BimmerFest BMW Forum banner

Hualigan DIY install for e39, e38 and e53

77K views 72 replies 30 participants last post by  MJB9 
#1 ·
For those of you who are intersted in installing the Hualigan, here it is.
First, the package:



Opening the package, it looks like this:









I purchased the unit from allinmotion, the benefit being labeled cables, external microphone added (Parrot) maps and POI for the GPS loaded and supplied on a micro SD card, all in the package.
The guys who need the DSP adapter and install instructions, should contact these guys (allinmotion), and/or fmugur who is a member of Xoutopost and the other forum, and he will help you out with the install. So here are some pics of what I was talking about:





Notice the Chinese labelling, and the English labeling:


The external mic (this is very important, because if you use the incorporated mic on the face of the unit, the other party will barely hear you due to noise - when using bluetooth):



Now, let's cut to the chase. For safety reasons I would unhook the battery first.
Then you are ready to tackle the job. First thing is to remove the volume knob from the Mid by pulling it straight out. Then, you need to unlock it with a torx wrench T10. These:







And you pull the Mid straight out - no force:



Here you can see the plug. Just pull towards you the grey catch, and Mid is out of the way. I went to the scrap yard and pulled an old harness from a vehicle (does not matter the make/model) - I needed the colored wires. So I just started to cut one wire at the time and then from the old harness from the junk yard, I just spliced a similar colored wired - about 14 - 16 inches long. At the end, the Mid plug you just removed has now a longer "harness". I did this, because I still wanted the functionality of the Mid - it's resting hidden in the glove box. This image just shows the Mid plug I was talking about:







Next you pull out the CD player (or for older models, the cassette player - but this I don't know how it's done, probably similar). You have to spot the 2 screws which hold it in place. Then you use regular allen wrench (hex) in my case the 2.5 mm:



The right screw



The left screw holding the CD player in place:





The CD player comes out. You will unplug the radio antennae (straight forward push on the tab and pull it out) and the big square connector - pull down the lever:

IMG]http://i380.photobucket.com/albums/oo241/doru_29/Hualigan/P1010333.jpg[/IMG]





This image shows the radio antennae and the you can see the tab that has to be depressed before pulling out:



Now comes the fun part. In order to advance, I would highly recommend these tools:



If you don't have them, you will probably have to try to use a big flat head screw driver, and tape off the blade so as to not damage the trim. Because you will be removing the trim left and right. You will see why (here the e53 has to do a cut. Not sure about the e38 - I believe it has the same setup as the e39). Gently pry the wood trim like this:



Now pull out the Climate control unit. It is pressure hold in, so just push from behind:

 
See less See more
26
#40 ·
MOre info about The Unit

Hey Doru,

FInally i got this unit to, and ihave myself installed it in my bmw E46 :)

Today i was testing it around, and just have some question, maybe u notice it..

I have also bought parrot external mic, thanks to u, since i read your advise, so i have also palced it good place in the car. But one problem ihave, how come i cant hear the other persons sound through my carspeaker? the other person, can hear my clearly :D...and than i tested it with got my brother to call me, and while i was playing video clip., it came up incoming call but not so fast, than i try to click on pick up button, it wil not react, quite slow their....:(

Second thing, i think does this unit have build in memory, beacuse what is the app CDC? u know that? i though it was a function to copy music cd's to the unit, and it can have up to 6 cds, as i read someother places, do u know anything about this app? But i dont knw how...

U wrote also that u can change logo, if i put some picture on my SD card, how do u chose that pic to logo pic than? And which format should the pic have, jpeg, bmp e.ct? anyidea?

i know this unit is a little bit diffenrent in look, but heard it should be same as our one...and this one also have CDC function: Have a look:

http://viewitem.eim.ebay.dk/BMW-E46-NAVIGATION-DIGITAL-TMC-DVD-GPS-NAVI-RADIO-DVBT/170661848980/item

thanks..:)
 
#41 ·
Trizmaster, I am not sure why you cannot hear the other person (Bluetooth). Either you have a bad unit, or there's a bad connection. In order to change the logo, and for all other questions, please contact member "Fooljam" on the other forum. He's in the UK, and was a reseller of these units. He had a Hualigan forum - "carsolutiondude.com", but he closed it. All the questions were answered there. He had very good DIY's for everything you asked me. I did not saved them, but he e-mailed me and told me he will reopen the site one day. In the meantime he saved all the posts in his forum. If I were you I would contact him from the other forum - pm him, I am sure he will help you out.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Hi

Champaign777 - ebay is about the right place to look for this Hualingan and the other clone type units with varying names on them. I think some retailers in the USA get them still, but I'm not sure. If you do decide to purchase one of these, I'd say get it from one of the US retailers so you have some chance of recourse if something is wrong with the unit. Sound Quality is debateable, it's probably a bit better than oem equipment as the internal IC's and components are newer, but in no way are they comparable to high quality and reputable brands offerings and performance levels.

Trizmaster - There is no 'official' sales channel for these units, so there's really not much in the way of support. Have you purchased through a retailer within Denmark who perhaps will exchange/refund the unit? if so, speak to the place you purchased from. If you purchased from an Ebay seller, then ask for their advice and support, but I daresay you won't get much help there. Member doru above mentions one guy who tried to offer some sort of unofficial support for the UK market towards the latter stages of last year, but he's given up on that by the looks of things. If you do PM him, I'd guess that he'd not be able/want to offer help. The only real support you have is by scouring forms like this to see who's had issues or if there's any fixes. I'd say also to keep sending Hualingan email's to see if they'll support the unit, but I doubt that would happen either.

The last I heard from the last UK member who purchased one and has ongoing issues is that the CDC is a 'virtual' CD changer and the latest version of the head unit, the function works. You may have an older version so a firmware update from Hualingan might give you that functionality, if they respond to you. I have a feeling they wouldn't and as such you'd have to buy another unit that is the latest version. Same goes for the patchy Bluetooth issue, I believe performance on the latest versions is better. The item you link are from another unbranded chinese manufacturer, so you could take the chance and buy one of those to see if it's any better.

Good luck

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#44 ·
Champain777

A few things are being worked on in my research lab!

but funding issues are preventing full speed so I'm a little 520i speeds instead of M5 supercharged speeds as I'd like to be!

Apart from that, none of the reputable and quality brands offered anything oem looking for the E39 a decade ago, and they won't do anything now either, so just hope I can find funding/a job asap!

Cheers, Dennis!
 
#46 ·
Well more on the HUALINGAN MODEL i installed this less than 1 year ago
So far the unit TV did not work after 1 month
The Bluetooth for the phone cuts in and out all the time
1 month ago the USB input started shutting down the unit so I have to turn the car off and on to reset system when I use it
Now the DVD player just stopped working
I contacted HUALINGAN and they say that the unit cannot be repaired and that i will need to buy a new unit from them????????
I explained that this unit is less than 1 year old, but they will not honour warrantee
I am extremely disappointed with this manufacturer and after spending almost $700 on what they told me was the top of the range unit last year to be told they do not have warrantee
DO NOT BUY FROM HUALINGAN or if you want to I suggest you Google hualingan problems and save yourself some money
:mad:
 
#47 ·
Thanks for this. I am Canadian and sometimes feel American companies can take advantage of the border. This is certainly not a complete condemnation, I deal with American companies on line and generally find them exceptional, better service than many Cdn. companies, but I think the weaker ones can and do use the border as a shelter, because of the difficulty of returning items bought outside on one's own country.
 
#48 ·
may i ask where you guy purchased "parrot external mic" at a cheap price? to work for the hualingan?,,

and now after reading few last posts,i dont even know if i want to buy from them...

i may take that chance,but dont know yet!


do they have any re seller in the usa or canada?


thanks for any info!
 
#50 ·
may i ask where you guy purchased "parrot external mic" at a cheap price? to work for the hualingan?,,

and now after reading few last posts,i dont even know if i want to buy from them...

i may take that chance,but dont know yet!


do they have any re seller in the usa or canada?


thanks for any info!


Radio Shack or The Source for the Parrot mic

I've read your posts that the steering wheel buttons work, but I want to know if all of them work? In other words, does the R/T button do anything? Can you answer incoming Bluetooth calls by hitting the "Talk" button??

Thanks for an awesome write-up!


Not sure about the R/T button, haven't tested it (yet)...I will maybe today...if I don't forget. I always feel compelled to hit the green phone logo on teh display.
 
#52 ·
Oh snap! Now this unit looks nice!
 
#53 ·
I know this thread is old, but where could I buy one of these Hualigan HUs?
 
#55 ·
This is a terrific write up mate! I'll be installing a system similar to this in my E39 soon, and I'm guessing I'll be finished in half the time than would otherwise have been the case - and with my dash still in one piece!!
 
#56 ·
I know the topic is kinda dated but is there a way to get this unit to work on a DSP amp without having the mid and the business cd connected in the trunk?? I just got the unit and the seller said it was a straight plug n play and it would come with a DSP adaptor well guess what it did not after travelling 9000miles to find out theres no store here that sells the metra wiring to do the trunk/glove box combo. Pls help:(:(
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top