BMW E36 Blog

Hello,

Finally, I’m happy to tell you guys that I’ve finished the last videos and now, I’m ready to show them to you. I only needed around 4 hours to do all the work, but creating the videos is what really took the time, so please accept my apology for that.

First, let’s summarize what I’ve done until now, for those who didn’t read my previous posts. In my first post BMW E36 Parking Sensor Unpacking, you saw the parking sensor I bought and the different pieces that came in the package. In the second post BMW E36 Parking Sensor Installation – Part 2, you saw how I made the holes in the car’s bumper and how I passed the wires from beneath it and into the trunk. Now, obviously, you’re going to see how I connected everything and how I provided the power to the parking sensor controller unit. Also, you’re going to see how I mounted the system monitor. Take a look:

Next, you’ll watch while I’m testing the parking sensor and how it works:

Please notice that the system is directional which means that if there’s an obstacle at the left of the car’s rear, the monitor should indicate that on the left side lights. The same happens if it was on the right side. The monitor, however, was designed to be mounted on the car dashboard (not exactly what I wanted), so, I had to switch the sensors that were connected to the controller unit. The left ones connected to the right sockets and the right ones connected to the left sockets and it worked like a charm.

Honestly, I enjoyed doing this to my car and now, I’m motivated to do even more, so, please stay tuned as I’ll be publishing more soon…

NOTE: Please feel free to let us all know what you think of this DIY and if you have any questions. Just write them in the comments below.

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate BMW E36 M3 Information Source.

Hi Guys,

This is the second part in the BMW E36 Parking Sensor installation DIY. In the following video, you’re going to see how I calculated the exact distance that should be left between each sensor and the next one and watch while I make the holes in the car’s bumper. Also, you’re going to see how I mount the parking sensors and pass their wires beneath the bumper and into my car’s trunk.

I hope you’ll find the video useful. Please notice that I’m going to post another video soon to show the installation of the monitor and may be include the test video that shows the parking sensor in action. I’ve already finished it and have been using it for 3 or 4 days now, but I didn’t find the time to prepare the other videos, so, I hope you’ll stay tuned for the rest of the DIY and the test videos.

Ready? enjoy…

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate BMW E36 M3 Information Source.

Hi,

I know, I have stopped writing on this blog for a long time and although I meant to start writing again, I have been very busy that I almost stopped doing anything here other than comments and forum moderation. Even my car has been suffering neglect and she’s very sad about it.

A week ago, I ordered a parking system and wanted to install it in my car and thought this would be a great chance for me to start writing again. Even, if I didn’t write as frequently as I used to (around 2 posts/day), I may write once in a while and keep you guys posted about my latest BMW E36 changes and projects.

The system has the following features:

• 4—Piece Rear Parking System
• 3—Color Led Indicator
• Digital Distance Indicator
• Sensor Cutout Saw Included
• Built-in Beeping Alarm

In the following video, you can watch me unpacking the parking system I bought and in the next 2 or 3 days may be, I’ll prepare a complete photo shoot or a video with the installation instructions for this system. So, stay tuned and enjoy:-

BMW E36 Blog: The Ultimate BMW E36 M3 Information Source.

Today, I went to replace my car’s horn because the one with the high tone has stopped working recently and my car’s horn has become really annoying and very embarrassing :p . So, I decided to get a new one and while I was looking for some other models (Not OEM, I couldn’t find new OEM horns), I found a car with an ugly backup system. I’m sure you all recall my previous posts BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors), Parking System With Camera For Your BMW about backup systems. This new system looks ok, but the ugly thing about it is that the owner (or the one who installed it), doesn’t appreciate the BMW E36 AT ALL. I really hate to see BMW E36 cars with such humiliating mods that clearly show that the car’s owner simply has no taste of what he’s driving. Take a look at this picture of the rear camera:

I took photos for the digital screen which works as a mirror in the front. Take a look:

The system works great, don’t get me wrong and it even has a hands-free system as well, but what I’m saying is that a BMW E36 shouldn’t get drilled like that… don’t you think?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.

I wrote couple days ago an article about BMW E36 Parking Distance Control (Parking Sensors) and I was very excited to discover that some BMW E36 cars came with a parking distance control system. If you didn’t read my previous post yet, please do before proceeding with this. I’ve decided to dig into this subject more and may be find a DIY about how to install such a system in a BMW if that car didn’t originally have one. So, I was looking for more information about this parking distance control system (PDC for short) and I found that it costs a lot of money. I also found some information about other solutions that I thought are more valuable and I guess more modern for BMW cars.

The modern parking systems are actually equipped with camera(s) to help you park your car and see everything that is behind you. These systems are usually very expensive and hard to install, but I found two systems that I thought you’d like to know about.

The first system is equipped with two cameras which are supposed to work as  left and right mirrors while parking. Take a look at this photo:

This system is provided with two TFT LCD monitors and you can control brightness, color, and contrast. What I didn’t understand about this system is why they provided 2 monitors with different sizes? Why the two monitors are not of the same size?

Anyway, I kept looking for more information and I found another system which provides you with a monitor and a digital distance display that is integrated into your rear-view mirror. I think this is much cooler as I hate to make huge changes to the car’s interior. So, I think this system can be used inside your BMW and look OEM a the same time.

Take a look at these photos:

This system issues a warning sound when getting too close as well. I think this is much cooler than the previous one.

What I still need to figure out about these systems is how they can be installed inside a BMW E36. I think the most obvious thing is to connect the power of this system with your reverse light. This way, the system will turn on automatically when you use the reverse gear. But I still need to know how hard is it going to be to make holes inside your rear bumper and whether they’re going to look good or not.

Please feel free to let me know what you think? Do you know of any better solutions?

BMW E36 Blog: The ultimate E36 information source.