Okay, well I have the bracket and the instructions suck. My husband and I are both having problems making any sense out of the factory instructions. We have failed miserably hooking this up! Anyone out there who can possibly help, please MINI in drive way in pieces now!!!!

 

I have the bracket and I am going to attempt to install it tomorrow. From what I have read, there are two 18 pin connectors and it is easy to get them mixed up. The one you want is above the steering column as shown in the attached pic. I won't know if this is correct until I try it but here's my interpretation of the instructions. Unplug the 18 pin connector and remove pins 17 and 18 from the socket side. Plug them into the green socket housing from the kit. Take the kit harness wires A1 and A2 which should have the same socket type connectors and plug them into the now empty positions 17 and 18. Then take A3 and A4 from the kit harness and plug them into the green pin housing. Then plug the two green housings together. If you do it right, the pins and sockets should only slide into the housings one way and everything should snap together.

Did you have any trouble removing the bottom dashboard panel and the steering column housing?

I hope this helps. I'm planning to take some pictures and write up how I did it (assuming I am successful).

 

I removed the bottom dashboard panel and the tach. I also removed two screws at the rear of the lower steering column housing. Anyone know how to remove the steering column housing? Does it just pull apart?

 

Success! The OEM Nuvi bracket is installed and working. You don't have to remove the steering wheel housing. I wasted a lot of time trying to remove it and gave up. The instructions are confusing but they are accurate.

After you remove the lower dash panel (requires T-20) and remove the two screws holding the tach (requires T-30), find the connector which is in the exact position shown in the pic from my previous post. It is held up to the underside of the dash on the left side of the steering column with a plastic post that is inserted into a hole. It's a pain to get out but if you get one hand under the dash to the back of the connector and the other next to the steering column to the front of the connector and pull it down really hard it will come free. There is enough cable to pull the connector out from behind the dash next to the steering column.

I removed the post from the connector by pushing on a tab and sliding it off. You unplug the connector socket and pin sides by rotating the handle down. Now look at the socket side. There is a housing that goes over the piece the holds the individual wires. Pry up the tab and you can slide the housing off. Then you find sockets 17 and 18 and if you take a paper clip and push on the exposed metal tab, they will slide out. Remember to mark down which color wire corresponds to the pin #.

Now just insert those contacts into the green socket housing, insert the two pins from the Nuvi harness into the green pin housing, and insert the two sockets from the Nuvi harness into positions 17 and 18 on the connector. I double checked all the connections and then plugged everything back together.

Before doing anything else I attached my Nuvi to the bracket and started the car. The Nuvi powered up. I did notice that when you turn off the car or open a door, the Nuvi stays powered on for a little while, then turns off. Maybe someone who had this installed by the dealer could say if this is normal.

Route the wire to the bracket and attach it to the back of the tach with the provided screws and washers. Remount the tach to the steering column. I tie wrapped the black box and extra Nuvi cable to the cable leading to the 18 pin connector. Don't let anything droop down or it might rattle. Then I shoved everything back in next to the steering column and pushed the post on the connector back up into the hole. All of the Nuvi wiring stays up there with it.

I hope this helps anyone else who tries to install the bracket.

- Rick

 

Does this connectot you were speaking of allow the voice commands to come throught the stereo? I have a Nuvi 780 and I am hoping there is a away to harwire the sound output in the stereo without useing the FM transmitter

 

No. Unfortunately, it does not allow you to run the sound through the stereo. It only supplies power to the Nuvi when the car is running.

 

It helps big time! You just told me everything I needed to know - namely how do I get access to that connector?

I'll get it done this weekend.

 

I'm glad my description will help. I searched and posted asking for help before I installed mine but no one had the info. If you run into any problems during the install, post on here and I'll try to help.

Good luck!

 

Just curious, where did you find that type of picture?

 

I found the pic from this thread on mini2:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-i...on-unit-6.html

I have no idea where it came from.

 

I am interested in getting the bracket and the wire kit as well. Please provide the part numbers and how much you have paid. I have a 2007 Cooper S. Thanks.

 

The part numbers are given in this thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=123164

For my 08 MCS, I ordered PN: 65 90 0 428 283 which gets you the installation kit that includes the bracket with mount, wiring harness, and everything else you will need except the nuvi GPS unit. I ordered it from Classic Auto https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/classicauto. They were great to deal with, list price is $175 but they take 20% off for NAM members. It took about 10 days from order to delivery.

 

playtowin, can you please post a pic of how the final install looks. i want to get one but wanted to see a pic of the where/how the nav looks. i couldnt justify spending the extra $$ to have it factory installed. thanks.

 

I'll post some pics of my install tomorrow. The first post in the thread below shows the positioning of the nuvi on the factory mount. While driving, the nuvi is visible through the upper left of the steering wheel. A couple of minor disadvantages to this position are that passengers cannot easily see the nuvi and the view is blocked by the steering wheel spoke when turning right.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=123164

 

The next few posts have a number of pics of the OEM garmin Nuvi install:

 

More pics:

 

Some with the Nuvi on the bracket:

 

Last pics including one as viewed from the passenger seat:

 

With a Nuvi 360 and the MINI wiriing kit (PN: 65 90 0 428 283) do you get any integration with the car at all? do steering wheel controls work, does GPS audio come thru car speakers? Does bluetooth call mute car radio? Is there a wire out of the Nuvi that can go to the AUX in of the MINI?

Or as this ONLY a power source? Seems like alot of wiring for JUST power.
Thanks for the pictures!

 

playtowin, thanks for the pics!!! last question though. Did you buy the Nav from mini or did you just go to an electronics store and get it. The reason i ask is, I want the Mini logo to show up on the screen when it kicks on, so does it have to be purchased from mini to get that.

Also, the mini version is a Garmin 360 or 350? It looks like the 350 is the same as the 360 but no BT. I have the BT/Ipod system in my mini, so I dont need the Garmin to have BT. Does that sound right? Thanks!

 

manish, i bought the Nuvi 360 from costco.com when they had it on sale for $250. I didn't need the bluetooth because I have the convenience package but the 350 was the same or more from other vendors. You can download the mini splash screen and even mini icons in just about every color combination for the indicator that shows your position. I don't have the link handy but if you search on here you can find it.

 

Thanks playtowin. You've been a ton of help.

 

Yeah what about the car integration?

 

The kit just provides a way to power the unit when you turn on the ignition. No other car integration. The Nuvi units have a built in speaker although not enough volume to hear over the stereo so if you will have to turn down the volume on the stereo when the unit is giving you directions. Otherwise it is a great alternative to the $2000 factory system.

 

Yeah but that's a little bit disapointing considering the price (800$ at my dealer).... The GPS itself can be found at 250-300$ so basically you pay 500$ for a mount and a car charger..