CarPlay screen

[Jeffem]

After reading Sakm’s post about his adventure with the CarPlay C5 display I did some of my own digging on EBay.

At the moment the following unit is going for £111 GBP, with discount code, and I thought it was worth a punt. I thought I would post this while I wait for it to arrive because it’s a limited price offer and somebody else may fancy a go.

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It remains to be seen whether this is a good or bad decision but the official Satnavs are simply too expensive. Even the alternatives are expensive when you consider we have a perfectly acceptable satnav via our phones. So my plan is to mimic Sakm ( I tip my hat to you sir for doing all the groundwork)


However, I don’t like the mounting option of the ramball and would like to explore placing it on the satnav blanking cover. It may just be a pipe dream, but I’d like to at least try for a more elegant solution. Watch this space…

[davidr8]

I couldn't stomach the cost of the dedicated GPS units.
Instead I bought a Umidigi Bison X10 rugged smartphone that is water proof and vibration proof. I use the TomTom Go app and it works fantastic on the 6.5" screen.

[Jeffem]

The C5 CarPlay display arrived today and it looks identical to the one that Sakm received and posted about last Autumn.

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It seems to connect to my phone very quickly and functions very well but the engineer in me wants to see if I can secure it in the Satnav location and hide a switched power supply.

It does come with a power lead that is connected to what they call a sunshade bracket (wet weather shield is probably a more apt name for UK use). The ramball mount looks like it can be removed but the backside of the sunshade bracket isn’t flush as the power lead exits via a right angled gland. Initial thoughts are to attach ‘stand-offs’ and fix it to an additional backplate. If I can profile the new backplate to match the satnav snap location, that might work. I could then rig up a power lead and use the righthand side DIN socket, but surely there is a more elegant solution.

Suggestions welcome, but don’t take offence if I go my own route…

[Jeffem]

Sorry, another follow up…

Before I start dismantling, can anyone tell me whether there is a ‘safe’ switched 12v circuit I can connect to, behind the satnav/clock/ righthand speaker area?

Is it possible to determine which of the multi pin socket, intended for a Satnav, could be utilised?

Sorry for the multiple questions but my previous bike was a 23 years old Honda VFR and the wiring loom wasn’t canbus.

[sakm]

you want one of these connectors

This will then enable you to plug in to the OE connector for the bmw nav prep

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374205636887 ... 7PEALw_wcB

Cheaper ones are available if you look about

[wily_coyote]

Hi. I've just fitted the 7" Carpuride unit to my 2010 RT. I completely removed the BMW unit and 'adjusted' one of the supplied fitments, cutting off the ball. I drilled and tapped this and bolted it through the OEM mount. I then used the other fittings (straight ball-to-ball thing) to mount the unit. I've put a neoprene block on top of the instrument cluster to eliminate any vibration. For the power, I've just run a fused lead back to the battery.

The unit works really well. I also run a Cardo Freecom 4X which connects seamlessly and works much better than it does with the Cardo interface.

[Totaled TL]

Sorry, another follow up…

Before I start dismantling, can anyone tell me whether there is a ‘safe’ switched 12v circuit I can connect to, behind the satnav/clock/ righthand speaker area?

Is it possible to determine which of the multi pin socket, intended for a Satnav, could be utilised?

Sorry for the multiple questions but my previous bike was a 23 years old Honda VFR and the wiring loom wasn’t canbus.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204062010787

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C37 ... UTF8&psc=1

[exportman]

When I had my 2016rt in the satnav spot. I removed the original Garmin plate and fitted a tomtom mount had to remove half the front to do it but it was worth it. Needed to put some spacers between the panel and the mount so I could remove the tomtom when the bike was parked. Power I fitted a relay, switched feed from the aux socket front right fairing and the power through a fused feed from the battery costs next to nothing.

[Jeffem]

Update on my current quest.

Thanks to Sakm and Totaled TL for the suggestions of sourcing a socket; I got a cheap one from eBay. I removed the windshield to get access to the plastic satnav mounting surround. I then removed the charging pin block which exposed the four location holes that just so happen to match those of the CarPlay housing. Result!

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I then sourced some nylon 6 block from eBay. My rough measurements suggest a 40mm depth will allow the CarPlay housing to clear the top edge of the satnav housing. This will allow me to remove the CarPlay unit when I am parked up. I couldn’t find any 40mm nylon 6 so I’ve settled on making up the distance with two 20mm blocks.

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I don’t have access to a powered mitre saw yet (one on order for this and other projects), but the next stage is to cut the blocks to size 50mm wide by 60mm height as this should cover the hole intended to house the original satnav power pin mount. Then I need to drill four holes and that should allow me to lock the whole assembly from behind and into the CarPlay housing. At least that’s the plan once I’ve ordered some more bolts of the correct length. I miss calculated the length of suitable bolts by forgetting about the satnav housing coming in two parts which means double the thickness where the bolt heads will sit.

Hopefully the next update will show the final assembly. So far, so good.

[Jeffem]

So, my original plan to use blocks of Nylon 6 didn’t really work for me. The basic problem was trying to offset the mounting of the CarPlay to allow it to fit the original location of BMW Satnav.

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Plan B is to make use of some aluminium box section. This allows me to offset the bike attachment to the CarPlay, which, if I say so myself, is a pretty elegant solution.

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After a bit of cable shortening, and checking the polarity, ‘It’s alive!’

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So the total outlay:-

CarPlay £111.19
Wiring loom socket £ 17:99
Aluminium box section £ 8:60
Total = £137.78

The final task is to find some way of covering the power pins in the CarPlay cradle when the screen is removed. The power shuts off when I turn the bike ignition off but if I choose to run without the CarPlay in place, it would be prudent to have a cover. The alternative is to lock the screen in position permanently, but I don’t wish to tempt some ‘tea leaf’ ripping the housing away trying to nick what they think is a Satnav.

[Quico]

I thought of buying a C5 for my bike instead of a dedicated satnav, but I keep thinking about battery life on my iphone.
Do you know if connected to c5 carplay, the navigation part of the carplay doesn't drain you phone battery in no time?

[Jeffem]

I thought of buying a C5 for my bike instead of a dedicated satnav, but I keep thing about battery life on my iphone.
Do you know if connected to c5 carplay, the navication part of the carplay doesn't drain you phone battery in no time?

Good question. I don’t have any empirical data yet but initially I will monitor the phone power drain and use a power bank if necessary. I am still trying to find a practical sized tank bag at the moment, and if the power drain is a problem, I will run a feed from the bike power socket.

[Jeffem]

Finishing touches and results on the road.

Tarting it up.

Got a new blank cover, so I can use the original if I decide to go back to an official BMW Satnav. Purchased a knurled long m3 bolt of eBay and made it ‘captured’ by using a nyloc bolt behind the plastic cover. Finishes of the blank look quite elegantly, if I do say so myself.

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Connecting up the system.

It took me a couple of attempts to get the three way comms between the Shoei (Sena), C5 unit and my phone, to link up properly. The C5 unit powers up with the bike and links, via wifi to my phone and then via Bluetooth to my shoei. The C5 essentially becomes the hub for comms. When I stop to refuel, I flip out the C5 and put it in my pocket. Once refuelled, and paid, clip the C5 back and it relinks to the phone and Shoei on the turn of the key. Takes a few seconds to go through its start up sequence but as it’s a mirror of your phone, it’s all set and ready to rock and roll.

On the Road.

Running with the C5 unit is very good. I tend to use Waze as the default for my car (Audi Satnav is rubbish) and, for my trip out to Birling Gap today, it works very well on the bike. I will explore MyRoute App as this has been recommended, but at the moment Wazes works.

Not had a chance to try comms link with another rider yet, but so far I am very pleased with the results. I have a trip planned to Taunton next weekend and so that should give me some indication on phone battery life.