# Oil Temperature Display via I-Bus ?



## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Does anyone know if there is an aftermarket solution that will enable to show the oil temperature on the OBC screen or even on the NAV screen ?

I know that there's one for Audi, but haven't heard of for BMW yet.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

That should've been something that remains as one of the OBC readings IMO. They never should've taken that out. :thumbdwn:


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

When was it ever a OBC function?

There is a temp sender in the oilfilter assembly, and it's connected directly to the DME (on M52TU and M54, at least) but I don't believe it's sent to the iBus from there. It is not a reading accessible via OBDII, either.


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## doeboy (Sep 20, 2002)

Kaz said:


> When was it ever a OBC function?
> 
> There is a temp sender in the oilfilter assembly, and it's connected directly to the DME (on M52TU and M54, at least) but I don't believe it's sent to the iBus from there. It is not a reading accessible via OBDII, either.


Maybe I'm getting that confused with some other cars. Don't Audis have that as one of the display choices? Maybe that's what I was thinking of. :dunno:


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

I think E46s are running on K-bus. 

In any case, Kaz is right. Oil temp sensor not in the bus. So extracting the bits might not be possible. Another way is wire a display circuit to tap into the oil temp sensor signal. Or just go with a aftermarket gauge.


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Thanks a lot for the replies. So, on the M54 there is a temp sensor and it's connected directly to the DME, but can not be read anywhere. Hmmm.

It looks like the only option is to with aftermarket gauges.

This one is (I think) Ron Stygar's work (correct me if I'm wrong). Looking pretty nice, IMO. He put the gauge on the A pillar.










*Picture courtesy of MZ3.net*

And there is also the LeatherZ version, with the 3 VDO gauges. But only if you don't have the NAV.










*Picture courtesy of LeatherZ*

Both are looking very good and the units are well integrated with the interior without being cheesy. But I still think that a digital solution would be nice to have. I wonder if Jaricdesign (the guys who makes the Stealth One) could come up with an idea.


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

I don't think you should put gauges on the A-pillar on a E46, because the HPS/IPS system is there.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Only way to mount a gauge on the A-pillar is way down below, past the airbag strip. Still you need to find pod that would fit. If you do decide to go with aftermarket gauge, give Greddy or Defi gauges a thought as well. I would have loved VDOs in my current setup, but the build quality is less than satisfactory. Then again for a $30~$50 a VDO gauge, you can't expect much.

I am guessing it is possible to display the data on nav. Not dismissing the idea. Will be a fabulous feature to have. 

Btw, why the sudden interest in monitoring oil temp?


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Btw, why the sudden interest in monitoring oil temp?


Barney has reached the mileage where I am pushing it beyond 150-160mph on the Autobahn over long stretches. :eeps:

I'd feel much more comfortable when I can monitor the oil temp and the oil pressure.


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## elbert (Mar 28, 2002)

Doesn't Alpina sell an accessory gauge pod that goes in front of the main instrument cluster? Thought I saw a pic of it somewhere around here. Was it only for the E36?


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Alex, I think you'll be fine. Trust me there will be more things you want to monitor after that. 

Ask Alpina, I am sure they can provide a solution of some sort. They did afterall fabricate a similar monitoring system for the E36s.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

elbert said:


> Doesn't Alpina sell an accessory gauge pod that goes in front of the main instrument cluster? Thought I saw a pic of it somewhere around here. Was it only for the E36?


For E36 only. Probably retrofittable on E46 as well. Cost? $1800 in parts alone. :tsk:


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## Alex Baumann (Dec 19, 2001)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Alex, I think you'll be fine. Trust me there will be more things you want to monitor after that.
> 
> Ask Alpina, I am sure they can provide a solution of some sort. They did afterall fabricate a similar monitoring system for the E36s.


I have spoken to Alpina. Unfortunately they offer no solution for the E46. 

The add-on instrument cluster on the E36 is splendid.


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

Finding a non-cheesy mounting location for a NAV car is definitely tough. Even if someone built a system that took aftermarket senders, read their ourputs, and pushed them back out to the MID, as we see witht he StealthOne, the E46 is seriously lacking in the MID area compared to a E39 or E53.

Modifying gauges to somehow fit under the ashtray cover has come to mind, as has using the blank area adjacent to the radio when an aftermarket unit is installed.

Two other gauge manufacturers I'd also consider would be Omori and Spa Technique.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Kaz said:


> Two other gauge manufacturers I'd also consider would be Omori and Spa Technique.


And I forgot to mention SPA. Their gauges are fabulous. Am seriously thinking of upgrading to 3 gauges with 6 different readings.

Funny that you mentioned Omori. Was researching some intake air temp gauge, Autometer and Omori came up. I like Omori's very clean look. Not cheap though.


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> And I forgot to mention SPA. Their gauges are fabulous. Am seriously thinking of upgrading to 3 gauges with 6 different readings.
> 
> Funny that you mentioned Omori. Was researching some intake air temp gauge, Autometer and Omori came up. I like Omori's very clean look. Not cheap though.


Too bad SPA's display is inverted from what's in BMWs. And I don't know how close the color is.

Do you know if Omori has their US distribution sorted out? Last year, they appeared to have dumped their prior US distributor.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

I think you can switch between green and amber for the SPA dual gauges. You may also wire a LED to display a peak value. Amazing stuff.

Omori USA website: http://www.omoriusa.com/. Though not many distributors. Seem to be popular among Audi and WRX fans. I love the 45mm nonetheless. 



Kaz said:


> Too bad SPA's display is inverted from what's in BMWs. And I don't know how close the color is.
> 
> Do you know if Omori has their US distribution sorted out? Last year, they appeared to have dumped their prior US distributor.


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Cars with a NAV already have all the display they need -- the monitor.

Displaying operating parameters on the monitor is certainly possible, and not that hard if someone wanted to engineer the component to do it. The monitor is driven by the NAV computer (assuming no TV module). There isn't any technical problem with simply inserting a device in between the NAV computer and the monitor, that would handle detection of NAV UI controls, provide a GUI for display selection, etc. It's just a small computer and some software.

Someone just needs to engineer one. And no one will, because the market isn't big enough to yield a price point that would make it both sell, and be profitable.

However, plenty of people over on openbmw.org are doing things similar to this, and someone posted here recently a link to integration of a windows PC into the NAV display and knob system. You should check that out, as the software may be easily modified or extended, and then the engineering problem is reduced substantially to just getting sensor data in to the PC, which is relatively easy.


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## SergioK (Aug 14, 2002)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> And I forgot to mention SPA. Their gauges are fabulous. Am seriously thinking of upgrading to 3 gauges with 6 different readings.
> 
> Funny that you mentioned Omori. Was researching some intake air temp gauge, Autometer and Omori came up. I like Omori's very clean look. Not cheap though.


Okay, what would the 6 readings be? I think I may be wanting to install some of the aftermarket gauges as well. :thumbup:


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

You do have to realize that some of the cost of the other brands is the fact that they come with senders, whereas VDOs don't. But I agree, VDO's quality is merely OK.

6 readings... hmm...

oil temp
oil pres
voltage
exhaust temp
diff temp
water temp
fuel pressure
boost (for Vince)

Man, wiring for all that would be a PITA.

I like the DefiLink system. All the senders run to a hidden control box, and all the gauges run off a single daisychain bus.


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## SergioK (Aug 14, 2002)

Kaz said:


> Man, wiring for all that would be a PITA.


Quite true!

I think I'd just want these:

oil temp
oil pres
water temp - at the block


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