Help with mkII NAV upgrade? ETK anyone?

Thought I had a mkIII nav in my 01/2000 production date E39 but on closer inspection it looks like it's actually a mkII. Of course that closer inspection didn't happen until after I purchased a mkIV nav and widescreen display.

Question 1: Does anyone know if the radio unit that goes with the mkII (P/N 65 106 902 718) is compatible with the mkIV nav unit? According to this website the current P/N is 65 126 902 719. Externally they look identical, but mine had what I think is the GPS cable connected to the radio instead of the nav unit. (The mkII nav doesn't have an antenna connector on it at all.)

Question 2: What are the two connectors on the left side of the radio (looking at the back) for?

Question 3: Has the GPS antenna changed between models as well?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Reply » Help with mkII NAV upgrade? ETK anyone?

Robin, fortunately all E39 on-board monitor radios are compatible with all variations of the navigation equipment. By the way, when the part number for BMW electronics is the same except for the last digit having a variation of 1, it "usually" means one is a new part and the other is a reconditioned unit, so in this case the 718 and 719 are the same. 718 happens to be a new part, and that is what you will find in any car where it was installed at the factory. The 719 is for replacement purposes.

You are correct in that the GPS cable connects directly to the navigation computer on MKIII and IV models. This is the because the GPS receiver module (where antenna used to plug) as used on MKI and MKII system has been deleted, so the antenna connection was moved to the navigation computer itself. The antenna never plugged into the radio.

The GPS antenna itself did undergo a change in 98, but all antennas are functionally identical and are able to be used with any of the systems.

In your case you will need to unplug the antenna from the GPS receiver module located behind your amplifier, and plug it straight into the new navigation computer. You can remove the GPS receiver module altogether or just leave it there. Unplug anything going into it though.

Reply » Help with mkII NAV upgrade? ETK anyone?

I am new to bimmerfest.com and so far this website seems to be great. I do need some help with my GPS system. I own a 2000 528i with a navigation system and a DSP system too. My nav computer was fried when I purchased the car and all my navigation wires were unplugged when I bought the car. The dealer wanted $2600 to fix it, so I got a GPS computer MKII and receiver for $200 on ebay. I installed the computer and the system worked for a few months but eventually started to go out of whack. I understand that the GPS receiver needs to be replaced now. Because according to some notes I found on bimmerfest the GPS system is working only on internal guidence only. I understand that I need to plug a skinny round plug "antena I am assuming", and a square plug to the GPS receiver. My car has three skinny round plugs. One goes to the radio, one goes to the CD player and the other one I am assuming is the antena. The car doesn't seem to have a square plug though. Can anyone help me?

Second question: If I bought a MKIII, could I just plug it into my car? I understand the MKIII has a receiver built into it.

Thank you.

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