X5 License Plate PDC Retrofit (Part # ) dkl

Transcription

1 X5 License Plate PDC Retrofit (Part # ) dkl Disclaimer: This article is only intended to be use as a guideline in addition to those instructions provided by BMW. As with all modifications, attempt this at your own risk. This article is based on a 2004 (February built date) 3.0i model. Reference: BMW X5 (E53) Park Distance Control Rear Retrofit Installation Instructions. Tools: Flathead Screwdriver Philips Screwdriver Torx Screwdriver Drill with 3mm and 12mm bits Pliers The picture below shows all the parts that come with the retrofit kit. Note that you will not use everything. There are extra rivets, connectors, screws, etc.

2 1. Remove the old license plate holder and wipe down the area with rubbing alcohol to clean and remove all the accumulated gunk. 2. Put a couple layers of masking tape over the license plate area on the bottom tailgate section. Mark the hole for drilling (Centered approximately 40mm from the license plate holding screws). Then drill a 12mm hole. I started out with a 3mm pilot hole, then step up with various bit sizes until the required 12mm size is reached.

3 3. Use a small file to smooth out the hole from metal shavings and clean it with rubbing alcohol. I had some touch-up paint laying around, so I used it to sealed up the raw exposed metal to prevent rusting.

4 4. While waiting for the touch-up paint to dry, start removing the inner trim on the bottom tailgate. Use a flathead screwdriver and insert it into the provided slot on the driver side and pry the cover open. The tailgate trim cover is held in place with 4 pop-in clips. This will reveal a bunch of Philips screws that hold the tailgate trim piece in place. Go ahead and remove all the screws. Lift up the other plastic tailgate cover, there should be 4 more screws.

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6 5. Insert a flathead screwdriver into the tailgate reflector to remove it. Remove the 2 screws that under the reflector (do the same on the other reflector piece). 6. Use a tiny flathead to remove a plastic cover next to the reflector. There will be another trim screw under it. 7. Now both the tailgate trim and end cap pieces can be remove.

7 8. With the endcap trim piece removed, I ve noticed that the tailgate itself is scarred by the ridges on the endcap trim. I took the opportunity to put some touch-up paint on it and added a couple layers of electrical tape to prevent future scarring.

8 9. Secure the new license plate holder with PDC in place. 10. Feed the sensor wires through the hole just drilled (don t worry about the rubber grommet for the hole just yet since it is separated into 2 pieces and can be installed later on after you have pulled all the wiring to the correct length). I taped up one of the connector for identification purpose since both sensors come with black connectors.

9 11. Remove the 3 torx screws from the tailgate latch assembly. You should be able to see the sensor wires just routed through the tailgate hole.

10 12. Route the sensor wires through the grommet into the trunk. This is the most difficult part of the installation. The BMW installation instruction made it sound as though it was a cakewalk. I ended up tying each sensor wire to a tiewrap and fish it through one at a time. Even then, it was extremely difficult to pull the wire (with connector) through the rubber boot, which already housed a wiring loom for the reverse lights and latch mechanism. There s no wiggle room in there at all. I was very scared about possibly tearing the rubber grommet/boot in the process.

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12 13. The controller requires a couple of taps into the reverse light to obtain power/ground and activates it. A close up picture of a miniature tap used in the kit.

13 14. The ground wire for the controller (branch A2 black wire) is tapped (using miniature tapping connector) into any one of the brown/black cable on the joint connector X493.

14 15. The power wire for the controller (branch A3 red wire) is tapped (using miniature tapping connector) into the white/yellow cable from the cable loom at the grommet that the sensor cables were previous fished through. This white/yellow cable is the driver side reverse light.

15 16. The PDC speaker is mounted on the fuse box inside the passenger side panel using an expanding rivet.

16 17. Remove the passenger side loadfloor supporting plastic trim. Mark and drill a 3mm hole on the side of the trim piece per BMW s PDC installation instruction. Install the controller to the plastic trim using a Philips screw. Route the sensor cables, 4-pin power/ground cable, and speaker cable to the controller box (the connectors will only fit in one way). Re-install the loadfloor plastic trim piece.

17 18. Put the 2 halves of the rubber grommet together and insert it into the tailgate section. Pull up the slacks on all wiring and use tiewraps to secure up all the loose wiring.

18 19. Reinstall all the trim pieces on the tailgate and the retrofit is done! This installation took approximately 4-5 hours (with the majority of the time spent fishing the sensor cables into the trunk from the tailgate). BMW s estimate is roughly 1.5 hours.