NCS Expert - VIN is faulty

Colin_E

Member
North Hampshire
I seem to be stuck getting NCS Expert working.
Standard Tools is installed on a laptop (Win10) following the readme instructions in the BimmerGeeks download. All seemed to complete OK.
K+DCAN cable configured on COM1, latency =1. I can plug this into the car & INPA 'sees' the cable and reports the Ignition status correctly.
So far so good, I guess.

However, NCS Expert reports 'VIN is faulty' (& then a string of codes & German). I've tried keying in my VIN in the dialog box or leaving the software to read it from the car - either way I get the same error & can't go further.

Running a few websearches on the error message (or part of it) seems to suggest I may need to create some subfolders with SP-Daten. Can anyone enlighten me further?
 
If you haven't already you need to import the SP Daten files. They contain the software for all the modules and also the scripts that programs use to communicate with them.

They can be downloaded from the Bimmergeeks site. This is the direct link: https://mega.nz/folder/D9RSzQDQ#kfkRj1wG6VHRtemuG7Lv0g

You only need the E89 one, that works for the entire E89 platform of cars (E90,E91,E92,E89,E81...). There's plenty of guides telling you how to import but if you want the easiest way then search for "BMW Coding Tool". There's a guide on it here: https://www.car-auto-repair.com/bmw-coding-tool-2-5-free-download-how-to-use/
 
R.E92 said:
If you haven't already you need to import the SP Daten files. They contain the software for all the modules and also the scripts that programs use to communicate with them.

They can be downloaded from the Bimmergeeks site. This is the direct link: https://mega.nz/folder/D9RSzQDQ#kfkRj1wG6VHRtemuG7Lv0g

You only need the E89 one, that works for the entire E89 platform of cars (E90,E91,E92,E89,E81...). There's plenty of guides telling you how to import but if you want the easiest way then search for "BMW Coding Tool". There's a guide on it here: https://www.car-auto-repair.com/bmw-coding-tool-2-5-free-download-how-to-use/

Thanks very much -that looks like what I need. The E89 file is downloading now. I'll follow that guide & see how it goes. :thumbsup:
 
tintoverano said:
hi, which ECU module?

please post your UIF from INPA

I'm gonna try to follow Nick9one1's instructions in the recent 'basic 6 speaker stereo' thread to code CAS to 'hifi' to defeat the excessive equalisation settings after fitting some better speakers. Didn't get further with INPA than checking that it recognised 'ignition on' but can dig further if its useful for my purposes?

By the way I assume that if I bale out of NCS Expert before sending the 'write' instruction, nothing gets changed or damaged? Would be good to know that if I don't see what I expect from the guidance I'm following that I could back out without risking screwing it up.
 
when you read out the current coding, always first!!, duplicate the .TRC file

anything you do in NCSExpert can be reverted from this backup

the good thing with NCSExpert, that you can only code in what's available, perhaps it won't work, but you cannot brick your ECU, unlike with WinKFP
 
tintoverano said:
when you read out the current coding, always first!!, duplicate the .TRC file

anything you do in NCSExpert can be reverted from this backup

the good thing with NCSExpert, that you can only code in what's available, perhaps it won't work, but you cannot brick your ECU, unlike with WinKFP
OK, that's reassuring! Bricking the ECU is exactly what I'm scared of doing :cry:
 
I've got car connected to a Ctek (& a full battery) and laptop is plugged into mains power so hopefully that aspect is covered.
 
for the future, when you'll do perhaps programming or certain diags, not coding like this time, you need more than a Ctek - it doesn't suit the job of maintaining the required voltage
 
WinKFP and NCSExpert offer very different functionality. Bother are capable of bricking modules but it's very unlikely. WinKFP is purely for writing software to modules, NCSExpert is just for changing the settings as such.

A backup of the TRC file is useful but you can always go back to stock configuration by "default coding" a module, it's a very simple process. That basically looks at the cars order sheet and programs to the module to the settings it would have left the factory with.

The car will draw around 12A depending on what your flashing and can go up to 30 or 40A for certain routines like cycling the water pump and ABS. The CTEK may not be able to supply that kind of current so you do run the risk of draining the battery. A full battery in good condition will give around an hour of juice for coding if you have the aircon and lights turned off. Having the Ctek connected will certainly help as long as you keep it in supply mode.
 
Battery is fairly new (4-5 months) and has been kept conditioned either by use or the Ctek since new. My tinkering today started with a full battery & I'll leave it to recharge overnight before I have another go.
Lights, aircon, audio, idrive screen etc all off. Very unlikely that I'll need to code for as much as an hour at a time but something I'll keep in mind. What do you guys use instead of a Ctek when you need a more comprehensive session?
 
I use a DIY 60A PSU. Something like this: https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1262137

You don't need that unless you plan to do serious work though. For simple things like coding modules and updating the occasional module you can just do it on battery. For coding you can leave the engine running too. It's only updating modules like the engine and transmission that you need to have the engine stopped.
 
If I may chuck another ‘noob’ question in to the coding experts here...do you think ‘Revtors profile’ in NCS Expert adds anything worthwhile to the BimmerGeeks setup?
 
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