USB install through the firewall. - JB4tech.com

bimmer335i07 · 11:02 PM

Since there doesn't seem to be a DIY on here (or at least I haven't seen one). I made a short write up on how to route the USB through the engine bay's firewall into the passenger side footwell. Then after that you can just run it up into the glove box. I'm sure everyone knows how to get into their DME and into their fuse box in the glove, so I'll leave that info out. lol!

Disconnect the negative terminal to battery.

1. Inside the passenger side footwell, below the glove box. Use a T8 torx bit or T8 torx screwdriver to remove the 2 screws where the yellow arrows are pointing and let the plastic cover lay on the floor.

2. Go into engine bay to the DME box and unclip the plugs where the red arrows are. Every car is different because of options. So, mine might have more plugs than yours and some might have more or less than mine, but if you see plugs there, just unplug them. Don't worry about remembering which position it was taken out, it can only go back in one way. And it's all color coded, BMW FTW! lol!
(The reason for unplugging the plugs, is so that it'll make it easier to remove the plastic dividers later on.)

3. Pull out the rubber grommets where the yellow arrows are.
(This way, you can move the wires towards the headlights to give you more room to remove the DME, plastic dividers and the small plastic box that holds the DME.)

Once everything is unplugged and pulled out. Pull all the wiring harnesses towards the headlights and it should look like the pic below.

4. Pull the tabs where the yellow arrows are and remove the DME.

5. Pull the tab where the red arrow is to remove that divider.

6. Pull the tab where the green arrow is to remove that divider.

Once the DME and the dividers are removed, it should look like the pic below.

7. Remove the small box that holds the DME and the dividers.

Once the box is out, you'll see a hole where you will push the USB wire through.

8. Push the USB cable straight down, don't need to use a lot of force, just stick it down and you'll see it in the passenger side footwell. Just push it through probably about an inch or two.
(Don't need any type of hanger or wire.)

9. Go to the passenger side footwell in the middle and you should see the USB cable sticking out.

Once the USB is through, pull as much of it as you can and route it up into the glove box.

Once the USB cable is through, just go in reverse and put everything back. Once everything is put back together, plug the negative terminal back onto the battery and test to make sure everything is good. After running the USB cable through the firewall, you can follow Terry's instructions on the 2.0 upgrade.

That's it!

:D

There might be easier ways to do this DIY, but I found this to be the easiest way for me. I have done 2 cars so far, mine and another member's and it's pretty straight forward.

GL!

j.blackwell · 02-06-2010, 09:55 PM

Two thumbs WAY up. Great job!

Mattssi · 02-06-2010, 10:33 PM

Awesome, thanks! I just installed 2.0 tonight and I didn't see a simple way to get it out of the ECU compartment...

Will try this tomorrow!

mase · 02-06-2010, 10:51 PM

very straightforward. thanks for the diy!

shoes · 02-06-2010, 10:59 PM

Wow awesome write-up!

I think I should redo mine like this, but it seems like a PITA.

I smashed the rubber grommet down as far as I could then just routed the wire on top of it and out. The ECU box closed up fine. I then just route the wire out from under the hood and into the passenger window. Ghetto, but it works.

TrevorSD · 02-07-2010, 01:25 AM

Very useful! Thanks for taking the time.

ezatnova · 02-07-2010, 07:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoes

Wow awesome write-up!

I think I should redo mine like this, but it seems like a PITA.

I smashed the rubber grommet down as far as I could then just routed the wire on top of it and out. The ECU box closed up fine. I then just route the wire out from under the hood and into the passenger window. Ghetto, but it works.

Where do you keep the slack wire that is outside the box? Do you twist tie it and tuck it somewhere in the engine bay? Is the heat situation ok?

enrita · 02-07-2010, 07:32 AM

Thanks for this! very usefull!

thesalg · 02-07-2010, 09:40 AM

Where are you located? lol

boom · 02-07-2010, 10:23 AM

How long does this take? Thinking about having to remove the USB cable for dealer visits.

shoes · 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezatnova

Where do you keep the slack wire that is outside the box? Do you twist tie it and tuck it somewhere in the engine bay? Is the heat situation ok?

Quote:

Originally Posted by boom

How long does this take? Thinking about having to remove the USB cable for dealer visits.

Yea that was one reason I didn't want to go through the firewall. I do not know if heat will eventually cause problems, but the way I have it it's not in direct contact with any heat source.
Anyway, I did it like this....

This is how I routed the wire out of the ECU box. It goes out smashed between the rubber grommet and the ECU box lid, then under the rubber flap up towards the windshield, then out.
(If you push down on the rubber grommet you can create some wiggle room for the cable to rest in, it's not entirely 'smashed'.)

Then I have it just kickin-it in this little niche.

Then when you want to hook up it for datalogging, run the wire up like this so you can still close the hood:

Then from there I just run it in through the passenger side window and to my laptop.

I also put a USB cover over the USB part of the cable and taped it in place to protect it from the elements.
Again, I doubt it, but I not know if heat will eventually cause issues with this setup so do this at your own risk.

EDIT: After having a little more time with the cable in this spot, I would say heat is not an issue. After driving around, to the touch, the cable is no warmer than ambient temperatures.

RevC · 02-07-2010, 04:10 PM

nice write up Scott!
if anyone local wants some help with this, I'm sure he'll give you a hand, he helped me button mine up!!

bimmer335i07 · 02-07-2010, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesalg

Where are you located? lol

If you're serious, Union, NJ. I have the same SN on e90post.

:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by boom

How long does this take? Thinking about having to remove the USB cable for dealer visits.

About 30 mins. maybe less?

LostMarine · 02-07-2010, 07:42 PM

DAMN!! That ECU box is CLEAN!! I need to upgrade to the PnP!!

bimmer335i07 · 02-07-2010, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LostMarine

DAMN!! That ECU box is CLEAN!! I need to upgrade to the PnP!!

Yes, you should definitely upgrade to the PnP. I helped RevC install his Pin out JB3 2.0 and he's loving it. He's looking into getting a PnP upgrade, too. lol!

:D

Blaizon · 02-27-2010, 04:57 PM

Damn, I just installed my JB3, i wish I looked at this before I did the install. I guess I'll do it another day, that large slider ended up kicking my a$$

hondakow0507 · 02-27-2010, 05:29 PM

Great info, I'm glad I'm doing all the research up front. Thanks to all of you on this site, can't wait to get the JB3 done. How does this affect the longevity of the engine? If this is already a thread, please just direct me to the link.

bimmer335i07 · 02-27-2010, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaizon

Damn, I just installed my JB3, i wish I looked at this before I did the install. I guess I'll do it another day, that large slider ended up kicking my a$$

If you need help installing your JB3, let me know. I live in Union, NJ.

Forced Air · 03-02-2010, 06:21 PM

I was able to do it without unpluging any of the harness....just pull al lthose grommets up...unclip the whole bracket at the rear of the compartment behind the ecu and lift everything up and forward....easy to get to that hole.

Darkcyd335xi · 03-02-2010, 07:22 PM

Damn all you guys did it the hard way....I just took out the DME and fed the usb through. Same place my mapswitch wires are routed for my vent gauge.

bimmer335i07 · 03-08-2010, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Forced Air

I was able to do it without unpluging any of the harness....just pull al lthose grommets up...unclip the whole bracket at the rear of the compartment behind the ecu and lift everything up and forward....easy to get to that hole.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkcyd335xi

Damn all you guys did it the hard way....I just took out the DME and fed the usb through. Same place my mapswitch wires are routed for my vent gauge.

If I knew I could do it that way, I would have. lol! Great to know for the next time. lol!

Quote:

Originally Posted by spydeputy

about how long did it take you to do f/ start to finish ? GREAT DIY, thanks

If you follow the 2 member's instruction above, it should take no more than an hour tops, for everything. Maybe even 30 mins. I think it took me a little less than an hour.

Darkcyd335xi · 03-09-2010, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bimmer335i07

If I knew I could do it that way, I would have. lol! Great to know for the next time. lol!

If you follow the 2 member's instruction above, it should take no more than an hour tops, for everything. Maybe even 30 mins. I think it took me a little less than an hour.

When I saw the DIY for how the Proceed guys' ran theirs, I knew I could get to the hole in the ECU box by just pulling out the DME. You obviously wont see the quarter size hole like you do when everything is removed, but you CAN see it so you know where to feed the usb. I'm just a real big lazy a$$ sometimes so I wanted to do it with the least amount of work involved.

If you're installing your JB3, takes an extra 5-10 minutes to route through and into the glove box.

JPSlick · 03-09-2010, 10:23 AM

Since I'am horrible at removing things without breaking, especially Nazi ECU clips....

I just routed mine through the door when I needed to datalog, otherwise I have the USB routed through the passenger side ECU grommet, and sitting by the ECU box.

I still need to decide where to keep it long term.

For those indivuduals who offered other ways, could you please post pics for refrence, it would really help. (specifically Forced Air).

Thanks

JPSlick · 03-09-2010, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoes

Yea that was one reason I didn't want to go through the firewall. I do not know if heat will eventually cause problems, but the way I have it it's not in direct contact with any heat source.
Anyway, I did it like this....

This is how I routed the wire out of the ECU box. It goes out smashed between the rubber grommet and the ECU box lid, then under the rubber flap up towards the windshield, then out.
(If you push down on the rubber grommet you can create some wiggle room for the cable to rest in, it's not entirely 'smashed'.)

Then I have it just kickin-it in this little niche.

Then when you want to hook up it for datalogging, run the wire up like this so you can still close the hood:

Then from there I just run it in through the passenger side window and to my laptop.

I also put a USB cover over the USB part of the cable and taped it in place to protect it from the elements.
Again, I doubt it, but I not know if heat will eventually cause issues with this setup so do this at your own risk.

EDIT: After having a little more time with the cable in this spot, I would say heat is not an issue. After driving around, to the touch, the cable is no warmer than ambient temperatures.

Where you have that wire chilling is where water drains... So just keep that in mind. I would be careful. (aka move it somewhere else LOL)

shoes · 03-09-2010, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPSlick

Where you have that wire chilling is where water drains... So just keep that in mind. I would be careful. (aka move it somewhere else LOL)

Yes I've noticed.

It's been through numerous car washes and rain driving - no problems.
The USB cap I have on it works perfect, but it wouldn't recommend this spot without one.