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      02-21-2021, 06:43 PM   #1
FlyingLow78
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iDrive inop after shipment across the Pacific, and how to fix it

I just shipped my US-spec 2018 M3 from Italy to Korea. There appears to be some kind of region lock on the iDrive, because it doesn’t even power on. I have no radio, no backup camera, and nothing else that’s operated exclusively by iDrive. There are no warning lights or tones, and separate systems like SLI, lane keep assist, and my custom coding all appear to work.

I found another thread where a remote coding session resolved the issue, but without elaboration. Can anyone describe what needs to be done in ISTA or E-sys?

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Last edited by FlyingLow78; 03-03-2021 at 09:58 PM..
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      02-22-2021, 01:43 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingLow78 View Post
I just shipped my US-spec 2018 M3 from Italy to Korea. There appears to be some kind of region lock on the iDrive, because it doesn’t even power on. I have no radio, no backup camera, and nothing else that’s operated exclusively by iDrive. There are no warning lights or tones, and separate systems like SLI, lane keep assist, and my custom coding all appear to work.

I found another thread where a remote coding session resolved the issue, but without elaboration. Can anyone describe what needs to be done in ISTA or E-sys?

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      03-03-2021, 07:39 PM   #3
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Here is what the dealer charges $120 to "fix" the problem, and it's an absolute shit solution:

1. Disconnect GPS cable.

2. Use ISTA to take car out of transfer mode.

On my car, the GPS aerial attaches to the Telematic Communication Box. So, disconnecting the antenna results in the following additional faults:

- 1a. Emergency Call Malfunction annunciator is on the cluster permanently
- 1b. Left stalk: both high beam assist and cluster menu buttons don't work



Alternatively, you could try using BimmerCode to edit HU_NBT in expert mode to disable the GPS signal. I will definitely be testing this as soon as my laptop with ISTA arrives, just in case the car goes back into transport mode again.


Last edited by FlyingLow78; 03-04-2021 at 04:42 AM.. Reason: New info
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      03-04-2021, 02:39 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingLow78 View Post
Here is what the dealer charges $120 to "fix" the problem, and it's an absolute shit solution:

1. Disconnect GPS cable at headunit.

2. Use ISTA to take car out of transfer mode.

On my car, the GPS aerial attaches to the Telematic Communication Box subassembly in the head unit. So, disconnecting the antenna results in the following additional faults:

- 1a. Emergency Call Malfunction annunciator is on the cluster permanently
- 1b. Left stalk: both high beam assist and cluster menu buttons don't work



Here are the headunit connections:



The dealer disconnected A42*9B at the lower right.

Alternatively, you could try using BimmerCode to edit HU_NBT in expert mode to disable the GPS signal. I will definitely be testing this as soon as my laptop with ISTA arrives, just in case the car goes back into transport mode again.

You sure they disconnects GPS plug? Looks like the disconnected OABR plug where ATM is plugged in. Disconnecting GPS plug wouldn't couse this issues.
Like we talked before, I recommend getting ENET cable and reflashing the headunit since it's going to transport mode all the time.
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      03-04-2021, 03:06 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kubax86 View Post
You sure they disconnects GPS plug? Looks like the disconnected OABR plug where ATM is plugged in. Disconnecting GPS plug wouldn't couse this issues.
Like we talked before, I recommend getting ENET cable and reflashing the headunit since it's going to transport mode all the time.
No, I’m not sure, because I haven’t taken the car apart yet to investigate. I’m still waiting for my good laptop that already has E-Sys and ISTA installed. If the car is using GPS to trigger transport mode, why not just disconnect the aerial from the headunit and deny it the signal? My car is definitely no longer in transport mode and the iDrive works, but it just has these annoying associated faults.

There was another guy at the dealer with an X6 whose iDrive kept rebooting since they disconnected the GPS signal. I gave him your info since he requested the dealer just put his car back together.

Last edited by FlyingLow78; 03-04-2021 at 03:43 AM.. Reason: typo
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      03-04-2021, 03:18 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingLow78 View Post
No, I’m not sure, because I haven’t taken the car apart yet to investigate. I’m still waiting for my good laptop that already has E-Sys and ISTA installed. If the car is using GPS to trigger transport mode, why not just disconnect the aerial from the headunit and deny it the signal? My car is definitely no longer in transport mode and the iDrive works, but it just has these annoying associated faults.

There was another guy at the dealer with an X6 whose iDrive kept rebooting since they disconnected the GPS signal. I have him your info since he requested the dealer just put his car back together.
SOS error could be easily coded out if it annoys you.
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      03-04-2021, 03:28 AM   #7
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It definitely annoys me, kubax86.

Since the maps would not work here anyways, would coding the car for Apple CarPlay offer a way to run a navigation program from my phone for display on the iDrive? Google maps doesn’t work here, so we use apps like Waze, Naver, and KakaoMaps.

Edit: I investigated what the dealer did a little more and found the GPS signal cable that has been disconnected. It's at the telematics box in the trunk.







Disconnecting A331*8B, plus using ISTA to reset the transport mode is just a 15-minute job (max). There has to be a better way, and we will figure this out so that there is a minimal loss of functionality.

Last edited by FlyingLow78; 03-04-2021 at 03:50 AM..
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      03-04-2021, 04:47 AM   #8
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My plan now is to shoot the antenna cable for resistance from center pin to shield. I suspect it will be 50 ohms. If so, I will see about manufacturing a dummy plug to simulate the presence of the antenna. Hopefully it will fool the Telematics box and won't provide any GPS resolution to trip transport mode.
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      03-04-2021, 06:38 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingLow78 View Post
My plan now is to shoot the antenna cable for resistance from center pin to shield. I suspect it will be 50 ohms. If so, I will see about manufacturing a dummy plug to simulate the presence of the antenna. Hopefully it will fool the Telematics box and won't provide any GPS resolution to trip transport mode.
In case of any issues feel free to contact me. More than happy to help.
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      03-05-2021, 05:25 AM   #10
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Updates: My high beam assist is back, but the trip meter and central KOMBI display is still unresponsive with the emergency call annunciator present.

I ordered something like this from a Korean supplier and it will be here next week: https://www.amazon.com/beler-Bluetoo.../dp/B07F75TTQ8

I also shot antenna resistance from center pin to shield on the connector. My guess of 50 ohms was a little off, because it was actually 3.0 megaohms. The other two cables were exactly 10K ohms.

If the part I ordered shoots similarly to the OEM circuit, I'll just install it and wrap it in aluminum foil to block any reception. If it shoots some other resistance, I'll chop off the connector with a few inches of coax and install a 3 megaohm resistor.

If you've never driven your car in transport mode, it saps a lot of power and the stability control is massively intrusive. Mine was freaking out just making a U-turn.
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      03-21-2021, 02:36 AM   #11
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Update:

My Bluetooth antenna with a Fakra connector finally arrived. Connecting it to A331*8B did not fix the problem. With a multimeter, I confirmed the following resistance values in the OEM antenna circuit:

- Center pin to ground/shield: 3 Megaohms.
- Shield *8B to shield on *7B (left): 0.2 ohms
- Shield *8B to shield on *7B (right): 70 ohms

I cut the cable on the Bluetooth antenna I purchased and soldered 3 Megaohms of resistance from center pin to shield, and attached a grounding wire to the shield to duplicate the readings that the OEM circuit provides. Unfortunately, it still fails. I suspect there is some kind of logic circuit that the antenna uses to “talk back” to the telematics box during the power-on self test. TIS doesn’t provide any details about the inner workings of the antenna.

Remaining options include a full HU_NBT reflash, or purchasing a decorative antenna cap and lining it with aluminum foil to block incoming signals to the antenna. There are carbon fiber caps available for about $50 and I could attach it with double-sided tape. Of course, I could just ignore the fails I’m getting now and accept that I’ll be staring at the warning for another year, until I ship back to Europe.
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      03-26-2021, 08:35 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingLow78 View Post
Update:

My Bluetooth antenna with a Fakra connector finally arrived. Connecting it to A331*8B did not fix the problem. With a multimeter, I confirmed the following resistance values in the OEM antenna circuit:

- Center pin to ground/shield: 3 Megaohms.
- Shield *8B to shield on *7B (left): 0.2 ohms
- Shield *8B to shield on *7B (right): 70 ohms

I cut the cable on the Bluetooth antenna I purchased and soldered 3 Megaohms of resistance from center pin to shield, and attached a grounding wire to the shield to duplicate the readings that the OEM circuit provides. Unfortunately, it still fails. I suspect there is some kind of logic circuit that the antenna uses to "talk back" to the telematics box during the power-on self test. TIS doesn't provide any details about the inner workings of the antenna.

Remaining options include a full HU_NBT reflash, or purchasing a decorative antenna cap and lining it with aluminum foil to block incoming signals to the antenna. There are carbon fiber caps available for about $50 and I could attach it with double-sided tape. Of course, I could just ignore the fails I'm getting now and accept that I'll be staring at the warning for another year, until I ship back to Europe.
We can fix this easily remotely
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      03-26-2021, 09:32 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EasyBimmerCoding View Post
We can fix this easily remotely
Thanks for weighing in on this issue. There seems to be a huge information void because so few forum members ship their cars to the Far East.

Right now my plan is to cap the GPS antenna with a decorative cover like this one and line it with aluminum foil to block the signal. I should then be able to reconnect the telematics unit and clear the emergency call annunciator. All in, it should cost $50 and about 30 minutes of time. It also doesn't put any of my existing coding at risk of being overwritten.

I despise the dealer's solution because it creates new problems, but it's simple and effective otherwise. Most people don't have ISTA to get the car out of transport mode, but my laptop finally arrived, so I'm going to DIY much of the work myself.
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      03-31-2021, 05:33 AM   #14
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The carbon fiber cap arrived and I lined it with foil. To form an effective Faraday cage, though, it will need to be grounded to the structure of the car. I skipped that step for now because I'd prefer not to have a wire sticking out and will test it tomorrow morning. My initial tests with an external GPS receiver attached to my phone suggest it will not attenuate the signal enough to prevent the car from going into transport mode. I don't know how sensitive the car's antenna is, though, compared to the phone's external antenna.

I did find anecdotal evidence here that indicates the cover alone may somewhat attenuate the signal, even before I add aluminum foil.

Road testing it tomorrow morning and will post results here.





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      04-03-2021, 06:45 PM   #15
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As suspected, the cover and foil didn’t attenuate the GPS signal well enough to keep the car from going into transport mode. I also experimented with deactivating two different GPS parameters in HU_NBT (GPS_FROM_NAVI and SYSTEM_GPS_RECEIVER), which also made no difference.

The major limitation with attempting to attenuate the signal is one of aesthetics. The roof antenna is difficult to access and the carbon fiber cap provides limited space to add material to block the signal. For this reason, my next effort will be to acquire a spare GPS antenna and three FAKRA cables to build the circuit from scratch. I may be able to get by with just a single cable, but my multimeter readings indicated continuity between the elements. I can then put the antenna into the ample space of the trunk subfloor and add several layers of shielding to block the signal.
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      04-06-2021, 01:23 PM   #16
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Would it be worth it to find a used IDrive unit from Korea and try to install that? I did that with my US spec F80 and installed a EU spec IDrive unit. Worked fine, but then again my US spec unit worked fine with GPS but did not have connected drive or all the radio stations.
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      04-07-2021, 05:08 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fernisatree View Post
Would it be worth it to find a used IDrive unit from Korea and try to install that? I did that with my US spec F80 and installed a EU spec IDrive unit. Worked fine, but then again my US spec unit worked fine with GPS but did not have connected drive or all the radio stations.
I'm about to move my US car to Europe. I had no idea the majority of the car would just stop working because the GPS coordinates changed - that is awful.

It sounds like you've some experience with this - I do not use connected idrive, are there other functionalities that stop working with an NA car in EU - or other recommendations for when a car moves regions?
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      04-07-2021, 05:27 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fackamato View Post
I'm about to move my US car to Europe. I had no idea the majority of the car would just stop working because the GPS coordinates changed - that is awful.

It sounds like you've some experience with this - I do not use connected idrive, are there other functionalities that stop working with an NA car in EU - or other recommendations for when a car moves regions?
Usually it's just a Connected Drive not working.
Region/maps can be changed easily.
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      04-08-2021, 10:16 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fackamato View Post
I'm about to move my US car to Europe. I had no idea the majority of the car would just stop working because the GPS coordinates changed - that is awful.

It sounds like you've some experience with this - I do not use connected idrive, are there other functionalities that stop working with an NA car in EU - or other recommendations for when a car moves regions?
Going from the US to Europe is easy. You can load maps yourself via USB. PM me if you need a contact who can supply the maps and FSC to activate. He charges $50 and I’ve gotten great assistance from him. Beyond that, your Connected Drive won’t work, but everything else will be fine. My issue only occurs because I’m in South Korea - outside the US or Europe.
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      05-01-2021, 12:37 AM   #20
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This will probably be my last update on this issue.

I ordered an antenna and discovered it is designed to interface with a mount located on another telematics unit affixed to the underside of the roof panel. BMW ETK and realoem.com don't list a roof-mounted telematics unit for the 2018 F80 M3, but do list one for various other models that use the exact same antenna (such as the F3X 320i). A popular BMW online parts supplier couldn't figure out what the antenna was supposed to connect to on my car, and that unknown interface includes the Fakra cable connections. I wasn't willing to pull down the headliner to see what my car has.

You can't effectively block the signal to the antenna in the space provided, even with a cover. Building the antenna circuit with a telematics unit ($???), antenna ($130), and Fakra cables ($30) is cost prohibitive given the downsides of just leaving it alone.

My advice is simply this: If you're in Korea for only a year, disconnect your telematics unit's GPS signal and reset transport mode by downloading and using ISTA. It's a completely free (albeit compromised) solution. Don't bother paying the dealer $110 to perform the above steps for you or having someone try to code it remotely (which left me with a corrupted HU_NBT and broke my ability to use the Bimmercode app).
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