[cecaa850]

I've flashed my vehicle with ECUTEK maybe 14 or 15 times. If the battery is at a full state of charge you don't need an external power supply, or at least that's been my experience. If my battery tender is in a float stage I know that the battery is fully charged. The whole flash process only takes a few minutes. I can't imagine that it draws much current.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by cecaa850

I've flashed my vehicle with ECUTEK maybe 14 or 15 times. If the battery is at a full state of charge you don't need an external power supply, or at least that's been my experience. If my battery tender is in a float stage I know that the battery is fully charged. The whole flash process only takes a few minutes. I can't imagine that it draws much current.

I haven't even usually used a battery tender to flash something as short as a tune in the past, but might now that I have one.

There are parts of the flash process, even for a tune, which do draw a lot from the battery / PSU. I'm not sure exactly how much, but I wouldn't say it doesn't draw much current.

By the way, another useful tip... if you happen to shut the trunk with the battery disconnected, the way to get it open again is to connect a 12v PSU (or jump leads from another car) to the front 12v and GND terminals under the hood. This will fully power up the car and allow all functions to work, including the trunk button and latch. You wouldn't want to start the car from a PSU I doubt! You probably wouldn't want to start the car at all - I've no idea what would happen if you did that and then disconnected!

[///Monika]

As always, good stuff. It's definitely a laptop so we're good and thank you for confirming the external enet cable support (you never know). I know that we keep a BMW battery charger on it pretty much anytime it sits for long periods of time or whenever we flash it (something like 20 seconds or so). I can't imagine needing to update the ECU outside of MHD. I'd imagine the amount of stress in hoping the update finishes properly. We'll just stick to diagnostics.

Originally Posted by F87source

Yeah it is always nice to have the tools needed at your disposal.

4.6 GHZ is more than sufficient, as long as it isn't sub 2.2 ghz and 4.6 GHZ with turbo boost - which I highly doubt since that would be an insane jump in clock speeds.

Yeah you will be fine with a usb to Ethernet adapter.


This is a laptop right (A pc is fine too but a bit more risky)? I personally prefer a laptop over a pc for diagnostics or coding because there is no chance a power failure will cause the car to be corrupted, since laptops have an internal battery.

Also make sure the car is on a power supply (if you are flashing all the ecu's like an ISTEP update there is a huge thread on the proper power supply to use which is $1,000, if you are just coding or flashing with MHD that should be fast enough you don't really need a power supply or you can just a cheaper one since it won't be needed too long but is a nice bit of assurance) when flashing the tune, coding, or diagnostics (less of a concern for this) so you limit the chance of corrupting the ecu if battery voltage drops below the range required by the ecu.

[cecaa850]

Originally Posted by Nezil

I haven't even usually used a battery tender to flash something as short as a tune in the past, but might now that I have one.

I wasn't using the battery tender as insurance rather as a way to tell if the battery is at a full charge.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

As always, good stuff. It's definitely a laptop so we're good and thank you for confirming the external enet cable support (you never know). I know that we keep a BMW battery charger on it pretty much anytime it sits for long periods of time or whenever we flash it (something like 20 seconds or so). I can't imagine needing to update the ECU outside of MHD. I'd imagine the amount of stress in hoping the update finishes properly. We'll just stick to diagnostics.

Haha no problem! Let me know if you need anything else, and I hope you get to the bottom of this issue soon.

Oh and yeah you won't really need a charger for mhd flashes, it's way too fast now with the F series wifi adapter.

[///Monika]

Yeah, I'm a bit paranoid over this whole car situation. I truly appreciate all your help. Once we have any updates I'll post them here. Everyone take care !

Originally Posted by F87source

Haha no problem! Let me know if you need anything else, and I hope you get to the bottom of this issue soon.

Oh and yeah you won't really need a charger for mhd flashes, it's way too fast now with the F series wifi adapter.

[///Monika]

OK, laptop is here (Win10) and I had no issues whatsoever loading ISTA+ 4.10.15 using the instructions provided. Using an external USB (3.0) gbit adapter, I'm connecting to the MHD OBD plug. Ignition on, Read Vehicle data > ID without vehicle test returns:

Device ID: VIN
Type: ENET
VIN: VIN
Connection: 192.168.16.103
State: Free

So that looks promising. When I click on 'setup connection' I get, 'Vehicle could not be identified. Please check access to the vehicle and check whether the testing-analysis-diagnosis has been activated". So let's explore some ini files based on reading I did this morning.

EDIABAS.ini (Rheingold Folder): Interface = REMOTE
OBD.ini: Port = 1
EDIABAS.ini (EDIABAS folder): Interface = ENET (also tried STD:OBD)

And the settings in ISTA > Vehicle Interface were left as-is. Although I did try EDIABAS default settings. Ive seen various posts and YT videos saying common issues are Port/COM settings but I have nothing like that in my Device Manager. I do see that my enet adapter is on port 13 but that config change didn't help. I'm a bit stuck at the moment and have tried a few permutations based on searches but nothing prevails so I'm hoping you guys have some tips you can share.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

OK, laptop is here (Win10) and I had no issues whatsoever loading ISTA+ 4.10.15 using the instructions provided. Using an external USB (3.0) gbit adapter, I'm connecting to the MHD OBD plug. Ignition on, Read Vehicle data > ID without vehicle test returns:

Device ID: VIN
Type: ENET
VIN: VIN
Connection: 192.168.16.103
State: Free

So that looks promising. When I click on 'setup connection' I get, 'Vehicle could not be identified. Please check access to the vehicle and check whether the testing-analysis-diagnosis has been activated". So let's explore some ini files based on reading I did this morning.

EDIABAS.ini (Rheingold Folder): Interface = REMOTE
OBD.ini: Port = 1
EDIABAS.ini (EDIABAS folder): Interface = ENET (also tried STD:OBD)

And the settings in ISTA > Vehicle Interface were left as-is. Although I did try EDIABAS default settings. Ive seen various posts and YT videos saying common issues are Port/COM settings but I have nothing like that in my Device Manager. I do see that my enet adapter is on port 13 but that config change didn't help. I'm a bit stuck at the moment and have tried a few permutations based on searches but nothing prevails so I'm hoping you guys have some tips you can share.

Hmm I'm not too sure what's going on. Umm I'll get back to you if I think of something, but you should probably ask Shawn.

[///Monika]

Perhaps I'm confused (wouldn't be the 1st). Does the MHD F-series WiFi with enet port work with ISTA ?

Originally Posted by F87source

Hmm I'm not too sure what's going on. Umm I'll get back to you if I think of something, but you should probably ask Shawn.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

Perhaps I'm confused (wouldn't be the 1st). Does the MHD F-series WiFi with enet port work with ISTA ?

Yes it does, I've used it with ISTA and Esys and it works fine. But for me I've used it with a macbook pro that has an Ethernet jack.

Try this:

But try setting it to ENET.

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

Perhaps I'm confused (wouldn't be the 1st). Does the MHD F-series WiFi with enet port work with ISTA ?

I can’t answer specifically about the MHD dongle, but the F Series cars have Ethernet actually in the OBD port natively, no active converter is necessary. The easiest thing for you to do, is to make up a cable. There are plenty of pin out diagrams on line. The only parts you’ll need are a resistor, Ethernet cable and an obd plug. Or... you could just buy one ready made, they used to be easily available on Amazon / eBay.

[///Monika]

Thanks to both of you. This is good news then, at least I know I'm getting close(r)..

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Nezil

I can’t answer specifically about the MHD dongle, but the F Series cars have Ethernet actually in the OBD port natively, no active converter is necessary. The easiest thing for you to do, is to make up a cable. There are plenty of pin out diagrams on line. The only parts you’ll need are a resistor, Ethernet cable and an obd plug. Or... you could just buy one ready made, they used to be easily available on Amazon / eBay.

The mhd F series wifi adapter has an ethernet jack to allow ethernet cables to be connected to the car for Esys or ISTA usage, or anything else that may require ethernet. So no real need to make a cable.

There are also a few benefits to using the MHD adapter + ethernet cable over an enet cable that is purchased from ebay:

1) You can use any length of ethernet cable you want, I've had issues in the past with the enet cables from China and using ethernet extensions.

2) My mhd adapter allows me to use any ethernet cable, whereas my enet cable comes with a really thick connector boot. This is a problem especially on a macbook pro where the ethenet jack is really deep and the rubber boot on my enet cable prevents the cable from clicking in forcing me to cut the rubber boot.

3) The connection seems more stable on my mhd adapter, not sure if it is my crappy chinese cable from aliexpress, but I have tried a few enet cables now and it is not as good as the mhd adapter. It is not bad to the point where it will not connect reliably per say, but it is not as good.

[///Monika]

I'm thinking my installation may be boinked (somewhere) at this point. I'm going to clean and re-do the install. The ini files look fine and everything I've read looks like I'm configured correctly. Last confirmation was the EDIABAS configurator which matched my settings. I even made sure that I had the latest drivers (USB ethernet) too and it must be working to at least read the VIN off the car .. So much to learn.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

I'm thinking my installation may be boinked (somewhere) at this point. I'm going to clean and re-do the install. The ini files look fine and everything I've read looks like I'm configured correctly. Last confirmation was the EDIABAS configurator which matched my settings. I even made sure that I had the latest drivers (USB ethernet) too and it must be working to at least read the VIN off the car .. So much to learn.

Yeah there is a steep learning curve with these cars, especially since there is so much flexibility in tuning, coding, diagnostics etc. When I was involved in the mercedes community it was so much different since there was literally no resources compared to bmw. You had no factory diagnostics, no real tuning support except for really poor tuner boxes (not like jb4 with huge support and lots of features) and crappy bench flashes. Pretty much with mercedes it was buy and do simple bolt ons and be done. But my cla 45 amg did have a better interior than the m2 imo, the recaro seats were also some of the best stock seats I have experienced (porsche's fixed back carbon seat is better, and the stock evo/gt350r seats are good too), way better than any non recaro seat bmw has ever made.

[///Monika]

Great news. Installed using a secondary source (possibly latest ISTA) that included a self-installer (nice). This worked out perfectly. Now I can communicate with the car using the USB enet adapter, MHD and a long Cat6 cable.

I read all the fault codes and verified that the system doesn't suspect an engine tune (nice). Can't really run a procedure (test) on the valvetronic because of stored fault code (P10E2; 135808). Although the info shows it's at 179 degree angle. I can see why you requested I record a video, the issue is (now becoming) intermittent but does still happen after a period of time. I was able to record a video before opening the drivers door, I just need to edit off the VIN and post it. Also discovered why the windows aren't rolling up/down upon opening/closing the door. Need to run a relearn on those. Only other error conditions were associated with the steering wheel heater (we have the performance wheel).

UI is very intuitive. Unfortunately I have to run into the office for a few hours today. I'm curious if there is anything else I should 'check' before turning over the vehicle to the dealership.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

Great news. Installed using a secondary source (possibly latest ISTA) that included a self-installer (nice). This worked out perfectly. Now I can communicate with the car using the USB enet adapter, MHD and a long Cat6 cable.

I read all the fault codes and verified that the system doesn't suspect an engine tune (nice). Can't really run a procedure (test) on the valvetronic because of stored fault code (P10E2; 135808). Although the info shows it's at 179 degree angle. I can see why you requested I record a video, the issue is (now becoming) intermittent but does still happen after a period of time. I was able to record a video before opening the drivers door, I just need to edit off the VIN and post it. Also discovered why the windows aren't rolling up/down upon opening/closing the door. Need to run a relearn on those. Only other error conditions were associated with the steering wheel heater (we have the performance wheel).

UI is very intuitive. Unfortunately I have to run into the office for a few hours today. I'm curious if there is anything else I should 'check' before turning over the vehicle to the dealership.

Glad to hear your got ista to work. Yes the issue may be getting intermittent, but I think in your case you should still get it checked out because it was violent enough to cause issues during engine on conditions and trigger a CEL.

Ista wouldn't tell you if you had a tune if the hidden "ghost codes" that are suspected to exist do exist.


Nope nothing else I have in mind for you to check, good luck!

[Nezil]

Originally Posted by F87source

Ista wouldn't tell you if you had a tune if the hidden "ghost codes" that are suspected to exist do exist.

This always frightens me, but you're absolutely correct. Even if you clear codes, they remain in a list of previously recorded codes that BMW can read by just putting your key in a slot on their desk!

I was shocked when I got my car back from service a few months back and a whole list of error codes from about 6 months earlier when I was developing a meth fail safe (MAP Sensor codes) showed up... They didn't comment on them at all, but there is a lot of information that BMW gets that might not be obvious to someone with an OBD checker or even ISTA+.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by Nezil

This always frightens me, but you're absolutely correct. Even if you clear codes, they remain in a list of previously recorded codes that BMW can read by just putting your key in a slot on their desk!

I was shocked when I got my car back from service a few months back and a whole list of error codes from about 6 months earlier when I was developing a meth fail safe (MAP Sensor codes) showed up... They didn't comment on them at all, but there is a lot of information that BMW gets that might not be obvious to someone with an OBD checker or even ISTA+.

Yup it keeps me up at night all the time which is why my m2 is staying stock till the warranty is up. Also why I have been looking at getting the key scanners lol.

[///Monika]

OK, so let me see if I'm interpreting this correctly. The car throws a code, you clear the code but the key is a secondary source of record (that's clever). Can you just take the secondary key which wasn't used (at time of code) to start/drive the car and use that when you go to the dealer? Or do the keys somehow sync (proximity) or is the car passing the codes to the keys every chance it gets ?

[Nezil]

The key is only a link to your VIN. All codes get uploaded to the cloud by the connected drive system I think.

[F87source]

Originally Posted by ///Monika

OK, so let me see if I'm interpreting this correctly. The car throws a code, you clear the code but the key is a secondary source of record (that's clever). Can you just take the secondary key which wasn't used (at time of code) to start/drive the car and use that when you go to the dealer? Or do the keys somehow sync (proximity) or is the car passing the codes to the keys every chance it gets ?

I think it's exactly like nezil says, codes are uploaded to connected drive. That's why when I needed a service the dealership somehow knew and called me asking if I wanted to schedule.