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      04-22-2017, 10:49 AM   #135
mjsaville
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United Kingdom
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Drives: M2 LLB - Arrived 4th Mar 2017
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Aberdeen, UK

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Rear Parking Sensor On/Off Switch now WORKING without backup camera

Afternoon All,

I have now installed the Wire between Pin 1 on the Console Switch and Pin 28 on the ICM Module and I now can turn off the beeping... It is working a treat. Everything is back in place, totally seamless.

Major thanks to bmwdd for getting me interested in doing this mod and for steering me in the right direction, he deserves all the credit for this.

Anyway, I spent all day on the mod, but you should allocate 2 - 3 hours depending on your ability. Leave plenty clearance around he car, so you have enough space to open both doors as wide as possible if required. It's a bit tricky moving the car once the battery is disconnected and the car is in pieces.

If you are thinking of tackling this mod, please read the entire post, print it out and study it; Understand what is required. If you have any queries before you start please update the post, then others can benefit from the questions / queries and replies. Please take note of the disclaimer at the bottom of this post.

The hardest thing for me as not removing the ICM connector but getting the rear vent air duct back in place, very fiddly and to need to squeeze it at appropriate times to make it fit past other obstacles in the centre console tunnel the good thing is I didn't have to remove the entire centre console. Although it is a bit of a nightmare job all told, good luck to all who start.


This is how I went about it:

I purchased a second hand used 54pin connector with wires already attached via ebay.



Firstly, so I could understand how the connector comes a part and secondly to remove 2 of the wires ~ Solder them together to make a wire about 1.5 feet long (cover the solder join with heat shrink insulation) and that is the new connecting wire for the mod. I didn't want to spend hours figuring out the right size of bushing contacts to order.

I initially, disconnected the negative terminal on the battery within the boot/trunk, and put some insulating tape over the negative terminal just in case the cable moved itself and it touched the terminal again when I was half way through the job. Note: Don't shut the boot

I pulled the handbrake boot out so I could see the ICM unit, starting by pulling it out from the top, and working down to the bottom. The handbrake boot does not need to come completely off but enough so you can see the unit to locate the ICM unit and know what you are up against.


I have the smallest hands in the world and there is no way I could get into the unit to release the retaining latch to remove the connector via the space provided at the bottom of the hand brake boot. People on forums have suggested going in through the rear vent and that is what I did. Using trim tools to prize from the top left side, it is very tight, tip here is to just work away and be patient.


Disconnected both sets of wires and put the rear vent enclosure some where safe out of the car to make space for the rest of the work!

Next, I removed the centre console trim which has the control pad in the middle of it & disconnected the blue connector on the back of the trim (circled in red), work it up with trim tools (start from the arm rest end first, but take it easy as the narrow end is fragile). Followed by the gear surround and the console switch.




With these trims removed there is also a plastic trim frame which I also removed to provide a bit of extra working space (although not strictly necessary, this I did with my fingers).


Now things get juicy, you need to remove the plastic air duct which routes the air through the centre console / arm rest to the rear seats. Once its removed you can clearly see the ICM module. The air duct is removed from the rear by pulling and wiggling to get it to come out.

Initially you need to unclip the ends of the duct both on the left and right side (Circled in red & clipped fairly tightly),


Then pull and wiggle the duct out. You may also want to remove the USB and Phono Socket trim piece from within the arm rest (This also gives you a view of the air duct along with an earthing point for the handbrake which is very close to the right side of the air duct.

With the duct removed you can see the ICM Unit, it then just a matter of reaching down from above and unclipping the 54pin connector (There is a latch, which needs to be moved from right all the way to the left and the connector will easily disengage in your fingers, then pull it out of the exposed hole where hand brake boot sits.


On the side of the connector there are cleats which hold the cable blocks in place, notice there is a Grey and a Black side to the connector. The Grey side should be ignored, but push in on the black cleat and pull the Black cable block out (gently), once out it should look like (see below) and you can see me inserting the pin connector wire into Pin 28.


Once the cable pin is inserted, you will here it "click", then its a matter of carefully re-inserting the Black Block into the connector remembering which way around it goes, and then gently re-insert it connector back into the ICM Unit making sure the securing latch is all the way to the left (so that it engages) and it locks when the connector is in and the latch is moved all the way to the right.

Now you need to route the other end of the newly inserted wire within the console and follow the existing wires around till it reaches the console switch connector (I wrapped my wire around the existing cable loom. This end of the wire needs to go into Pin1, you can see in the pic below the missing pin on the far right hole of the connector.


Note: You cannot simply push the connector pin in and it will catch (as suggested earlier), you MUST partially open up the connector to allow the pin to clip in. This is done by sticking a very small screwdriver (Jewellers) down where the 2 arrow is pointing in the gap and then levering up.


This will lift the clip and allow you to insert the connector pin. Once inserted simply squeeze the connector shut again.

At this point you should re-clip the console frame into place (if you removed it like me earlier on),


Now its just a matter of plugging in your replacement console switch connector (you should have already purchased) and reseat it in the console.


You are done with the install now....

It's just a matter of putting everything back together. Getting the air duct back in is the single most difficult thing I found with the whole process, you need to squeeze the narrow end to get it in and then the side of the duct will catch on the hand break earth point and then get fowled on a piece of white plastic (you need to squeeze the end again, further pushing on the duct from back of the car and watching where it gets fowled. The clearance above the ICM unit is very tight and you just have to take your time till it clears it. Slowly with persistence and you will get there. The last tricky bit is getting the air duct to re-engage towards the front of the centre console (This took 5 - 10 mins of wiggling it around until it engaged. Once its engages double check the air duct is all the way in and left and right clips as circled in red previously are clipped in correctly.


Once back in place, re-attach rear vent plate (remember the 2 x wire connectors for the, 12v socket and the illumination). In my case the surround went back fine but the vents popped out, for some reason the vents needed to be re-seated into the air duct (I thought it was weird).

Clip back in to place the USB Phono Socket inside the armrest and the handbrake boot (Start at the bottom and work up), next do the gear stick surround. Almost done, re-attach the blue connector to the underside of the control pad trim and re-install. Make sure the narrow end of the trim is engaged first then work back.

Finally, re-connect negative connector to battery and take the car for a test drive and try out the button.

Disclaimer:
This process worked for me, if you damage or balls up you console trim or cannot get it back together again I will not be liable. Only tackle this modification if you have good DIY skills and are familiar with removing car trim. Do Not, and I mean DO NOT use metal screwdrivers, blades or any metal to lift plastic trim you will damage the trim and again I will not be liable. You have been warned.

Finally, I would also like to thank member bmwdd for providing the info especially since he does not have an M2, without his posts keeping me on the right track I would not have achieved this

Last edited by mjsaville; 04-22-2017 at 05:05 PM..
Appreciate 7