Hey Folks,
I just wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to all who contributed to this DIY. It's because of the great photos and notes that I was able to get my Valentine 1 Gen2 RD installed (And YES, I did disable the Laser to avoid conflict with the Gesture Control...
)
Anyway, just wanted to add a few notes of my own experience:
1) Your X5 is either going to have one of two different mirror covers. The bigger mirror cover is the BMW Connected Drive with the Driving Assistance Professional Package. Either mirror cover pretty much is removed the same way and YES - Attempting to remove the mirror covers on a warm/hot day does make removal easier.
2) Be sure to lay a towel on top of your dashboard before doing the work. Yes it was a hot day. And yes, as the sun was shining it got a bit hot in the car, especially when I was sticking my head up against the glass to view the molex connector and ensuring I was inserting the mirror tap blades in the right spot. I hear that sweat and leather don't mix...
3) Speaking of inserting the mirror tap blades: BMW RED+Green wire = 12 Volt (so that's where you'll insert the RED mirror tap blade). BMW BROWN wire = Ground (so that's where you'll insert the Black mirror tap blade). An important note about the blades. BE CAREFUL to NOT force the blades into the slots too hard or you'll bend them (which is what I accidentally did). The good news is that the blades are somewhat "bendable" but I advise avoiding bending them -- I saw somewhere that using needle nose pliers to grab each blade as you attempt to insert them might help prevent the blades from accidentally bending. ALSO, as someone else noted here on this thread, it's BEST to try and come into the connector from the side that is nearest the windshield.
4) Lastly, I placed a piece of gorilla tape over the area where I had inserted the mirror tap blades as I thought this would help prevent the mirror tap blades from working themselves out -- I don't think this would happen though, given the "snug fit" feeling as I inserted the blades.
5) If you have an RD that uses the standard RJ-11 ("telephone") plug, then you're want to order the Mirror Tap for BMW X5: MT-4015.
Alright. That's what I've got to contribute. Again, I'm so very GRATEFUL for all the guidance from the other folks on this thread. I just felt compelled to "give back" too.
Good Luck with your install!!
Cheers,
-Tony
