Need to access the back of my Harman NBT head unit for a retrofit install I'm in the middle of, but cannot pull the NBT unit out. I removed all 12 screws holding it in, and can rotate it forward, but cannot see a way to pulling it further forward (out).

Feel like I may have to also remove Auto-Climate panel to do this, but that too is unclear how it would be done.

Does anyone know how I can access the back of the Harman NBT, where the plugs are at?

Frustrated!

 

did you check http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=65_2604 , not sure if this helps or not, just picked a random F56 model as an example.

 

That diagram might be helpful. Maybe the holder can be removed and it will then slide out?

Thanks.

 

can you elaborate on the retrofit? or is this a secret?
i myself am in a boat where i got the base radio w/HK system and regret it. wish i had at least gotten the 6.5" connected w/HK. would love to retro a 6.5" OEM screen. i don't care for navi, just wanted the bigger/more interactive screen.

 

Do you mind me asking what kind of iPhone holder you have, it looks really good down there, and I have the same interior as yours, so it would fit right in. Is that for an iPhone 6?

 

It was from an Ali Express company. Fits phone+my case like custom-made. It is attached with velcro to a cup-holder suction base I got on Amazon (forget the name). It's a great set-up!

 

I had to modify it a bit by replacing it with an original Apple lightning cable, because I was having intermittent connectivity issues but now it's perfect.

 

[QUOTE="MarcoPolo;4091289"]can you elaborate on the retrofit? or is this a secret?/QUOTE]

Just completed an OEM Back-up Camera retrofit from Bimmer-Tech. 2.5 days of living hell (long, long story), but the upshot is, it's complete and working flawlessly. It was the one sore spot for me, where I made an ordering error, and was missing the back-up camera, but now my mistake is "undone." :-)

Voilà:

 

yeah, you definitely to go into greater detail

I think you're the first person I've seen successfully do a big retrofit on the F56. What was involved? How much time did it take? Cost? Did you do all the work yourself? Programming?

So many questions!

 

I never woulda thought that retrofit would be possible. I bet it wasn't cheap or as easy as my replacing my turn signal badging thingys.

 

great job!! i can only imagine how hard that was. i'm in a worse boat...i have the basic single-din screen and want to put the 6.5" screen AND add a backup camera.

 

You'd need iDrive too. I'm sure it's not impossible, but yes, quite a job!

 

Well, it took some persuading of Patryk at Bimmer-Tech to do it. I think I convinced him of the fact that the F56 uses identical coding software, identical BDC (central networked ECU), identical Harman NBT head unit, etc. If there was any debate before, I can now say that F-series MINIs ARE F-series BMWs!

Somehow, he worked out what I needed, and I bought it immediately. It was about $900!

Bimmer-Tech is based in Poland. They have some associated work shops in the U.S.. He provided me with the kit, which included a replacement hatch handle with the camera already installed. After receipt, he gave me detailed instructions, and some Service Manual pages, but not nearly enough to cover everything. I e-mailed him a ton of questions before starting, as well as some during. He was nearly always really quick to respond.

I did all the work myself, and it was quite the learning experience. Mostly, I was afraid to remove panels and components without first knowing how they came off. The challenge involved figuring out how to route the camera to the front passenger-side footwell. All hatch panels had to come off, as well as releasing the rearmost part of the headliner, the c-pillar panel, the rear side panel (released, but not fully removed, thank God!), the b-pillar panel, the door sill panel, the floor-front panel covering the BDC, the two front vents, the auto-climate panel, the LCD of the 8.8" Nav Pro, and the massive H/K head unit. Amazingly, not a single panel or plastic piece was broken in the process, also some parts were not easy to maneuver.

Following Patryk's instructions to the letter, it was time for his associate in Poland to do remote coding, but not feature coding: the deeper sort, to add the camera feature. This ended up taking ALL DAY (9 hrs), because it wasn't working. He had me check, alter and photograph every single connection, to troubleshoot. It was 95° out, and it was hell! The upshot: the problem was not my fault (except for one detail). After many hours of trouble-shooting and eliminating possibilities, it turns out the 26-pin connector (straight out of BMW's parts-bin!) was wired incorrectly. After rearranging the pins about 2 dozen times, we stumbled upon the right pinout, and then finally, he was able to see the camera and code-in the feature. However, there was no video! That, was my fault. After removing the head unit AGAIN, I realized that I'd failed to fully seat two out of three pins, but once fixed, all was good.

So, but for my little mistake, and the incorrectly wired 26-pin connector, a 30-min procedure ended up taking 9 hours!!

If I were to do it all again, knowing exactly what I know now, and without the hours and hours of trial and error on my part (i.e. learning the innards of the MINI and working out how to route the wires and how to remove components, I'm sure I could do the installation in about 3 hrs. now.

So, in the end, it all worked out, and I have a factory-equivalent OEM retrofit, but the path leading to it was a nightmare from hell, but worth it! Nothing was terribly hard to understand or to connect. It was just a matter of triple-checking against the instructions, asking lots of questions, and exercising extreme caution.

Bimmer-Tech was awesome. Without them, I would never have gotten my missing back-up camera. I don't know how they figured it all out, but they're geniuses!

 

I realize that this was a costly mistake to correct, and I paid more than the option would have cost me, had I ordered the feature correctly, but at least it was possible. MINI was no help in this matter whatsoever, and even if they do offer a retrofit kit one day, it will be pricier and labor will be worse! If...

 

I lost all of "my" E-Sys coding in the process, as he reflashed my car, but I have been able to put it all back. I am still missing a couple of features that I had before, but I'll reactivate them tomorrow. Still recovering physically and mentally from this multi-day ordeal, but loving the end-result!

 

Awesome work!

Thanks for the write up!

So to be clear, you didn't replace the headunit, you just added the back up camera?

I noticed Bimmer tech has other retrofit kits available - one has to assume if you got this one working, the others may be possible as well...

 

Correct: I already had Nav Professional (i.e. Harman NBT head unit plus 8.8" screen) plus PDC (Parking Distance Control).

Well, I figured my installation would be simple, since I had Nav Professional & PDC already (well, in theory!). I was determined to have the exact same as OEM, so I went the route I did, but yes: since the F56 is so akin to the other F-series BMWs, I'm sure the other retrofits would be applicable, too.

I think it was a learning experience for all of us.

 

How have you removed the HK unit? I am also trying to remove it but it's stacked! Also, how you removed the climate controls? Thanks!

 

I was never able to fully remove the H/K unit. I was only able to flip it forward enough to see the backside. I had to remove the two adjacent vents and the auto-climate control panel. The ACC panel just pulls straight out! Beware the wires connecting it though (they are connected to a pin jack on the back). The H/K unit gets EXTREMELY hot! Beware.

 

Ok thanks! I will try it on the weekend! Fingers crossed I will not rip everything apart! :D Thanks again!

 

Anyone discover any options for enabling backup camera for F56 without nav or PDC? Don't need the fancy lines, just need to enable a video input that enables automatically when gear R is selected. Backup camera can be license plate frame in worse case.

 

Easy and expensive https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-RearVis...N%3DB01M065WRC

If I needed one I would probably go for it.

 

Thanks, looking for something that integrates with the dash screen. Opening an app every time to back up is not a seamless UI.

 

Bimmer-tech looks to be offering a rear view camera for the F56. The product description states that it integrates with the factory head unit. It sounds like it can be activated by placing the car in reverse or from the control dial in the center console.

 

In my experience, Bimmer Tech seems to be as close to a MINI retrofit as you can get.