As I have said this particular mod was something completely unplanned but when the M3 gauge cluster came up for sale on facebook, I knew I had better get this while it was for sale or I would not do this mod at all... the deciding factor for this mod is that this gauge cluster already had the 4-door indication mod done to it by Kassel Performance so that is why I ended up following thru on this mod when I was supposed to be buying Hieu's AutoSolution SSK for my M3. This is something I have always wanted for the ZHP and felt it was something that would add to the build so that is why I had to take a slight detour... sorry...
I also followed up on a few inputs that was provided from facebook that allowed me to have a fully functional M3 cluster without having to program the DME. Since I do not know how to program my DME and the only person I could think of who could does not have any time to do this, I followed up on a lead which took me to Vienna, Austria where a workable solution was found. There is a guy there who has developed an interface module for the M3 cluster which will allow the cluster to fully work in a non-M BMW so I took the chance and contacted him and purchased his product along with a wiring loom to connect the module to the car's wiring...
This is what the interface module and wiring loom looks like (also shown on a previous post). The instructions were confusing at first to read so I rewrote them to better understand the process to connect the wiring loom to the car's wiring. Fortunately all the connections needed are done to one plug (X11175 Dual Row Black Connector).
X11175 connector plug is the black one to the right (picture above) as you're facing the spot where the gauge cluster is mounted.
Here is the direction I rewrote to document the process I used when installing this interface module (all wiring was labeled):
CAN BUS Connection:
Remove the can-bus wires (pin 9 & 10 on Plug X11175) from the car side plug and then connect them to the DME CAN H/L wires. At the same time plug in the IKE_CAN_H/L wires (yellow wires with pins on them) into the vacant pin 9 and 10 contacts on connector plug X11175 (explained in steps below).
1. Remove IKE CAN H wire from pin 9 on plug X11175 and insert wire from wiring harness labeled IKE CAN H (Yellow/Red wire) into pin 9 of plug X11175.
2. Remove IKE CAN L wire from pin 10 on plug X11175 and insert wire from wiring harness labeled IKE CAN L (Yellow/Brown wire) into pin 10 of plug X11175.
after completing steps 1 and 2 you should have this (shown in picture below):
3. Take the DME CAN H wire (Blue/Red wire) and attach this wire to the IKE CAN H wire (Yellow/Red wire). I soldered these wires together and used heat shrink to seal the solder connection.
4. Take the DME CAN L wire (Red wire) and attach this wire to the IKE CAN L wire (Yellow/Brown wire). I soldered these wires together and used heat shrink to seal the solder connection.
5. Source for +12v1 supply must be chosen, so that the battery do not discharge constantly if engine
is off. Good choice, key position R (terminal R). I take it directly from Pin 6 of plug X11175.
6. + 12v2 supply is source from key position II-Ignition (terminal 15), pin 5 of plug X11175 .
Ground can be taken from IKE plug (pin 1) or somewhere else.
7. TÖNS Cable is for Oil level Sensor , used mostly in cars with non M54 engines.
If possible, don't place the module directly behind the speedometer. If possible, somewhere
below of speedo, behind the footwell cover. I place it in my car left from OBD Plug.
For steps 5, 6, and 7 I followed the chart below:
The pins on the chart correspond to the plug. Only wire not used was the reverse wire (not needed for manual cars).
With the interface module connected to the car's wiring loom, this diagram applies...
For comparison this is the generic BMW E46 diagram:
Once I plugged everything together this is what I was greeted to:
video link:
https://flic.kr/p/2mtfZBc
This mod is reversible and I can put back my original gauge cluster if I ever sell my ZHP... I spent more than I had planned over the course of two months to complete this mod but after seeing this gauge cluster work as it should in my ZHP.... to me it was worth doing. There aren't many ZHPs that I know of that has this mod done to it. As far as I know, VAS, Jacob and Rob are the only ones that have M3 gauge clusters in their ZHPs. Mirza (Terra) did the M3 gauge cluster mod to his ZHP when he had a ZHP but he programmed his DME to work with his gauge cluster (amazing work by the way). I think Vas, Rob and Jacob have the DME programming to make their M3 gauge clusters work, correct me if I'm wrong guys
Additional Notes:
1. To mod the door open indications for 4-doors (see picture above), send the gauge cluster to Kassel Performance.
2. To change the VIN and mileage as well as adjust the red line LEDs to 7k RPM, you send the M3 gauge cluster to Fixels in North Carolina. Paul does awesome work and is highly recommended for this job
if you don't have a Facebook account then you can send Paul an email here: blackknighti30@gmail.com
3. For the adapter module you will need to contact Dimitri Rukhadze in Vienna, Austria. He charged me 95.64 EUR for the module and wiring harness adapter:
His email is: drukhadze@gmail.com
I told Dimitri the M3 gauge cluster was going into a 2004 US spec 330i 6-speed manual Performance Package (ZHP). He took it from there
That about sums up what needs to be done to make this mod happen along with the procedure I have summed up here in my project thread...