I'm looking for a diagnostic cable for an older BMW E39 of 2002 vintage
without the 20-pin round pacman connector, so I only need the 16-pin
standard obd2 connector.

Most cable ads don't say if both pin 7 and pin 8 K lines are intact.
Most K+DCAN cables have the 8th pin disconnected (for the newer bimmers).
Only some K+CAN cables have both the 8th and 8th pin k lines connected.

If you have an older bimmer, do you have a good source for the dual K-
line K+CAN cable that is reliable?