what is comms pack?

[grantsmithbmw540]

i got my car just over a week ago 1998 e39 540.. it has satnav / tv but no phone... there is a phone icon button next to the screen but no phone installed in the car..

my 2 questions are
if a car has "comms pack" what does this consist of?

and b) can i retro fit phone/ or even bluetooth in my car? if i was to check to see if my car was prewired for phone (as i hear some are) what would i need to check for and where in the car?

[janafunk]

hi grantsmithbmw540

Comms pack on the e39 meant that you got SatNav with TV and (I think ) also a phone....this can be a mobile phone.....or a hard wired car phone.

As yours is a 1998 car, it might have a hard wired motorola / nokia phone. This should be located in the middle on top of the armrest.

You can retro fit bluetooth to your car...........check this link out....they have a lot of info and also the correct parts!

http://www.bimmernav.com

One easy way to determine whether your car should have phone fitted is to take the vin number to your local $tealer and ask them to print out the full options list for your car......(this should be done for free.....but you never know with $tealers!!)

[DanE39]

The comms pack consisted of some kind of phone in the armrest which was connected to the monitor (to allow viewing and dialling of numbers), a mic in the headlining above the interior light, two extra buttons on the steering wheel ('R/T' next to the cruise control buttons, and either a phone icon or a face icon next to the audio control buttons).

Fitting a BMW Bluetooth module means delving into all the control boxes located in the boot and finding the telephone control module, removing it and replacing with a Bluetooth ULF module which will allow you to connect a (rather restricted) range of Bluetooth enabled phones and also give you voice control over the phone and Nav system. It's expensive but well worth doing... unless of course your car is not comms pack equipped.

If this is the case I wouldn't bother - just go for an aftermarket Bluetooth kit such as those made by Nokia, SonyEricsson or Parrot.