Atacama Yellow 35is build thread

[Nanu]

B21 IS the Reassembler!

Looking like a car again and very nice too. Good job

But how long for???

[john-e89]

How is the new digi dash screen coming along, did you get it to fit..?

[B21]

How is the new digi dash screen coming along, did you get it to fit..?

https://youtu.be/opZ8f9He6XE?si=6tWnQY-snxdgJfe4

It’s a bit of video looking at a major issue with trying to remotely program the replacement CIC unit which is from a 2015 20i…there’s a long standing bus issue which is preventing that..the ID4 screen is briefly in shot..I’ve not done a proper video of it..had expected to button the dash up then report on it..that looks like a forlorn hope..

So briefly on the IDMotion display..

Good points
Breathtaking beautiful graphics..never seen anything as good
Good range of graphic versions, styles and colours
Very programmable to reflect most whims

Things to sort out but possible
Fitting is an absolute bitch..
It’s more glued than screwed so not easy to revisit / undo..if you do the mods to make it for neatly…

Open issues
Quite a few folks have had quite a few bugs which have taken time to resolve ..if ever

So would i recommend it?

No…a lot of money , a lot of pain, some possible long term issues

Not everything you try works as well as you’d have hoped for..

The story continues..

[B21]

The CIC unit..part of the iDrive system is the brains of the system whose trademark folding screen presesnts the data..the screen is just a screen, all the smarts happen in the big box, out of sight, the 'radio' you can see is the top part of the unit, like an iceberg most of it is hidden.

In E89s its the optiion 609A Navigation System Professional.

Inside the box there is an AM/FM tuner, optionally a DAB tuner, various interfaces to the rest of the car, the PDC system and the various audio related pre-amp for either the 676 Hi-FI off board amp or the 677 Top-Fi DSP/amp..both of which are in the boot.

The CIC communicates with the 676 amp via normal analogue wires, the 677 it speaks to it on a fibre optic ring called MOST.

Both versions have MOST o talk to the MULF /ULF /combox and things like an external CD if it had one.

The box with different face plates was fitted to most BMWs between 2008 ish and 2016 ish..

There's a hard drive in there which stores the maps, the Gracenote music database and optionally some music you choose to store on it.

I've written this note as my unit started to die..first of all, very occasionally, it would, after a damp / cold night outside, shut down 5 minutes or so after starting the car, then go into a cycle of rebooting after 5-10 minutes, run for 90 seconds, then shutdown,,,then repeat until after about an hour or so it would just run.

I had various pet theories about it..damp causing issues with fibre optic cables, laterly failing hard disc.

I cloned the hard disc onto a solid state drive and thought I had cured it...sadly a few days ago during my winter upgrade program the system started doing this process of rebooting endlessly..with no constant running..for the few seonds it was running the maps were much faster due to the SSD.

So I looked at options...

A new unit is £3,700..a BMW supplied exchange unit was around £1,800 ish plus a £2k deposit.

I looked at other options.

I decided to get a 2015 20i E89 write off one..plugged it in..good news..AM/FM/DAB/USB support all worked ..bad news no NAV and no sound..

In some ways not surprsing as it came from a 676 optioncar..you could see that in the tone controls as there was no entry for the equaliser.

The unit needs to be coded..BMW charge an extortionate fee..looked at Indys..selected a Polish guy to do it remotely.

For whatever reason, and we spent some time, he couldn't access the unit via ISTA/P..

Compunding this is the ID4 Motion digital cluster which doesn't play well and the Match 10 DSP amp with lots of MOST stuff..heh ho..

So now resigned to send both units off..one to be repaired, the other to be coded to the car.

Romamia or Poland are my options..

[AnubisZed]

.....
For whatever reason, and we spent some time, he couldn't access the unit via ISTA/P..
....

And I know why, the new version of the Mr12volt now connects via the Quadlock connector, and in so doing it prevents the CanBus signal from getting to ther headunit for coding etc. You need to, temporarily, remove this Y loom and just use the original car Quadlock (not forgetting to replace the MOST connector), then you'll be able to code the headunit

[B21]

.....
For whatever reason, and we spent some time, he couldn't access the unit via ISTA/P..
....

And I know why, the new version of the Mr12volt now connects via the Quadlock connector, and in so doing it prevents the CanBus signal from getting to ther headunit for coding etc. You need to, temporarily, remove this Y loom and just use the original car Quadlock (not forgetting to replace the MOST connector), then you'll be able to code the headunit

I suspected that..I did just disconnect the MOST connector and re-route it..to no avail ..I more latterly suspected that maybe the harness had to be fully disconnected..but by then I’d thrown the towel in..

I’ve arranged now for the old one to be repaired and get the other unit bench flashed ..

https://www.novacartech.co.uk/

Using these guys..

Pic shows lock if access to the MOST related network whrn I was trying unsuccessfully to access the CIC

[AnubisZed]

It's very annoying that Mr12volt have gone down this route. The original connection, via the iDrive controller 4 pin plug, was far better, both in terms of not affecting the coding options and that you now need to shove all that extra wire and plug in behind the headunit, which can be a right pain.
Best of luck with the coding

[B21]

It's very annoying that Mr12volt have gone down this route. The original connection, via the iDrive controller 4 pin plug, was far better, both in terms of not affecting the coding options and that you now need to shove all that extra wire and plug in behind the headunit, which can be a right pain.
Best of luck with the coding

Thnx..to be fair..with the iD4 Motion cluster I'm not sure even if I had fully dismantled the MMI box whether the ID4 with its canbus connection would have £@(ked it up as well?

[B21]

Calming down..sent the boxes of for repair / coding…

Bit of important minor fettling..

Decided to download update firmware, splash screens, drivers and nav updates…

Updated the firmware on the ID4Motion and added turbo boost sensor support for it..couldn’t do the Mr 12 Volt splash screen and app icon as the MMI box is out of section till the CICs return..ditto CIC MSport update.

Patched the power to drive the boost sensor into the fuse panel using a piggy back fuse holder..

I’m using the original cigarette lighter socket to drive the two Garmin cams ..but the usb adapter I used in the socket fried so I needed a fresh one..not before blowing its fuse when the multi meter needles slipped..

Put 10mm rear and 5mm front spacers on the wheels ..437Ms with 275/30 19 SC7s was touching on full droop on inner liner.

Quit at that stage ..

Tomorrow’s another day..

[B21]

This is probably going to be one of the least relevant posts to Z4 Forum E89 members..

The key point is that the EKP or EKPM or fuel pump controller is very reliable on the E89 and seldom causes issues.

This not the case on other BMWs where they frequently fail, the key failure mode is over heating of the main chips on the circuit board.

EKPs are fitted to all ICE BMWs from around 2000 onwards ..at least..

This appears to be in part caused by the EKP location, which is usually buried under the rear seat and suffers from a lack of ventilation and being effectively insulated.

The EKP manages the current to the low pressure fuel pump..it does this by using pulse width modulation if a dc power supply..a bit like rapidly switching the dc power on and off..it’s not alternating current is still direct current but the average voltage / current is reduced compared to being simply on.

The EKP receives its instructions from the DME and then alters the current flow to maintain an adequate pump pressure / flow but not excessive.

In the E89 the big aluminium heat sink on the EKP is bolted to the rear wheel arch ensuring good cooling by conduction.

In NA cars the EKP and LPFP are the main ways to get fuel to the port injectors into he inlet manifold.

In turbo cars the LPFP lifts fuel to the engine driven HPFP which then uses direct injection to deliver fuel.

For E89 owners the primary reason for interest is when folks start chasing more power via uprated turbos.

In the chain of demands ..bigger turbos, especially those using ethanol blends require more fuel than the standard LPFP can supply..so folks use uprated pumps..but the uprated pumps require more current to drive them..which then tends to overheat the EKP…it gets to the point where people have installed huge fans and heat sinks to try and cool it.

In my case at 550bhp crank on RON 98 my LPFP wasn’t good enough..I installed an uprated LPFP and now I’ve replaced the stock EKPM3 box with an ET3 version which uses a later design of power control IC from the same manufacturer that’s pin compatible with the original..

These guys have just reworked old boards, replaced some parts and market them in various uprated versions..mine is their entry level upgrade.

Swapping it out was easy once the trim in the boot was removed.

I put a bit of silicon heat transfer grease on the back for maximum thermal conductivity / cooling.

It may or may not need coding..I’ll look at that shortly.

[B21]

Audiotec Fischer Match 10 DSP and 12 new speakers coming on stream..setting up soundstages..with the optional Director control in the cabin you can load different sound stages to suit roof down, roof down windows down and roof up..

https://youtu.be/S_Xe0d0vHlU?si=xnYObapYqRxmDYmz

[B21]

Car buttoned up awaiting first test drives..new trim looks nice..

https://youtu.be/ARlACoeEGpA?si=rDAStmsbtNyuvQLi

[B21]

Managed to get the Mr 12 Volt MMI online…the replacement CIC head unit was not coded to support an external CD changer..

Thnx to AnubisZed for letting me know that the new version of the Mr 12 Volt MMI box pisses on the CAN bus and stops programming tools see the headunit..

I took the MMI harness out of the circuit between the car and the CIC and voila..I could now code the change ..

In BimmerCode it’s

CDMM_CHANGER_3 option and change it to mp3_cdc in expert mode within the CIC coding menus..

similar exercise in Protool which I used as I just have the demo mode of BimmerCode

I had been cursing the ID4Motion instrument cluster for this issue..in this case wrongly..

[B21]

Got the splash screens and app button updated on the MMI box..how to waste a day with various issues..reversed the ID4Motion firmware update due to ID4Motion withdrawing it from their download site for unspecified reasons..

Apart from not understanding the logic of how the ID4 swaps to night mode..all seems to be there..test drive tomorrow..

https://youtu.be/UrBHulW6dxQ?si=sJfl569o5DmjxD2c

[1536Z4]