pulling it upwards, remove the menu button by pulling it out with a soft tool (i used a screwdriver, a soft tool might be better so you wont damage the trim)


Before you start removing the trim first remove the ash tray and remove the 2 screws, then pull up the trim gently (someone on this board noted that you need super human fingers to pull this one out.. and he is right!)


Route the 2 wires below the I-drive knob and fish for it at the hole where the menu button cable comes up (you need iron nerves for this one, but its clean when its done)
The 2 outer wires of the menu button plug are the ones for the power of the led (purple/white - brown/black, the 2 outside wires), be sure to test this first.. i don't want you to Short circuit your i drive system.
I pushed the pins from the original cable together with the menu button wires into the plug and then taped them together, first the 2 wires together with the power wires and then tape around all the cables.
i'm sure there are better ways to do this, like for example soldering etc but i decided to do it with tape so i can remove the whole mod at any time, if you use cloth non-flammable tape then there should be no problem


Results afterwards



Only problem i have at the moment is that the M5 illumination is red instead of orange like the other leds, not that it looks bad but orange would have better matched the other leds.

I'm going to post pictures of the car soon, currently rebuilding it.
M5 kit, M6 style wheels, and looking for m-tech springs.
I'ts a E61, bought it in germany last week.

BALASUBAS

good job! hope to see the whole pic of the car

unknown

great write up, looks good!

profor

Nice, so next step will be chabging orange LEDs to red ones

jashy247

+1 on the GREAT WRITEUP! Instead of going through the barely visible hole I took off 2 screws from the trim and slid the wires under the trim to avoid hours of searching for the hard to find wires in order to connect them. This was A LOT easier and took me at most 10 minutes slide it under the trim. My only problem that i had, after the job I pushed the knob into the rod and it keeps pulling out especially when I go into 2nd and 4th gear. Is there any way I can make it stay in there? Do I need to glue the inside of the M5 shift knob for it to stick to the metal rod. All the hard work and it wont even stay in : ( .... Please help..thanks

jashy247

+1 on the GREAT WRITEUP! Instead of going through the barely visible hole I took off 2 screws from the trim and slid the wires under the trim to avoid hours of searching for the hard to find wires in order to connect them. This was A LOT easier and took me at most 10 minutes slide it under the trim. My only problem that i had, after the job I pushed the knob into the rod and it keeps pulling out especially when I go into 2nd and 4th gear. Is there any way I can make it stay in there? Do I need to glue the inside of the M5 shift knob for it to stick to the metal rod. All the hard work and it wont even stay in : ( .... Please help..thanks