New bluetooth option for e46 coming soon

[SoCalZman]

Ahhhh ok. I wondered if there might end up being a bit more to do to get the OE phone features like muting music for a phone call if you were listening to the AM/FM radio, etc. fair enough. Well, I will watch whatever full feature walkthrough and install videos you end up making to see how these little details work.

I am mainly happy with my set up considering the car is 15 years old, except for the fact I do have to touch my iphone to control the music since the BT dongle is simple streaming through the AUX jack and not the controls. I have a pretty cool mount that places the phone right next to my nav screen (forget the name but I am sure we are all familiar with it) that makes it relatively simple to press forward/pause/etc. Sounds like your unit would let me control it through the headunit or steering wheel controls which would be even nicer.

Since I have the OE BT calling set up already I might take your suggestion and leave that disabled on your device.

Now that we are talking about this, I think I already have a device set up via my 6 disc changer. It’s called an Intravee, and you plugged your iPods into it and were able to control it through the stock head unit. It’s a pretty neat device but who uses a iPod these days (I moved to BT streaming via my iphone/AUX dongle anyway). The creator (whom I believe passed away a number of years ago) added some cool features though: it kept logs of your drives, speed, max RPM, etc. I guess it was good for keep an eye on valets and mechanics who drove your car. On E39s he also made it so it would sound an audible alarm through the speaker if your coolant temp went past a certain point (I dont think he was able to get it to work on E46s).

if you are interested I can send you some screen shots of the interface/driving log set up he created for it, though google and YouTube probably have that. Edit: saw you mention it in your other thread so nevermind! Wasn’t sure anyone still knew about that device. It’s pretty neat.

[t3ddftw]

Yup, you can easily control playback from the stock controls, which is a huge plus, IMO.

You should know, the Intravee and the BlueBus are wholly incompatible because we both hook into the IBus as a CD Changer emulator. With that said, I have an Intravee on hand that I use for testing and pointing me in the "right direction" when trying to implement extra functionality

Thanks!
-Ted

[SoCalZman]

Yup, Thanks. I figured I would have to remove the intravee if I went with your solution. I am fine with that if I do. I believe it was the Intravee and an Alpine Ai-net module that I will have to take out. Maybe I can sell them to some iPod enthusiast, hah. I honestly do not use the Intravee any longer because I do not have an iPod/use the AUX BT streaming.

Would be nice to have some of Intravee’s neat features AND have BT streaming, which yours will does.

I saw on your other thread the BlueBus will definitely shut itself off after awhile (doesn’t most of the car go inactive after like 15 minutes?), which is good. My car can sit for a week or two at a time (I dont commute for work) so not having a dead battery is really important! Test test test

[t3ddftw]

Yup, Thanks. I figured I would have to remove the intravee if I went with your solution. I am fine with that if I do. I believe it was the Intravee and an Alpine Ai-net module that I will have to take out. Maybe I can sell them to some iPod enthusiast, hah. I honestly do not use the Intravee any longer because I do not have an iPod/use the AUX BT streaming.

Would be nice to have some of Intravee’s neat features AND have BT streaming, which yours will does.

I saw on your other thread the BlueBus will definitely shut itself off after awhile (doesn’t most of the car go inactive after like 15 minutes?), which is good. My car can sit for a week or two at a time (I dont commute for work) so not having a dead battery is really important! Test test test

There are plenty of E39 owners who go "gaga" over the Intravee -- try forum.bmw5.co.uk

Yeah, I'm not likely going to go all out in terms of lighting functionality, but comfort blinkers are implemented and come home lighting is something I'm looking into -- great for finding your car in a dense parking lot.

The plan is to have the BlueBus shut itself off after a user-defined time period. The Intravee uses 61 seconds, which I think is far too quick, so 15 minutes will likely be the default. Most of the car does power itself off after 15 minutes, which is why the MKIV sometimes comes on immediately and other times sits at the splash screen for a while . I, too, hardly ever commute, so I'll be the first to know if the auto-shutdown isn't working!

On the other hand, I've left the BlueBus in my car for a week and a half without shutting off and everything was fine. Current draw when idle is about 30mA, and closer to 100mA when all the bells and whistles are going off. At these rates, it should take about 1-2 months for it to fully drain a battery, but why draw power if we don't have to?

Thanks!
-Ted

[YoitsTmac]

Ted, all cool updates but I have to ask: as a lame millennial, I do all my ,Edina needs through my phone and therefore via Bluetooth. How intrusive would my tap in be? And is phone calls and Bluetooth audio under two separate modes? And I forget if you mentioned, but are voice assistants possible through the wheel? I believe you said so.

Finally, a good point with wake and power draw. With your setup, will the unit turn off in key position 0, or after a sleep timer? I’m not sure if I fully following the discussion below, but it sounds like the unit will be on for a period of time rather than tied to key position. I only ask because I personally find it annoying if I lock my car and go inside but I’m still connected to my car and can’t hear notifications or videos because it’s still paired to my car.

[t3ddftw]

Ted, all cool updates but I have to ask: as a lame millennial, I do all my ,Edina needs through my phone and therefore via Bluetooth. How intrusive would my tap in be? And is phone calls and Bluetooth audio under two separate modes? And I forget if you mentioned, but are voice assistants possible through the wheel? I believe you said so.

Finally, a good point with wake and power draw. With your setup, will the unit turn off in key position 0, or after a sleep timer? I’m not sure if I fully following the discussion below, but it sounds like the unit will be on for a period of time rather than tied to key position. I only ask because I personally find it annoying if I lock my car and go inside but I’m still connected to my car and can’t hear notifications or videos because it’s still paired to my car.

Tapping the six signal wires can either be intrusive or not, depending on how you go about it. My recommendation is to get a small "pick" and use it to work the contacts out of the housing for the 54 pin connector. From there, they simply slide into the provided connector, which then slides into the BlueBus.

I'm unsure what you're getting at when you ask if BT calling and streaming are two different modes -- they're different BT profiles and can be used independently of one another. BT calling will work in any radio more, or with the radio off, provided that you install the six signals into the BlueBus (which is optional, of course).

Voice assistants can be activated via the "Talking head" button on the steering wheel.

As it stands now, the unit never sleeps. However, it automatically disconnects Bluetooth when it sees the ignition off message on the IBus. Similarly, it enables connectivity and starts scanning for devices when it gets the "Ignition on" message.

With that said, the sleep timer is purely to save power .

Thanks!
-Ted

[az3579]

After it goes into power save, what is the "bootup" time of the device? I would imagine it's near instantaneous, but don't want to assume.
By "bootup" time, I'm referring to the time it takes for it to be fully functional and automatically connect to Bluetooth.

[t3ddftw]

After it goes into power save, what is the "bootup" time of the device? I would imagine it's near instantaneous, but don't want to assume.
By "bootup" time, I'm referring to the time it takes for it to be fully functional and automatically connect to Bluetooth.

Right now, it connects in under twenty seconds, usually less than ten. However, that number can fluctuate based on how many paired devices there are (as it tries to scan for all of them) and how your phone feels about connecting to Bluetooth that day. I have found that some phones (usually of the `i` variety) don't like to open profiles immediately, which can make it take up to 45 seconds to fully establish a connection.

[SoCalZman]

Right now, it connects in under twenty seconds, usually less than ten. However, that number can fluctuate based on how many paired devices there are (as it tries to scan for all of them) and how your phone feels about connecting to Bluetooth that day. I have found that some phones (usually of the `i` variety) don't like to open profiles immediately, which can make it take up to 45 seconds to fully establish a connection.

I totally get this. One of the iPhone updates have totally made connecting to my BT dongle a chore, especially if I am running errands and walk to and from the car multiple times in a short period of time. The iPhone will connect to the dongle but when I try to play audio through it, it will not, nor will it show the option in the BT push menu. I have to turn off BT and turn it back on then reconnect to the dongle. I didn't have to do that previously. Im wondering if thats because my BT dongle (which is a few years old now) is "less compatible" with the newer iOS versions, or if the dongle is just wearing out. Perhaps this issue will be resolved with a fresh BT device.

Also, my BT dongle is powered by the flashlight plug in the glovebox, so I wonder if it starts getting power when I unlock the car as I am walking towards it. I find that (when it wants to behave), my phone is connected and ready to go as soon as I sit in the seat. Does the CD system harness start getting power when the doors are unlocked or is does it depend on the key?

and yes I fully support a deep sleep mode. Every little bit of power draw we can save when the car sits for a week or two at a time is ideal.

[t3ddftw]

I totally get this. One of the iPhone updates have totally made connecting to my BT dongle a chore, especially if I am running errands and walk to and from the car multiple times in a short period of time. The iPhone will connect to the dongle but when I try to play audio through it, it will not, nor will it show the option in the BT push menu. I have to turn off BT and turn it back on then reconnect to the dongle. I didn't have to do that previously. Im wondering if thats because my BT dongle (which is a few years old now) is "less compatible" with the newer iOS versions, or if the dongle is just wearing out. Perhaps this issue will be resolved with a fresh BT device.

Also, my BT dongle is powered by the flashlight plug in the glovebox, so I wonder if it starts getting power when I unlock the car as I am walking towards it. I find that (when it wants to behave), my phone is connected and ready to go as soon as I sit in the seat. Does the CD system harness start getting power when the doors are unlocked or is does it depend on the key?

and yes I fully support a deep sleep mode. Every little bit of power draw we can save when the car sits for a week or two at a time is ideal.

Funny, the BlueBus has similar troubles to what you describe, except I've written code to handle it gracefully. Essentially, the BT connection will open up, but the A2DP profile will continually fail to "open". My fix is to keep retrying until it succeeds (which is when it can take up to 45 seconds to connect). It's likely the Bluetooth stack on the iOS side that is buggy, rather than a deficiency/issue with your dongle.

The CD Changer harness is continuously powered as long as there is a battery with a charge in the car . Most modules in the car are responsible for killing their own power until an IBus message is received (such as the door unlock message), which is why when something on IBus goes awry it can present itself as your battery dying within a couple hours.

The nav infotainment electronics pull 2.5A just by themselves!