After many requests I've decided to put together a little bit of information on how to get some android apps displaying on your iDrive as well as a backup camera. I have to give @Dreyo27 credit for most of the ideas and help with his work on the JB4 gauges on iDrive video. There were several things I had to figure out, you can skip it and go straight to the list of things I bought. Here is a video of what you'll be able to do:
There are several ways to do this, particularly if you have CIC, but due to wanting a backup camera as well as integration with the stock iDrive menus and not wanting an external device showing, I chose this method as it seemed the most OEM. If you want just the gauges or just the backup camera, there is are better and less expensive ways to do this. For the backup camera only method, click here. Everything I explain here will be regarding the CIC because I have not done this with CCC before, although I know most of this should still apply to CCC cars. There may be some exceptions, particularly related to the backup camera as well as the labels on the box and perhaps some of the canbus wiring for CCC modules. I'd recommend referencing one of the several other CCC videos floating around youtube for help in that area.
The concept is to use a module called xcarlink which is essentially a receiver for the car. The xcarlink goes between the 'head unit' and the iDrive display and acts as a pass-through. It also is able to read the canbus and grab data like gear selection and steering angle for the backup camera. If configured, when you enter the reverse gear, the xcarlink will automatically switch the screen to and from the rear camera RCA signal. CIC cars have a built in backup camera software, although it is not enabled by default and for the sake of simplicity, I decided to just use the xcarlink backup channel. The video real estate is larger than OEM, though I do not have PDC so I'm not sure how that would impact the layout if someone did.
There is also an AV1 and AV2 input, one of which we will plug in our Android box/stick, as well as AV OUT. You access these inputs from the iDrive home screen by long pressing the menu button and it will switch to the first channel you have enabled. There are dip switches you can set to turn on and off the channels you wish to use. Long press it again to cycle through the channels. The DVB-T channel is AV1. Short press menu to go back to the iDrive menu.
The xcarlink was designed for several different cars, so when it arrives you'll get several cables that don't apply and for the most part can be ignored except for the LVDS cables, AV connector and the power/can cable. There is also a little board with control buttons which will connect to the "PROGRAM" port, but at least for CIC, it is not necessary as the same menu can be reached by holding the Option button on the iDrive controls for several seconds while in one of the xcarlink channels. There are a few things about the unit that I don't fully understand but I'll explain the way I got it working.
What you'll need:
xcarlink
Android box (Note: I don't actually recommend this box unless you don't care if its kinda big - a slower quad core stick would probably be better)
Bluetooth Keyboard
Add a Fuse
DC Step down
USB to 5.5x2.1 Power Plug
3.5mm to RCA cable (See issue below)
Backup camera trunk handle(See ebay)
The xcarlink I got for around 250. The android box can be any box or stick you want, but it needs to have an AV out and also bluetooth, a newer version of android and fit in the glovebox. The android box I got won't fit in the space behind the glovebox panel, but it will go back into the fusebox area if you insist on hiding it from the glovebox itself. You can use a different keyboard, but I know this android box and keyboard work together. The 5.5x2.1mm power adapater will depend on the plug size of your android device. You may have to order the box/stick you want and then measure the plug ID/OD of the power cable before you buy the adapter. The step down is so we won't fry the android device with 12+v from the car, as most devices won't need that much including this unit which uses 5v @2A.
Once you have all the parts, you'll need to take out the iDrive screen, headunit and trims. I followed parts of this video except some of the wiring instructions.
In this image, it may be hard to see but Cable B has been moved and now routes from the head unit to the glove box area. It used to go from the screen directly down to the head unit, however due to where the xcarlink fits in the cavity between the head unit and the glovebox, that cable is not long enough to extend from the screen to the box itself. So instead, I pulled this cable out being careful not to get it stuck, and left one end to connect to the head unit and the other end to connect to the LVDS-IN on the xcarlink which will be directly to the right of the head unit. I then took the supplied LVDS cable(Cable A) and fished it from the screen area, down to the same cavity near the glovebox so it could connect the screen to the LVDS-OUT. Do the same with the supplied power/can cable. The wide connector that used to go in the screen now Y's into the xcarlink's power/can cable with the other two ends going to the screen and the xcarlink.
A lot of this is difficult to explain or visualize but more or less, you just plug things in where they fit. They don't fit any other connector as there is only one way to wire this up. The only tricky part was situating the LVDS cables so they would be long enough to reach the mounting location.
Notice, the only other things plugged in besides those two LVDS cables is the power/can connector and the connector for the AV cables.
You should be able to put the screen back in and install the head unit and most of the trim in the center entertainment area. The next part is installing the android box to the xcarlink, this is not hard and I won't really explain it too much.
ISSUE: The one catch with the android box and from what I'm told, other android sticks as well, is that the 3.5mm jack doesn't seem to function properly. There is an issue with the three stripe 3.5mm jack design/standard which appears to exist across several models of android sticks/boxes. I've tried a few connectors and have found that many don't work at all and I recommend testing on a TV first. With some plugs it is necessary to push the AV jack in partially for the video signal to appear or to swap the connectors around until you see something pop up on the screen as the colors won't match the plugs in this case. The permanent solution to this is to open up the box/stick and solder the RCA wires directly to the board or use an HDMI to AV converter, however this will require an additional power source.
EDIT: I've used an HDMI converter box which bypasses the need for a 3.5mm jack, so any android box/stick with hdmi will work. I've also ordered the official xCarLink MHL to HDMI module which I will post about when I get it.
As far as routing the camera, I explain that in another thread for E93's, HERE.
And here are some pics of the remaining glovebox wiring:
There are several ways to do this, particularly if you have CIC, but due to wanting a backup camera as well as integration with the stock iDrive menus and not wanting an external device showing, I chose this method as it seemed the most OEM. If you want just the gauges or just the backup camera, there is are better and less expensive ways to do this. For the backup camera only method, click here. Everything I explain here will be regarding the CIC because I have not done this with CCC before, although I know most of this should still apply to CCC cars. There may be some exceptions, particularly related to the backup camera as well as the labels on the box and perhaps some of the canbus wiring for CCC modules. I'd recommend referencing one of the several other CCC videos floating around youtube for help in that area.
The concept is to use a module called xcarlink which is essentially a receiver for the car. The xcarlink goes between the 'head unit' and the iDrive display and acts as a pass-through. It also is able to read the canbus and grab data like gear selection and steering angle for the backup camera. If configured, when you enter the reverse gear, the xcarlink will automatically switch the screen to and from the rear camera RCA signal. CIC cars have a built in backup camera software, although it is not enabled by default and for the sake of simplicity, I decided to just use the xcarlink backup channel. The video real estate is larger than OEM, though I do not have PDC so I'm not sure how that would impact the layout if someone did.
There is also an AV1 and AV2 input, one of which we will plug in our Android box/stick, as well as AV OUT. You access these inputs from the iDrive home screen by long pressing the menu button and it will switch to the first channel you have enabled. There are dip switches you can set to turn on and off the channels you wish to use. Long press it again to cycle through the channels. The DVB-T channel is AV1. Short press menu to go back to the iDrive menu.
The xcarlink was designed for several different cars, so when it arrives you'll get several cables that don't apply and for the most part can be ignored except for the LVDS cables, AV connector and the power/can cable. There is also a little board with control buttons which will connect to the "PROGRAM" port, but at least for CIC, it is not necessary as the same menu can be reached by holding the Option button on the iDrive controls for several seconds while in one of the xcarlink channels. There are a few things about the unit that I don't fully understand but I'll explain the way I got it working.
What you'll need:
xcarlink
Android box (Note: I don't actually recommend this box unless you don't care if its kinda big - a slower quad core stick would probably be better)
Bluetooth Keyboard
Add a Fuse
DC Step down
USB to 5.5x2.1 Power Plug
3.5mm to RCA cable (See issue below)
Backup camera trunk handle(See ebay)
The xcarlink I got for around 250. The android box can be any box or stick you want, but it needs to have an AV out and also bluetooth, a newer version of android and fit in the glovebox. The android box I got won't fit in the space behind the glovebox panel, but it will go back into the fusebox area if you insist on hiding it from the glovebox itself. You can use a different keyboard, but I know this android box and keyboard work together. The 5.5x2.1mm power adapater will depend on the plug size of your android device. You may have to order the box/stick you want and then measure the plug ID/OD of the power cable before you buy the adapter. The step down is so we won't fry the android device with 12+v from the car, as most devices won't need that much including this unit which uses 5v @2A.
Once you have all the parts, you'll need to take out the iDrive screen, headunit and trims. I followed parts of this video except some of the wiring instructions.
In this image, it may be hard to see but Cable B has been moved and now routes from the head unit to the glove box area. It used to go from the screen directly down to the head unit, however due to where the xcarlink fits in the cavity between the head unit and the glovebox, that cable is not long enough to extend from the screen to the box itself. So instead, I pulled this cable out being careful not to get it stuck, and left one end to connect to the head unit and the other end to connect to the LVDS-IN on the xcarlink which will be directly to the right of the head unit. I then took the supplied LVDS cable(Cable A) and fished it from the screen area, down to the same cavity near the glovebox so it could connect the screen to the LVDS-OUT. Do the same with the supplied power/can cable. The wide connector that used to go in the screen now Y's into the xcarlink's power/can cable with the other two ends going to the screen and the xcarlink.
A lot of this is difficult to explain or visualize but more or less, you just plug things in where they fit. They don't fit any other connector as there is only one way to wire this up. The only tricky part was situating the LVDS cables so they would be long enough to reach the mounting location.
Notice, the only other things plugged in besides those two LVDS cables is the power/can connector and the connector for the AV cables.
You should be able to put the screen back in and install the head unit and most of the trim in the center entertainment area. The next part is installing the android box to the xcarlink, this is not hard and I won't really explain it too much.
ISSUE: The one catch with the android box and from what I'm told, other android sticks as well, is that the 3.5mm jack doesn't seem to function properly. There is an issue with the three stripe 3.5mm jack design/standard which appears to exist across several models of android sticks/boxes. I've tried a few connectors and have found that many don't work at all and I recommend testing on a TV first. With some plugs it is necessary to push the AV jack in partially for the video signal to appear or to swap the connectors around until you see something pop up on the screen as the colors won't match the plugs in this case. The permanent solution to this is to open up the box/stick and solder the RCA wires directly to the board or use an HDMI to AV converter, however this will require an additional power source.
EDIT: I've used an HDMI converter box which bypasses the need for a 3.5mm jack, so any android box/stick with hdmi will work. I've also ordered the official xCarLink MHL to HDMI module which I will post about when I get it.
As far as routing the camera, I explain that in another thread for E93's, HERE.
And here are some pics of the remaining glovebox wiring:
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