E39 540i Touring Manual Conversion Checklist & Wiring / Coding

[geargrinder]

Wow. What an arcane discovery! Thanks for update M!

From a quick eyeball I might immobilize the clicker itself as a way to limit the travel? Put a screw in it or perhaps pot it with epoxy or something like that. Then the pedal would stop at exactly the correct location.

Rescaling the map in theory it could be seen as an improvement-mod since you'd have more resolution in the pedal. But its not like the pedal is an area of complaint... so not sure its worth that much trouble to fuss with... I am going to guess that the throttle map axis either ends at something like 4.1V, or, the requested torque value at 5V is 110% anyway as they seem to do something like that as a work around for adaptation and ensure the pedal can deliver 100% torque demand regardless of local part variation and/or aging. Meaning there's probably already some teeny deadspace engineered into the end of the travel. I'd look it up but I don't have data/software handy... If i find time I'll take a peek and see if manual vs auto maps look the same in the ECU for ME7.2...

[TerraPhantm]

At least on the MSS5x, MS45, and MSS70, the pedal scale is actually just a simple scalar, with a unit of "%/V". On the MSS54, the value is set to 33.997 %/v. The other DMEs are similar (33 +/- some fractional decimal). So even there, the percent reached goes a fair bit above 100%. Using the pedal values measured on my car for example, you get ~117%. So you're correct about there being some deadspace engineered (though I guess it's non-linear because it certainly doesn't feel like 20% of the travel). With an automatic pedal, that would register as 130% (and incidentally, the MSS54 triggers kickdown at >= 119% - the other DMEs had a voltage criteria for kickdown as 4.25v or so).

Also interestingly enough, the E39 M5 with its dash mounted throttle pot has its curve set to 28.802 %/v. Z8 (which comes with the floor mounted pedal) has it set to 33.997 %/v like the M3. That suggests that people converting from the throttle pots to the new style pedal should adjust their tune (though if one were to use the automatic pedal with the clicker removed, you get 112%, which would probably feel close enough to correct).

Edit: 540i pot -> new pedal swap is probably okay without adjusting anything. The voltages described in TIS for the pot match what you see in the new pedal: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...l-unit/CA781Dp

For the M5, either that value in the tune should be adjusted or an auto pedal with the clicker removed should be used.

[BWebb540]

First off, I want to thank all of you for your invaluable information. I have read this entire thread trying to soak up as much as I can. I am relatively new to the BMW world, though I've picked up quite a bit in the mechanical arena. The electronics are a bit crazy to me. I recently bought a 1999 540 M Sport Auto with what turned out to be a bad engine. While looking for a replacement engine, I stumbled across a 2000 540 M Sport 6 speed that had been involved in a low speed roll over. The car runs and drives great. I am planning on swapping the entire drive train, and am about half way there. I know it's not a cake walk, but isn't it a huge advantage to have all the original manual parts, including all of the control boxes, and wiring from the donor to put in my car? I know they are both pre-facelift cars, so the pedals, and many other items will bolt right in.

The wiring directions listed earlier will obviously get me there. Do I have to recode anything because these boxes were working perfectly with this particular eng/trans combination in the donor car?

Again, thank you all for helping make this crazy project a reality.

[geargrinder]

Yes having the 2nd car side by side is the dream scenario.

Yes if you transfer everything it will work but keep in mind that means the column lock tumblr and the door locks too unless you want to carry 2 sets of keys around.

And then in the future if you ever order spare keys from dealer you’d give them the wrecked cars vin and not the ‘99 vin.

By the way neither car was an M sport. Only 2003 were true M sport.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Yes having the 2nd car side by side is the dream scenario.

Yes if you transfer everything it will work but keep in mind that means the column lock tumblr and the door locks too unless you want to carry 2 sets of keys around.

And then in the future if you ever order spare keys from dealer you’d give them the wrecked cars vin and not the ‘99 vin.

By the way neither car was an M sport. Only 2003 were true M sport.

Only 2003 were true M sport, in America. I got lucky snagging a 2001 Canadian 540 M sport. Other markets got them in ‘01.
Whutz up, GG?!? Hope alls good!

[Samsam15]

If It uses the old style key you could remove the small black chip and transfer it to the old key. I guess you could also do the same with the new style key by swapping the PCB, although it would be more difficult because the case does not screw together.

[BWebb540]

Thanks for the info guys. They were both advertised as M Sports...and they both have the upgraded interior including the three spoke steering wheel. It's not a big deal to me that they're not true M Sport cars, because I only have $1100 invested in both of them at this point. I think it's going to be a really fun car when I get it finished!

[Ian NFLD]

Geargrinder - First, thanks for this post, there is some amazing information here!! I feel like I owe you several beers. I'm partway through the swap on my 03 540 M Sport wagon and am working through the wiring and about to make my first attempt at coding. Two questions - First, where do I get the Zeko ZCS Calculator? I bought an old laptop with NCD Dummy, Expert, and Inpa, but have no idea where to get the Zeko Calculator? Second, for the AutoStart disable I used the relay bypass method and connected pins 6 & 40 in the Ebox and grounded pin 8 in the EWS as you described. What I'm confused about is in the starter lockout section are you saying to run the clutch switch to that same pin 8 location that I just pulled and grounded? If I don't want to use the clutch switch, can I just bypass that by running a ground to pin 8? Thanks again for the help, this thread has been super helpful!!

[whiteghost1]

I’ll be adding my name to this exclusive club within the next week. Needless to say I’m stoked for the day my car is complete and I launch for my maiden voyage! The difference on my swap compared to most of the others is that I’ll be running a lightened dual mass flywheel (~7lb lighter) + I’ll be running a 3.38 LSD in the back. Should make for a pretty rev happy setup, on or off the laughing gas.
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[whiteghost1]

Quick question - when reflashing the car to a 6spd manual, is there any way I can keep my aftermarket DME performance tune and migrate it over to the “new” 6spd manual DME flash?

Going through this final step right now and am wondering if there’s anything I can do to keep the perf tune, before sending the DME back to Mark D’sylva.

Please let me know ASAP - many thanks guys!

[geargrinder]

Quick question - when reflashing the car to a 6spd manual, is there any way I can keep my aftermarket DME performance tune and migrate it over to the “new” 6spd manual DME flash?

Going through this final step right now and am wondering if there’s anything I can do to keep the perf tune, before sending the DME back to Mark D’sylva.

Please let me know ASAP - many thanks guys!

Eug! Whats up brother, I haven't been around so either I didn't see or I didn't remember (happens a bit lately w lotta crap going in & out of brain constantly!) you were doing this project...

I get this question all the time... "Can I upgrade/change my flash but keep my aftermarket tune..."

Honestly the best route would be ask Mark if he can send you a flashable file for the same setup for manual. A 3rd party could try to either:
- Manual 'convert' the tune you have already by changing some nitty gritty parameters (I have not done it and am little skeptical but some claim its doable...)
- Copy the tweaked tune tables into a clean manual file (some doable but tedious business if the maps are different dimensions aka a 4x5 map in old tune and a 6x8 in the new one)

But likely its far far less work for Mark to do it and hopefully he does it for not too much dough - since in theory you already paid him for a license for a tune for this specific car so all he's really doing is giving you a different version vs. making an entirely new car run on a tune.

Good luck man I'll try and keep an eye on your progress...

[whiteghost1]

Eug! Whats up brother, I haven't been around so either I didn't see or I didn't remember (happens a bit lately w lotta crap going in & out of brain constantly!) you were doing this project...

I get this question all the time... "Can I upgrade/change my flash but keep my aftermarket tune..."

Honestly the best route would be ask Mark if he can send you a flashable file for the same setup for manual. A 3rd party could try to either:
- Manual 'convert' the tune you have already by changing some nitty gritty parameters (I have not done it and am little skeptical but some claim its doable...)
- Copy the tweaked tune tables into a clean manual file (some doable but tedious business if the maps are different dimensions aka a 4x5 map in old tune and a 6x8 in the new one)

But likely its far far less work for Mark to do it and hopefully he does it for not too much dough - since in theory you already paid him for a license for a tune for this specific car so all he's really doing is giving you a different version vs. making an entirely new car run on a tune.

Good luck man I'll try and keep an eye on your progress...

Glad to see you’re still around! Been looking out for your posts, but have been regularly disappointed....until now . Luckily Mark can do it remotely, so it looks like there will be zero downtime to reflash the car. Hoping to have the car driving by the weekend, stay tuned!

[whiteghost1]

It’s alive, it’s alive!!!!
Big THANKS to the e39 OG GG for the writeup, it was invaluable throughout the preparation & execution of the swap. Mark D was able to retune the car successfully for my mods, and the car runs like a raped ape now. Couldn’t be happier with the “quality of life” improvement driving a 6spd 540iT. For those on the fence whether to do the swap or not = you won’t be disappointed.

There’s only one outstanding issue with the coding that will just not take, and that is being able to code the DSC so I don’t have a warning light continuously on at the cluster. We followed the explicit coding instructions to the letter, yet we still get the following errors:

B292E948-F16D-4DF3-9265-CE492D57159C.jpg8DD67EB9-A3A8-47EE-8E44-A303FD36A706.jpg

Mechanic thinks that what might be needed for the coding to take is an update to the ABS module with the latest version, as he updated the DME software version.
Any thoughts or advise to those in the know with coding?

[whiteghost1]

Mechanic thinks that what might be needed for the coding to take is an update to the ABS module with the latest version, as he updated the DME software version.
Any thoughts or advise to those in the know with coding?

Updated the ABS module to the latest version = with no luck.
The DSC is still looking for an auto trans even though the rest of the car has been coded to manual.
What are we missing here?
Any ideas what to try?

[blackknight530i]

Updated the ABS module to the latest version = with no luck.
The DSC is still looking for an auto trans even though the rest of the car has been coded to manual.
What are we missing here?
Any ideas what to try?

May seem simple, but have you coded the DSC to a manual version?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[geargrinder]

It’s alive, it’s alive!!!!
Big THANKS to the e39 OG GG for the writeup, it was invaluable throughout the preparation & execution of the swap.

My pleasure G! It is a joy to me to see you having pulled this off with virtually no hand holding help emails to me! Mostly I get 10 email conversations with a million questions in each one asking for every single detail to be spelled out better, and then later find that the person never actually finished (started?) the project and/or disappeared... I love hearing the job got done...

[whiteghost1]

My pleasure G! It is a joy to me to see you having pulled this off with virtually no hand holding help emails to me! Mostly I get 10 email conversations with a million questions in each one asking for every single detail to be spelled out better, and then later find that the person never actually finished (started?) the project and/or disappeared... I love hearing the job got done...

When you said how it would improve the driving experience, you weren’t kidding! Definitely one of those jobs where one would say why didn’t I do this sooner. Next on the docket is my supercharger install. Guess who’s write up will be instrumental to my success on that one too ?

Do you know of a coding guru that would be able to help me extinguish my DSC light, remotely?

May seem simple, but have you coded the DSC to a manual version?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Yes sir, we tried many times and it would not accept it.

[blackknight530i]

When you said how it would improve the driving experience, you weren’t kidding! Definitely one of those jobs where one would say why didn’t I do this sooner. Next on the docket is my supercharger install. Guess who’s write up will be instrumental to my success on that one too ?


Yes sir, we tried many times and it would not accept it.

So, you're coding the DSC module itself using NCS Expert and using ncsdummy I suppose, but the coding doesn't take? Is this how you coded the other modules, or did you code to defaults using a reset profile? If using ncsdummy, make sure you use a ncsdummy profile in NCS Expert. If you've done all that and it still won't take the coding, then you might have a bad DSC module. Go find another from a salvage e39 and try that.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[whiteghost1]

So, you're coding the DSC module itself using NCS Expert and using ncsdummy I suppose, but the coding doesn't take? Is this how you coded the other modules, or did you code to defaults using a reset profile? If using ncsdummy, make sure you use a ncsdummy profile in NCS Expert. If you've done all that and it still won't take the coding, then you might have a bad DSC module. Go find another from a salvage e39 and try that.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

So my mystery has been solved..... I wish I documented all of the steps but my tech who’s helping me code the car was ripping through the motions, but it goes something like this: 1st - was that one of the files had to be cleared and saved as a blank word document to eliminate one of the error messages (some e92 error message in German). 2nd - using NCSExpert the DSC module was still coded as an automatic, code 10 or 11 or something like that. It has to be code 17, which is a manual trans M62B44 version. Don’t hold me to the accuracy of the aforementioned, as I’m pretty green when it comes to coding and am learning as I go along, but that’s the gist of it in layman terms.

The swap is now 100% complete minus the cruise control being hooked up, which was by choice might I add. I only use it 2-3 times a year, so I figure I’ll get to it one day......or maybe not
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[Cereal]

Thank you for informative guide.

Im undertaking this project on a 01 540iT and had all parts from 01 540i 6 speed

Mechanically everything is done. Now I must complete the wiring process and.... it's confusing. Having hard time getting good WDS but did find the android app link.... just trying to learn it all on the fly

There is mention of the reverse switch to add reverse switch plug, new pin for dme x60002/60004 and cluster x10114
-Is this necessary if I also removed the whole trans computer and the automatic harness and installed the manual trans harness for the rear 02s and reverse switch plug?

[blackknight530i]

So my mystery has been solved..... I wish I documented all of the steps but my tech who’s helping me code the car was ripping through the motions, but it goes something like this: 1st - was that one of the files had to be cleared and saved as a blank word document to eliminate one of the error messages (some e92 error message in German). 2nd - using NCSExpert the DSC module was still coded as an automatic, code 10 or 11 or something like that. It has to be code 17, which is a manual trans M62B44 version. Don’t hold me to the accuracy of the aforementioned, as I’m pretty green when it comes to coding and am learning as I go along, but that’s the gist of it in layman terms.

The swap is now 100% complete minus the cruise control being hooked up, which was by choice might I add. I only use it 2-3 times a year, so I figure I’ll get to it one day......or maybe not
����

Yup, that's exactly what I suspected as far as the coding on the DSC module. If you want a bit less aggressive DSC input, you can code it for a M5 as well. Same process, just different value. I use ncsdummy for coding with NCS Expert as it makes those changes much easier to figure out.

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[effduration]

The swap is now 100% complete minus the cruise control being hooked up, which was by choice might I add. I only use it 2-3 times a year, so I figure I’ll get to it one day......or maybe not
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On my 530i manual swap, I also left the cruise control disconnected.. But in my case, it caused a rev hang between shifts.
The rev hang only went away when I wired up the cruise..

Its possible the 8 cyl swaps may not have this issue..

[whiteghost1]

On my 530i manual swap, I also left the cruise control disconnected.. But in my case, it caused a rev hang between shifts.
The rev hang only went away when I wired up the cruise..

Its possible the 8 cyl swaps may not have this issue..

Thank you for bringing this up, as a matter of fact I do have a bit of a rev hang during shifts. I kinda noticed it but I didn’t think too much of it till you mentioned it. Reason being is its nowhere as severe as when I manual swapped my e46T, now that thing had a dramatic shift hang, 6cyl car naturally. I’d better revisit that section of GG’s writeup and hook it up - thx to all for your input!

[George Hill]

My pleasure G! It is a joy to me to see you having pulled this off with virtually no hand holding help emails to me! Mostly I get 10 email conversations with a million questions in each one asking for every single detail to be spelled out better, and then later find that the person never actually finished (started?) the project and/or disappeared... I love hearing the job got done...

Hey GG, sent you a PM.

[hrach1]

Hello GearGrinder
At first I want to thank you for your detailed e39 540i touring manual conversion DIY. I have been a member of BimmerForum for few years but I don't have too many posts. I have been planning to do this conversion for a while now and I sought advise couple of years back and it was you who advised me on how to go about doing it and this was prior to finding this post. This post has been a godsend to me and I'm sure to others who plan to do this conversion. It brakes down all the steps for pretty much everyone to understand, even somebody green like me who was new to such an extensive conversion. I have learned so much so thanks again for taking your valuable time and writing this DIY for everyone to benefit from.
Well, I'm happy to report that I have started the swap last week and soon it will be completed. I have installed the pedals, the master cylinder, the clutch hydraulic line and just waiting for the Sachs Performance clutch and pressure plate to arrive from Germany to complete the rest of the installation. I have also completed all the wirings and the only other thing left is to learn about using the NCS Expert and WinKFP to complete the coding. I know you suggested not to take a chance and have somebody else help me with the coding if I am not versed at coding. Unfortunately I haven't found anybody who can help me with the coding yet. If I do then I won't do the coding myself, even though I will still continue learning about NCS Expert, WinKFP and other coding programs for that matter as in the future I like to be able to do the coding myself or to help others if needed.

I still have couple of questions that I need help clarification on. One is about the wiring and the other one is about the cooling system.

The wiring question is about the auto start disable wiring.
I used the 3rd method because of it's minimal rewiring and the elegance as you put it.

- Extracted the pin 8 of the EWS and grounded it.
- Extracted the pin 6 and pin 40 of the DME X6004 and spliced them together.

Is this all I needed to do? More specifically do I need to do anything with the starter relay wiring or it's thats only for the 1st and 2nd method?

As for the cooling system question, I am confused on how the system is going to cool the alternator if we just plug the outlet to the heat exchanger. I understand why we replace the expansion tank to the water pump hose with a T-less hose but isn’t the alternator housing going to need an outlet that connects to the rest of the cooling system so the water going into the alternator can circulate? If we simply cap the alternator housing outlet without connecting it to the rest of the cooling system, (for example by connecting it to the bottom of the radiator where the transmission heat exchanger used to connect to the cooling system) how is the water in the alternator housing going to circulate? Unless of course the housing has another outlet that I am not seeing.

Thanks again