E39 Msport multifunction steering wheel, can it be made to work on an e34?

[xcastaway]

Hello, Folks,

I'm hoping, once again, to take advantage of the expertise and help from forum members here to figure out how to get my newly purchased steering wheel to work on my car. I've spent the last two days fruitlessly searching everywhere for the info I need.

Friday's excursion to one of Portland's crappy boneyards yielded, as usual, none of the things I was looking for. I did, however, find something I hope to figure out a way to make work. I found a '02 e39 that had a nearly perfect M sport multi-function steering wheel on it, which came home with me. It's this one: https://www.ebay.com/i/322138807625?chn=ps&dispItem=1 Also shown here, https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...Leather-AirBag, though mine doesn't have the multi color stitching. Mine was $32. I could swear I've read at least one thread where someone made one of these work on an e34, but for the life of me I can't find it again. It has a dual stage airbag, which I know won't work, but I don't care about that, nor do I care whether the buttons will work at this time. There is a single stage airbag in the same style I can eventually locate and install. If I can get the horn to work and get rid of the Mom's minivan steering wheel that I've hated since the first time I saw it I'd be ecstatic. I have an 04/92 525IT that has the 16mm center bolt. I've looked up my stock steering wheel and the pictures of it look nearly identical to the Msport as far as the mounting area is concerned, so I'm pretty sure I can get it to install on the steering shaft, possibly requiring a spacer of some sort.

My questions concern the slip rings and the horn actuation, which I know diddly about. What I could use help with is figuring out which slip ring I need to use. Stock on the car is the 901. Frankie's used a 261 from an earlier e39 to install this wheel on an 8 series, but that was to get the buttons to work, if I read it correctly. Will I need one if all I want is to convince the horn to work? Does the slip ring control turn signal cancelling? And, lastly, if anyone knows of any posts anywhere that might help answer any of these questions it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide!

[e30luv318i]

Yes it will but you need a pre 02/99 aka single stage air bag, mine is from an e39 and I used an e36 trim to delete the steering wheel Cruz controls. I’m running a cd43 radio

for the slip ring I usually run what ever slip ring is on the wheel

[xcastaway]

Nice. I'm hoping to eventually get a CD43 for mine. I would have grabbed the slip ring off of the '02 E39, but it seemed to be part of the whole turn signal, wiper,cruise control and tilt module, and not a separate piece. I didn't see anything that looked at all like any of the slip rings I've seen pictures of, anyway. Realoem says this about it (Slip ring, see hg61, integrated support f steering column switch)
I was doing it cold, having blundered across the wheel, without a clue as to how to go about getting it out of the car. It's really easy, once you know how! Clueless it isn't. But it was coming home with me! So now I have to find an airbag mounting bracket to replace the one I buggered up, as well as the earlier model airbag and whatever slip ring I find out I need to get. It's nice to know that it can be done, though my wheel is a bit different than yours, and that the radio controls can be made to work should I ever come upon a CD43 to replace my dead head unit. What did your stereo come out of? I've found several differently shaped CD43's, but nothing that would fit into an E34. Thanks for your reply

[e30luv318i]

The wheel you have won’t work you need a single stage wheel. Dual stage wheels don’t have a sport to bolt the slip ring to it.

[xcastaway]

The wheel you have won’t work you need a single stage wheel. Dual stage wheels don’t have a sport to bolt the slip ring to it.

Ah, well, that makes it more of a challenge! Heading back to the junkyard to get the pieces I need to at least make the attempt, and to see what modifications would be required to convince it to work. It wouldn't be the first time I've managed to get something to work that can't. And if not, I should be able to sell this wheel to get enough to get another 3 spoke wheel that will. Thanks.

[e30luv318i]

There is no way to cancel the turn signals out on that wheel. Your better off not making yourself crazy and just get a single stage. Just so you know you can also use the e36 wheel that looks the same and add the slip ring to it

[E38740iMD]

a dual stage wheel cane be fitted to a late e34

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this is confirmed before anyone asks

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and yes the turn signals you will have to manually put back but. who cares about that right?

i have the same wheel you listed in the OP post in my 1996 e36 328is

[e30luv318i]

What do you do about the slip ring ?

[E38740iMD]

the e36 didnt have a slip ring when i got it and the one the came with the wheel was trash. the car never had a horn and so it continues without

[xcastaway]

Thank you so much for your replies! I've just returned from my junkyard trip, and unfortunately the e36 that had a similar wheel was gone, so I was unable to get the airbag mounting plate to replace the one I messed up. Shockingly enough, there was an E46 there that had a sports II with the stereo controls on it, which I snagged. It is in much worse shape, with considerable wear on the leather, and is thinner. I got the slip ring for it, as well, so one way or the other I'll end the day with a 3 spoke wheel installed, provided I can figure out how to wind up the ribbon cable and get the slip ring installed. I've been searching the local yards for 6 years now trying to find any 3 spoke wheel that will work without success, and now I find 2 in 4 days! I'm going to try to get the E39 wheel to work first, since I like it a lot more and it is pristine. I can manage to manually put the signals on and turn them off, and, if need be, figure out another way to activate the horn, if I can't figure out a slip ring that will work. I've never liked the idea of having a bomb right in front of my face anyway, so I could live without getting the dual stage bag working, though I'd sure like to find out what hoops need to be jumped thru in order to make it work. The threads I've read regarding them say it requires major mods to accomplish it, which I wasn't going to worry about trying, especially since there is a single stage airbag I should eventually be able to find that looks identical to the one I have. Something to worry about in the future, for now I have a choice of wheels to try. I'll post the results of what I figure out, once I do.

Thanks to both of you for your input!

[govee]

An E32 MFSW will fit and if you get the parts and wiring it will control the stereo. I haven't tried to get the Cruise working.

[xcastaway]

Drat, I was considering pulling the wheel off an E32 just to see what the slip ring looked like, will have to keep that in mind for the next junkyard run. The wheel itself I have the same issues with as the stocker, though. To me, the stock wheels belong on a minivan, and not something with sporting pretensions, but BMW thought otherwise!

[m735is]

I currently have an early e39 MF heated wheel on my 95 525i. I have an after market stereo, so it doesn't control that. I just wanted the heated function.

I have a 97 e39 and a later 99 e39, so read up on how to get a later three spoke (which I have an extra) to mount to the 97, which in theory would then be able to be installed in a later e34. Some one machined the hub area to get it to work.

If you search on the e39 section, you should be able to see what was done and what you would need to do.

[xcastaway]

Outstanding, thanks. I just got back from taking her on a test drive, and I love the new wheel! It's going to take a while to remember I need to turn off the turn signals manually for now. It's a good bit thicker and more relaxing to wrap your hands around. I will check the E39 section to see if someone there found a solution to my slip ring issue. I can attest that the wheel works fine on an E34, though I have no slip ring on it, and there is a minor rubbing sound from something in there I'll have to investigate. The airbag doesn't sit quite right due to my bending the mounting bracket taking the thing out at the junkyard. I didn't know how it was supposed to come apart, but I was adamant that it was going to!

The wheel is smaller in diameter, which makes the steering seem quicker, and reminded me how badly I need to re adjust the steering box. It makes the already imho too close to my hand cruise control stalk even closer, I may try to modify that to get it out of the way, it's never worked anyway.

The mtech II wheel I bought today would work fine as well, but the slip ring/clock spring from the 3 series was not going to work at all, even if I could have figured out how the heck it is possible to unravel and wrap all those ribbon threads back up, when they are all different lengths. Reinstalling toothpaste in the tube might just be easier!

So for now it stays as it is, it functions quite nicely as a steering wheel, but it's lacking a horn and turn signal cancelling, and the airbag isn't connected or sitting quite right. I may or may not get a single stage bag for it. Turns out my airbag connector was fried when the car was totaled long before I bought it, and they put in a new airbag but didn't replace the fried connection, so I've not had a functional airbag since I bought the car without knowing it. The plan is to get an un-mangled bracket to put the airbag in it's place. Currently the best option I can think of for the slip ring is to find an E34 or possibly an E32/E38 that came with the multi-function wheel, snag it's slip ring, do the tiny bit of machining I can see it might need to have done to get it to mate to the wheel properly, and use my old (and broken, as it turns out) slip ring as a template to drill holes in the proper place to install the E34 type slip ring. Have to countersink the holes from the inside, too, so I can attempt to get those teeny tiny nuts on the slip ring posts. That isn't going to be much fun, and the holes will need to be perfectly placed to have a chance of working. But I still need to check into what the E39 crowd has come up with, in hopes they have a better solution than that.

Thanks again, one and all for your input.

[E38740iMD]

I currently have an early e39 MF heated wheel on my 95 525i. I have an after market stereo, so it doesn't control that. I just wanted the heated function.

I have a 97 e39 and a later 99 e39, so read up on how to get a later three spoke (which I have an extra) to mount to the 97, which in theory would then be able to be installed in a later e34. Some one machined the hub area to get it to work.

If you search on the e39 section, you should be able to see what was done and what you would need to do.

it can control the stereo if you get an "ASWC-1"

[savv213]

Yes an E39 wheel can be fitted just need the single stage airbag.
If anybody knows how to get the buttons to work on the steering wheel, let me know!

[xcastaway]

From what I have been able to discover, the stereo controls will only work if you have a CD43 business cd. I've located dozens of them, in several different models of BMWs. Not one of them could possibly be made to fit an E34, so I'm still trying to figure out which model has one that will fit. Range Rover is supposed to have one that fits, but none I have found so far will. Then you need to have the correct slip ring that has the connections for the MFSW. I still have to locate one of those. Once I do, I'll figure out what needs to be done to get it all wired up and functioning. I'm hoping to wire up the cruise control buttons as well, since the stalk on the E34 is way too close to my hand when driving, and I'd like to get rid of it. For now, I'm just delighted to have a steering wheel that feels like it belongs in the car. It's probably mostly psychological, but the car feels much more like a sporting vehicle. For now, I can manage without a horn and can turn off the signals manually. I'll be sure to post a how to, once I locate a slip ring that can be made to work.

[Tre0Tre34]

The CD43 is a specific single din, head unit, so if you have found other stereos at the junk yard which would not fit, they are not a CD43.

The only BMWs which came from the factory with a CD43 (to my knowledge) are the rare e36 (mostly M3's.?), and most Z3's from 1999.

I had to source mine from ebay as I've never come across one in the yards, and it was a range rover unit originally.

[xcastaway]

It's the shape of the unit on the ones I've found that makes it impossible to make fit an E34. They have had control extensions either to the side or underneath that won't allow them to be installed in the dash. It is also more than possible that I've been mistaken, and not all business cd's are CD43. Would not be the first time something I thought I knew proved wrong. Thanks for narrowing down my search for the correct unit. The odds are slender that I'll be able to find one up here, given how crappy the junkyards are locally. I got spoiled by the yards in the LA area, where you can find anything and everything within a few weeks, at most. They are the only thing I miss about LA.

[e30luv318i]

Are you talking about this radio ?

https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/...9Bd/s-l225.jpg

that’s an e46 radio, that’s why it won’t fit

[xcastaway]

That was one of the ones I've found, and it pretty obviously won't fit. I've come across others with similar issues. Eventually I'll come up with one, there are some maintenance issues that are higher on my list. I'm mainly trying to get the immediate concerns, the horn and turn signal cancelling taken care of. My radio is dead, anyway. Both of the steering wheels I found just happened to have the multi function controls on them, so I may as well get that to work. I'd have been just as happy with the steering wheel without the controls. Finding a slip ring that works is more complicated this way, but the end result should eventually be better.