e46 cruise control module

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pre facelift e39 e38 e46 cruise control retrofit guide

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Thread: pre facelift e39 e38 e46 cruise control retrofit guide

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So since I did a install of the cruise control in my '97 520i I would like to do a write up guide since everything I found online was a bit incomplete so I think this could help someone who wants to do this. I am writing for a manual, but will cover the auto as well. It is not hard, but does get a bit messy with about 20 wires, soldering, connecting and stuff, so you should know your way with a solder, heat shrink and wire cutters. It took me around 5-6 hours of work to do it First needed parts: -MF steering wheel get one after 96/08 , the earlier ones have a separate control box which is more unnecessary work, the ones after that have everything inside them, and just a few wires to connect to the radio, power, and cruise control -cruise control module, once again there are 2 types, before 97/08 and after, the before ones need a on/off button , the later ones do that via the steering wheel, I have learned this after I got mine so had to put in a button, no big deal, but you do need to instal the button so if you dont want to drill it somewhere get the newer one -cruise control actuator motor with throttle cable -clutch switch, it can work without one, mine does, but If you can get it -connectors for the actuator (8 pin oval one) and control module (26 pin blue one, same as the ones behind the dash) with pigtail wires or complete wiring if you can -scrap wiring harness from any car for cutting wires (should have about 20 color coded wires and be about 1m or longer) -!!! a paper to write down all the color coded wires, and what goes where, trust me, this saved me a lot of time and nerves, sit down, get all the diagrams, write it down, and while you solder new different wires just write down what goes from where to where 1. servo actuator Screen Shot 2020-11-11 at 9.49.47 PM.png IMG-20201110-WA0003.jpg The motor should go on the side, but I couldn't figure out how to mount it, so I just drilled 3 bolts into the fender next to the air filter. just check that the throttle link is long enough to reach the throttle body. The throttle cable just pops into place above the pedal cable, on the throttle body you have 2 cable clamps, and 2 cable seats , so it all just pops in. Next you need to get the cabling, you have 7 wires, pin 2 is ground, on the diagrams it should connect inside the car, but I just went to the ground terminal next to it, and connected it there. The other 6 all go to the control module, so take 6 long wires from the scrap harness, solder it, WRITE DOWN the colors you changed, and use cloth tape to make it look neat and clean. The picture above is the diagram for those 6 wires. Next take out the air filter above the brake cylinder, the main cable harness goes thru there, cut out a bit of the rubber and pop thru the 6 cables inside the car, they should exit under the clutch. Use some silicone or something arround where you cut the rubber to prevent water from coming in. IMG-20201110-WA0005.jpg 2. control module Next you go inside the car, take out all the plastics under the steering wheel and where your left foot rests next to the clutch , the control module goes there , I used a few zip ties to fix it in place since I couldn't find the screw holes. Take the 26 pin connector and check what you have, I was missing one wire so I put in the pin that I needed, you pop out the inside of the plug connector and you can put in new pins. Here is the pinout for it. Screen Shot 2020-11-11 at 10.04.52 PM.png *pin 22 is for the older control unit, skip it if you get a newer one *pins 5 and 7 are for the automatic, if you have a manual skip them as well From the module you have 3 cable directions 1. 6 wires to the actuator in the engine bay 2. pins 8,10,17,21 which are the biggest pain to do, and go down under the carpet , will cover this next 3. pins 2,13,22(for older module),24,25,26 which go up to the sterring wheel and instrument cluster group 2. pins: For some reason, some German guy decided that putting a bunch of connectors under a thick carpet and in a layer of insulation was a great idea, cheers to him Take out the plastic trim on the bottom of the door , and pull the carpet up, you should see a plastic box like thing with one nut holding it, remove it, and pul it up, under are 4 wire combs that look like #5 in this picture 3ilk.png Prepare to brake your fingers and nerves since the carpet is hard to get out of the way, and the plastic thing is hard to pull up to reach to these combs, this was probably the worst part of it, you could probably trace these wires somewhere up and tap into them, but I didnt want to risk it. Since I couldnt find the clips for this, I just soldered my 4 wires to the combs, pull out the metal, solder, put back into the plastic The wiring is as following (the number of wires can be different based on the things your car has or does not have so just follow the color codes) pin 8 to a comb with 3 all black wires pin 10 to 2 black-white wires pin 17 to 5 white and pink wires pin 21 to 3 blue and red wires put it all back, wrestle back the combs and plastic cover inside, put the carpet, and go for a beer break wiring group 3. Now we go up, first figure out a place to ground the thing, I did it to a bolt that holds the imobilizer (white plastic box under the steering wheel, but any bolt will do, or tap it into some ground wire. The grounding is pin 13 , brown with black wire Next we need power for the module, it shares fuse 41 with the brake lights and light module, i tapped into the wire to the brake light switch (on the break pedal) , pin 26, purple with yellow wire on the module and brake switch Now if you got an older module like me, you need to put in a on off switch , its just a non latching grounding switch, you could get a bmw original one, or just get any generic pushbutton and put it where you like, I put mine on the sterring colum cover. For the new type skip this step. Next you need a signal from the MFL , pin 24 blue with black wire, go to the steering wheel column spring, black wire on pin 4 on the spring Once thats done pull a wire from the module pin 25 blue with green to the black instrument cluster plug, and put in a new pin into the plug at pin 7, this is just an indicator that the cruise control module is armed so to say, the e39 does not show if the speed is set or not, so if you dont want to pull the dash, just leave it out, the e46 didnt have one even with a factory install And finally the clutch switch, it goes from pin 2 and should be grounded for a auto car or if you dont have the switch like me, it works that when the clutch is not pressed it grounds it, and you brake the ground when you press the clutch, don't worry it has a fail safe , so if you don't put in the clutch switch when you do press the clutch it will figure out the rpm jump and switch off , so it can be used like that. And thats that , all set, take it for a spin and enjoy the constant speed and a free foot. I was amazed how precise and nice it is for such an old car. Hope this helps , any further questions I would be happy to help you. Sadly I didn't take a lot of pictures while doing it

This is great work, lionkingns. Thanks for sharing.

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E46 M43 Cruise Control Module

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• OEM 65718369774
• Weight 161g.
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• Region/Country of production Germany
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65718369774 HW08 SW04

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Adding Cruise Control to Pre Facelift

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I'll preface this post by saying I did as much research as I could before resorting to starting a new topic. I have found lots of great information but I've also found some small details that seem like they could cause issues with my car. I have a manual 2001 325xi Touring with the Sports and Cold Weather packages. It does not have the multifunction steering wheel or BC button on the turn signal stock. I really would like to add cruise control. From what I understand, it can be done, but many of the tutorials I have seen say it only works for cars with a build date of post 2001/03 or 09 (conflicting information). Either way, my car has a build date of 2000/10/20. I included a picture of my steering wheel. I purchased this Cruise Control Wiring Kit https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-bmw-parts/cruise-control-wiring-kit/61120016012/ from ECS Tuning for about $32 after shipping. I found this multifunction panel on eBay for $45 inc. shipping that I think I should jump at. https://www.ebay.com/itm/193398009432 Will these parts work with my car? Thanks in advance.  

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Electrically I don't see any reason your car wouldn't support cruise.  

Cruise is just code for an electric throttle, right, Terra? So Josh, I have a June '01 330 that has cruise. If you add the switches, all you should have to do is code the ECU. Maybe the dash? t not electronically grounded  

Yeah on the DBW cars it's all controlled through the DME. Since he still has an MS43 car, and in fact most 2001 cars came with cruise anyway, it'd definitely doable. Only question is if he has to add extra wiring or something, but the harness seems fairly complete.  

There is a need for a new wire that goes to a pin on the ecu that denotes cruise is on. No coding required. May come with the wiring. Also may need to check the stop and clutch switches work and are wired for cruise. I did this on my 330 and have a thread on this.  

Thanks for the help everyone. I have ordered the wire kit and the multifunction button panel. I'll let you all know how it goes. Definitely should've done this earlier on if it only ends up costing the $80 I've spent so far.  

Well, I added the wiring kit, multifunction steering wheel plate, and a new turn signal stock with the BC button (didn't have a BC button before), and I thought it all went pretty well until I turned it on. When I turned the key to position 2, the horn was stuck on which freaked me out as I wasn't expecting it. I instantly went online to see what could be the problem and a lot of people said some type of metal was coming in contact with the horn and the steering wheel (usually a screw). So I unhooked the battery again, waited 15 minutes, and took the airbag back off. Lone behold, a torx bit was sitting in one of the screws that holds the faceplate to the wheel. I had been using one of those magnetic screwdrivers that you put the bit in and it was pretty dimly lit while I was finishing off so I guess it got left there. I was actually happy to find the bit as I assumed that's what was causing my problems. I plugged the battery in again and turned it on and the horn was blaring again!! This really mystified me but I decided to pull the 2 fuses for the horn just so I could see any other error lights without the horn blaring. Unfortunately the airbag light was on which could mean a couple things. #1, The airbag light has been coming on intermediately every once in a while and I know it has something to do with the seatbelt buckle because sometimes just messing with that has turned the light off. #2, It could mean I messed something up while doing this multifunction plate conversion. I really tried my best to be extremely careful while handling and removing the connectors so I'm not sure what would cause this. Other than the airbag light, the only other lights that I noticed for the first time were the red taillight indicators on the dash (something to do with new BC button?). I have never seen them illuminated on my car before. However, I do know something is wrong with the wiring going to the rear of the car's sensors because while the hatch locks/closes fine and all the taillights function, the dash has always showed the hatch as being open. I have also never been able to get the rear cargo lights or bottom of the hatch light (Touring) to work. I installed the new turn stalk with the BC button so I would be able to access other things in the trip computer like miles until empty, average mpg, and temperatures. In the owners manual, it says you can access these features from ignition position one. I couldn't get them to function one or two. Maybe the car needs to be turned on for them to work? I know the stalk is connected fine because I can control the turn signals and brights. Anyways, with the horn module having problems and the airbag light on, I am scared to start the car as I am worried the airbag would explode. I don't know much about the airbag so I don't know if that would even be possible in its current state. Anyways, this is not the outcome I expected or hoped for. I really hope some of you may be able to diagnose at least a couple of the issues as I really would like to get my car going. All help is appreciated!  

Well, for starters, it sounds like you've had a broken ground wire in the hatch for a while- does your remote hatch unlock work from the button next to the hood release? I'd also check taillights- it's not impossible that you have one out. As to troubleshooting, I'd start by unplugging the stalk connector to see if this solves the horn. www.newtis.info to see if there's a wiring change by year? It's also really unlikely that your airbag will just 'go off' In car design terms, popping the airbag is the same as 'launch ejection seat' in a plane- there are lots of conditions that have to be met before the bag will be fired. t  

BC button requires coding to work  

Thanks for the help TobyB and Terra. I started my car today and backed it out of the garage fine. I let it run for a couple minutes and then shut it off to move a different car back into the garage. When I turned it back on, it had a weird idle and stayed at about 1000 rpms for about 30 seconds and then dropped back down to about 600 which seemed a little lower than normal. This could be in part due to the fact that I just replaced my upper and lower intake boots but I can't figure out where there would be a vacuum leak in those since I checked their connections really well. When I get a chance, I will put the old turn stalk back in to see if that solves the horn problem. My tail lights appear to be functioning fine so I think the dash lights must have something to do with the new turn stalk and bad ground/whatever is causing the dash to show the trunk is open. The trunk button on my key pops the rear glass window fine and the button under the hood release pops the entire trunk a little bit. However, you still have to use the trunk handle to fully open the trunk which is how it's always worked for me. That's totally fine as I'm assuming that button inside the car is a little more practical for sedans than Tourings. The new multifunction steering wheel panel buttons are not functioning at all. Not only can I not get the cruise light to illuminate but I can't control the volume or radio station with it. I would think the multifunction buttons for the radio would be better and more directly prewired than the cruise control but I really have no idea. Just getting my car to where I can drive it with a working horn, working cruise control, and no air bag light are the priorities. I'll look into finding someone to code the BC button to work for me later on. Thanks again. Please let me know if you have any other ideas of what could be happening.  

The buttons need to be wired to the k-bus? (One of the busses). The oem upgrade kit wires via connection to the correct bus wire(s) on the light switch wire bundle from memory. I may have a scan of the oem instructions on my main computer. Maybe search on internet? Check my 330 build and my other threads for info. Try these: https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1175225 https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1232510 https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1232088  

Aussigazza said: The buttons need to be wired to the k-bus? (One of the busses). The oem upgrade kit wires via connection to the correct bus wire(s) on the light switch wire bundle from memory. I may have a scan of the oem instructions on my main computer. Maybe search on internet? Check my 330 build and my other threads for info. Click to expand...

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i want to install cruise control on e46

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hi. i want to install cruise control buttons on my car. i own a bmw 323i convert. , from 05.2000 , with m52tub25 . i wish to install cruise control on my steering wheel (bmw sport steering wheel , round airbag). what do i need to install it? do i need only the buttons and the small cable or do i need to do anything else? i think i have the acceleration by cable(i dont have the black box under acceleration pedal) but i can see the green light with EML on my gauges. any ideea is welcome!  

There is a lot of confusing information about this subject, round airbag steering wheel onto a car with the triangle airbag steering whee etc. Firstly, go to realoem.com, enter the last seven digits of your VIN and go to the either the steering section to see what steering wheels can go on your car. Going by what your car is, yYou should be able to fit the round steering wheel on your as it is a May 2000 model. If you already have the round airbag wheel without the buttons, you might be able to find the buttons on ebay or a scrap yard. You will need the wiring loom which connects to the light control module, steering wheel wires and ECU: BMW E46 3 SERIES CRUISE CONTROL RETROFIT CABLE SET / KIT WHEN FITTING CRUISE | eBay You also need the PDF giude. Do a search for E46 MFL pdf or something similar See this very helpful video on how to install it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A9BppTKAkY Good luck!  

thanks for reply. i saw this video. i can do this myself but i am not sure what i need to install. my question is : do i need to do all those thins , wire from light modul and from ecu or i need only the buttons and the small conector?  

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