BMW E46 headunit WIP - Printable Version

BMW E46 headunit WIP - Printable Version

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BMW E46 headunit WIP - JetBadger - 11-05-2019

Wasn't sure if this is yet worth posting, but I thought maybe it will encourage me to finish this project at last.

I've started this over a year ago, and ever since it's been mostly sitting in a box due to lack of time. But the idea is to make it as OEM-looking as possible with a remote control in the center console reminiscent of what could've been an even earlier I-drive.

I've used the cheaper alternative 7" LCD from the usual suspect sites. The challenge with it was mainly making it fit and affix to the 2DIN frame. For that I 3D printed some clips to hold the screen and pieces to hide the gaps. It seems to hold the LCD plenty sturdy.

[Image: XCWiS1Z.png]

Some options for the remote control that I've explored:

[Image: R6XXPUc.png]

I was in a bit of a dilemma of where to exactly put the controls, but I think I will go with the center cubby hole.

And the whole (ATM) rats nest:

[Image: ux7MTDB.jpg]

PWM LCD backlight control hack: (link to small tutorial for those interested)

[Image: zqme53i1ucj21.png?width=1920&format=png&...3cce4c93e7]

Components I've used so far:

Sealed 3A buck converter.
Adjustable 3A buck converter
RPi 3B
1024x600 Aliexpress LCD
Cheapo USB hub. USB lead power cut and separate power fed
HiFi-berry DAC clone
Generic USB soundcard for mic in
Ground loop isolator
Arduino thing for USB keyboard emulation
Boost converter to 24V for audio amp (may use it, may not)
TPA3116 stereo amp. The onboard op-amp removed for being nonsensical source of noise

The sealed buck converter I scrapped for being fixed at 5V, which due to wire, trace resistance would drop way too low at some points and the low voltage would cause all sorts of problems like some hub ports not working, screen flickering etc. The current one I set at around 5.25V at the source, which makes the voltage in the downstream devices not drop below 5V for the most part. The setup is much happier like this.

Goals and plans:

I-bus integration for SWC and maybe some on-screen information like speed, consumption, etc.
External DSP for audio and subwoofer control. Something like a BD37034 chip and the DAC chip on one board as a shield for the RPi with RCA outs. But this is going to need more time, if I ever get to it even.
Power management for shutdown delay and proper shutdown.

So that's pretty much it for now. It's pretty much ready to go in at this point, given that I figure out a neat housing for the whole mess, but I have ideas for that, so hopefully I can update this thread soon.

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - Chrisfromwa - 11-05-2019

that looks very OEM I like it.
I also like your idea of the remote, curious to see how that turns out too.

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - Daniel_BlueWave - 11-06-2019

Looks promising. We keep finger crossed.
As a remote control you could use I-drive 1st gen, as we did here:
https://bluewavestudio.io/community/showthread.php?tid=592
It is used as standalone device.

Ways of do power supply are quite good described here:
https://bluewavestudio.io/community/forumdisplay.php?fid=91

Keep doing, as looks like you are going in good direction and with high quality.

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - JetBadger - 11-06-2019

Thanks, I have thought about using an early iDrive controller, however it is a bit too bulky to find room for in an e46, coupled with the fact that it would be trickier to interface and lacks in buttons. Since I can 3D print things, I want to make something more fitting the theme Smile

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - officialgrantd - 11-06-2019

Looks very nice! I have an e46 as well. I kept the original stereo and my audio output from my usb dac goes to the aux on the stereo. For SWC i used Resler's ibus adapter, however not all of the buttons work with bluewave's controller service. Their test vehicle and mine seem to have different button IDs. Just something to keep in mind, but if you figure it out let me know! haha

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - JetBadger - 11-06-2019

(11-06-2019, 08:43 PM)officialgrantd Wrote: Looks very nice! I have an e46 as well. I kept the original stereo and my audio output from my usb dac goes to the aux on the stereo. For SWC i used Resler's ibus adapter, however not all of the buttons work with bluewave's controller service. Their test vehicle and mine seem to have different button IDs. Just something to keep in mind, but if you figure it out let me know! haha

Thanks! For SWC I was thinking about simply running the i-bus wire through a voltage divider or an optocouple into the Pi or an Arduino and have it read the data looking for the right messages. All that since there is no need really to send messages onto the bus, just read. I still have not started doing anything more on this than basic research, so not sure how it will turn out in the end.

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - JetBadger - 11-28-2019

In the past few weeks I've removed the factory headunit/HVAC holder from the dash and modified it to accept the LCD and some cables.

[Image: e8OiBpJ.jpg]

And a test fit. To my happy surprise the chinese double-din bezel fits in like a glove. I was afraid it's leave weird gaps and whatnot, since I have seen them be like that before. Happily it fits very well.

[Image: FNJpy1U.jpg]

And for the hardware mounting I've started mounting all the bits onto a piece of plastic sheet, that snugly fits in the single-din slot in the factory holder.

[Image: 9NjA3ri.jpg]

All that stuff is a tight fit, I have to say. I might have to think of some different ways of doing some things.

TODO list:

Make a power management solution. This will involve making a PCB, which I'm very lazy to do nowadays.
Tidy up all connections.
Script for brightness PWM control. Is it even possible to hijack the OpenAutoPro brightness slider to do a separate script from controlling the OE RPi screen?
Wire up two potentiometers for volume control for the door speaker and subwoofer output. I want them hidden within the whole assembly, only for initial adjustment.
Do the remote control pod.
Do the I-bus stuff for SWC and whatnot.
Preferrably not burn the car to the ground in the process.

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - czarnasm - 11-30-2019

Nice factory looking Wink

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - Baddabing - 12-18-2019

Remote control location?

You have lots of room on the surround to the gear lever - and there's room underneath that as well.

To access that put the gerar lever in neutral position and pull up very hard with two hands.

I wanted to use the same button that was the OE part on the radio, as the rotary controller.

RE: BMW E46 headunit WIP - Crackface - 04-22-2020

Nice project you have going here.

You mentioned that you have a TPA3116 amp and removed the op-amp. Can you explain what you did? I have the same/similar amp and have some issues with noise.