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DIY: E39 - Mercedes/AMG Paddleshifter Retrofit

22K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  MParallel 
#1 ·
...after a long wait for the promised DIY! The original work is in my upgrade/build thread.

I decided to add these AMG Paddle shifters to my 2003 530i while I amass the parts to perform a manual transmission swap. I haven't made much progress on that front, but I put together this DIY for the process of adding the paddles to an early dual stage M-Technic steering wheel of any car equipped with a Steptronic transmission.

Parts required:
Mercedes / AMG Paddle Shifters - Part # A 171 267 00 46
BMW E39 Heated Steering Wheel Clock Spring - Part # 61318379091
Home Computer Motherboard Header Cables (x2)
T-Taps
Two Different Colors of Electrical Wire

Tools required:
Small Scissors
T-30 Torx Bit on Low Profile Ratchet
17MM Socket, with Torque Wrench
Assorted Screw Drivers.

You MUST disconnect the Negative Terminal from the car's battery (13mm socket)

Mercedes AMG Paddles:







Start by removing the sheathing on the two wires attached to the paddles:







Mark an outline of the shape of the paddles base on the back of the steering wheel:





I decided to use a rotary tool instead of a bladed instrument to cut out the holes. Not a great idea, but then again..I'm not as praticed with using a Dremel-type tool. Those with more experience may do better.



Start cutting to expose the metal backing plate that runs behind the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions:







Drill two holes in each metal plate. One for the mounting hole on the paddles and one to run the wires from the paddles into the steering wheel.

Looks like a hackjob, but at least it won't be visible with the wheel mounted back on the car

Next, I removed the steering wheel to gain access to the clock spring (CS). Here you can see the old CS with the blank connector in the upper left hand side of the connector cluster. We will be replacing this with the CS from a heated steering wheel so we have two pins in that location to pass the actuation signal for the paddles.





Start out by removing the four (4) Torx bolts on each corner and unplugging the four (4) connectors on the back of the CS.



Remove the control stalks from the original CS and transplant them onto the new one. I didn't document this, but it should be fairly intuitive.

I then spent some time mounting up the paddles to the steering wheel. This requires a little trial and error until you get them to sit and function just right. I had to trim the outer border of the cutouts I made a couple times with an Exacto knife to get fitment 100%.









Here is the computer motherboard header cable that I trimmed down with my rotary tool to fit on the two pin connector in the CS. I connected the "positive wires" from the paddles to the wires on here to pass the signal to the back end of the CS, where another two pin connector is attached:





I then tapped into the appropriate ground wire on the back of the airbag to provide ground to the ground (black) wires on the paddles.



On the back end of the CS, I attached a length of wire to each of the two leads from the 2-pin connector and ran it through the steering column and down through the console:



I ran it through this mounting whole for the carpeted console sidecover to easily gain access to the shifter assembly area:





Then tapped in to the two middle wires on the forward facing connector to the right of the shifter assembly. This is the group of wires that passes the steptronic signals.





I partially reassembled for testing.. here are a couple videoes of what I found:

http://youtu.be/VbslwOFdSA8

http://youtu.be/WkP-INvhQ9g

I then manipulated the taps to hide underneath the console fascia... it looks well hidden now:







Finished reassembly... and took a fun test drive around my neighborhood!! I love the paddle shifters!

I had done a similar retrofit in my E46, but that included an OEM E46 M3 SMG steering wheel, so no "hacking" necessary like this time.

I used these two threads as guides, but in reality I had a jump start due to the experience with my E46:

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/600730

http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/610491/

...and this one to sort out which ground wire to use from the airbag:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1817123

Major thanks to all the originators of these posts.
 
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#3 ·
Wrapped... Poorly wrapped :eek:
 
#6 ·
The E46 M3 paddles require you to buy both switches ($150ish) and paddles ($150-$200ish) making the AMG paddles a no brainier financially (the AMG have the switch and paddle integrated together). I think I paid about $125ish for mine.

The wrapped trim looks pretty good in the pics, but not so great in some of the corners. I've got some OEM silver trim that I"ll probably install soon.
 
#8 ·
Fun mod, thank you for sharing! Ergonomically, I would want the paddles about 2cm further outboard. Would be nice if they were longer too, but regardless, can make for a more involving drive (in spite of the slow shifting of the slush box). My "fun car "is a Scuderia and when I am in my 540, I will occasionally reach for the paddle for a down shift and blink my high beams... lol ;)
 
#9 ·
... When I used to drive a forklift for a living I would occasionally flip the left turn signal trying to shift into reverse...
 
#11 ·
See post #6, above.
 
#13 ·
Maybe in the past, but as mentioned, you can buy a set of OEM paddles for less than $100, including the electronics.

The only thing that you need to know is that the later paddles aren’t just on/off switches, but variable resistance switches.
Which is kind of annoying, so you have to modify the small pcb to make it an on/off switch again.
 
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