Coding the Alpine Retrofit kit with NCS Expert?

[ianc]

Hi Folks,

I finally got sick of the 'professional' stereo in my 2010 US non-idrive 135 ($663), and have ordered the Alpine upgrade kit for it (PN 65412163268):

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...t/65412163268/

My understanding is that to get rid of the EQ boost on the pro radios, you need to code the car with $676 after installation?

I've searched and searched and read probably ~100 pages of various threads on the internet, but I can't find any definitive reference on how to code this retrofit with NCS Expert. I think I can add $676 to the VO, but what modules need to be coded for this?

Has anyone done this that can offer some advice? Thanks a million,

ianc

[ianc]

Well, I did the install, but have thus far been defeated by the coding. I did add $676 to the VO, but I can't write to or read from the 2URAD with NCS; I get a message saying the module doesn't respond. Hence, when I access the head unit's hidden menu, it still ID's as stereo rather than hifi. Gongs are very loud and annoying and the sound was initially very brassy and bassy until I turned bass and treble way down. I also tried an SG_RESET, which worked, but the HU won't pick up $676 from the VO and change to hifi.

I've found quite a number of similar posts on the interwebs, with no clear resolution to any of them. The dominant theory seems to be that the 2URAD is on the MOST bus and hence can't be coded via k-dcan; only an ICOM interface will work. Right now I'm wondering if ISTA/P could do this with its ICOM emulation? Some say yes, some say no...

Anyone got any input? Thanks,

ianc

[ianc]

I've had more people chip in and say no coding MOST devices without hardware ICOM, so I've gone ahead and made an appt to have it coded this Sat here:

http://www.sf**************

$60 for retrofits. Will report back...

ianc

[ianc]

Had the coding done today; very easy and quick if you have ICOM B...

Done by Adrian at sf bmw coding . com in San Bruno, CA. Nice guy with a small business; I'd highly recommend him for folks in the bay area, although he'll do remote coding as well.

More mids with the Alpine now; def a worthwhile upgrade from the barfy stereo in the 2010 cars...

ianc

[Bimmer-Bob]

Originally Posted by ianc

Had the coding done today; very easy and quick if you have ICOM B...

Done by Adrian at sf bmw coding . com in San Bruno, CA. Nice guy with a small business; I'd highly recommend him for folks in the bay area, although he'll do remote coding as well.

More mids with the Alpine now; def a worthwhile upgrade from the barfy stereo in the 2010 cars...

ianc

Glad you finally got it working properly. It is a huge improvement over the stock 2010 stereos, and you can't beat the (relative) plug-and-play aspect of it. Not sure why BMWNA never officially offered the kit (AFAIK).

[iminhell1]

Originally Posted by ianc

Had the coding done today; very easy and quick if you have ICOM B...

Done by Adrian at sf bmw coding . com in San Bruno, CA. Nice guy with a small business; I'd highly recommend him for folks in the bay area, although he'll do remote coding as well.

More mids with the Alpine now; def a worthwhile upgrade from the barfy stereo in the 2010 cars...

ianc

So I can find this later.
I also did the Alpine upgrade and am underwhelmed by it. No mid at all.
I don't have any of the bmw software working though so remote is out for me, and I can't find anyone local.

[ianc]

It won't sound as good as it could without recoding the HU to hifi, but you can get an approximation by seriously stifling the treble and bass. You'll still get that annoyingly loud gong though...

If you're trying to get the software setup, Google for 'Easy BMW Tools': a very painless setup. You're still not going to be able to code the HU without ICOM though, so you'll have to either shell the $300 for one or go to the dealer. It literally takes 10 min, but they'll probably want to rape you anyway to pay for their fancy bldg...

ianc

[iminhell1]

That's the thing. I'm not willing to pay. And at $300'ish an android radio becomes very appealing. the bonus there is I'll get more features, comparable to idrive (which had I known I would have looked for).
If coding where cheaper, under the $100 all said and done, it would be a viable option.

Have you found any other use/need for ICOM?

[ianc]

Nope, every other module is codable with K-DCAN. Only things on the MOST bus need ICOM...

ianc

[Duesentrieb]

For coding MOST devices you don't need an ICOM. ICOM is only needed if you want to flash MOST devices.
The head unit (sat nav or radio professional) is the gateway to the MOST bus. The HU also has K-CAN connection so you can code MOST devices via D-CAN cable. The HU will bridge the different busses.

Greetings

Daniel

[ianc]

Hi Daniel,

Can you provide more information on how to do this? As noted in the second post of this thread, whenever I tried to code the HU with NCS and a K-DCAN cable, NCS would throw an error saying the HU didn't respond. I tried an SG_RESET after coding the correct VO, but nothing would change the HU. Coding with ICOM worked immediately. How is it done via K-DCAN please? Thanks,

ianc

[Duesentrieb]

I don't know exactly why you (and some other guys) have such problems. I've coded for years with a simple D-CAN cable. And I could code MASK, CIC, combox and so on - all are MOST devices.

Maybe we can find the problem. Please tell me:

You have coded your HU with an ICOM. Can you tell me how it was connected? Through the OBD port or was it connected to the MOST connector at the footwell?

Is the HU retrofitted?

[ianc]

The ICOM was connected through the MOST port in the footwell. The HU is not retrofitted, but was original equipment in the car. The hidden menu showed it to be in 'stereo' mode rather than 'hifi'. Nothing I tried would change it.

I did read some mention here and there on the web about how there was a MOST-CAN gateway feature that had to be enabled, but other people said they'd tried that and it didn't do any good. I've been led to believe that after a certain cutoff year (08? 09?), MOST devices are not codable through CAN.

Would be very interested to learn otherwise, but I had no success...

ianc

[Duesentrieb]

The year couldn't be the reason because I've coded a CIC from a 2012 135i US model (it was reimported to Germany) via D-CAN.

Does your car have any other MOST device? E.g. the TCU or MULF?

The gateway really could be the problem... But at first I'd like to exclude other reasons.

[ianc]

Here's a module list reported by NCS for my car:

2JBBF
2URAD
62BMO
ABG
CAS
DSC
EKP
FZD
IHK
KOMBI
LSMC
NFRM
RDCLC
RLS
RSMC
TCUM

Maybe the last is the TCU to which you refer?

ianc

[Duesentrieb]

Ok, I've read some information tonight. It looks like it depends on the modell of the HU which is installed. There are different versions of the professional and some only react to an ICOM.

But there should be a solution:

1. Add the corresponding SA to the VO (e.g. $676 and change the production date to #0311 - maybe in your case it will work without changing the production date but I can't guarantee) - don't save it to CAS and FRM, you only need the changes for this session
2. Use the default profile and code the RAD2 via "SG_codieren"
3. The error message will appear
4. Click ok, close NCSexpert and lock the car for about 20 minutes (if you want be sure you can leave the car alone for one hour).
^^the time must not to be too short, because the car have to go to deep sleep mode. Otherwise the HU won't save the changes.
5. Unlock the car and switch ignition on.
6. Start tool32, load Rad2.prg and run the job "Steuergeraete_reset"
7. After the reset it should work.

^^I can't test it, because I don't have any car with radio professional here. So a feedback would be nice.

When this procedure works I would suggest to add $676 to your original VO. Otherwise you can lost the coding when the dealership will update the car during an inspection.

[ianc]

Hi Daniel,

Sorry for the slow response, I'm just seeing this now.

Interesting method you detail here. I'm not sure of the actual part # of the HU, but I did take a pic of it while I had it out of the car.

I regret that I can't test this method because my HU is already coded (via ICOM) with $676 and ID's as hifi in the hidden menu.

Hopefully someone else can give this a shot if they happen across it. I would have been happy to give it a whirl before shelling $60US to get it coded.

I believe it is possible to select SG_RESET through the available jobs in NCS; at least I was able to. The HU did reboot, but didn't pick up the $676 I had added to the VO.

Again, sorry I can't test this... Thanks for posting though; you sound like you know what you're talking about and it's always nice to have those types hanging around the forum!

ianc

[Duesentrieb]

Hi ianc,

no problem. I've noticed that answers in this forum will last a little bit and additionally there is the time shift to Germany. :P
As chance would have it, today I had a customer who retrofitted a radio professional in his E87 from 2010.
I have coded it with an ICOM head A through the OBD port without any problems or error messages. Part number was 9205965 - it was produced by Alpine.

The customer hadn't retrofitted the MOST connector and there were records in the fault memory about the broken MOST ring. After coding and erasing the fault memory, the errors are gone.

So there could be another theory: When the MOST bus is broken, the HU will fall back to K-CAN. So maybe you can code it, when you unmount the cap of the MOST connector at the foot well. In this case the MOST bus isn't terminated and marked as 'broken'.

Otherwise the ICOM interface could have some internal functions which guarantee a better communication.

'SG_RESET' should work with an D-CAN cable. The important part is to wait for about 20 minutes or longer. Otherwise it won't store the changes.

Thanks for the compliment. Maybe you're right. :P
I've retrofitted many parts to my E81. Among others the rear view camera from the actual BMW 6 series which is situated behind the rear emblem.
So yes I know a ‘little bit’ about electrics, coding and so on.

Greetings from Germany!

Daniel

[ianc]

Hi Daniel,

So if I understand you correctly, I could in fact test this by just removing the MOST connector cap in the footwell, which would break the MOST ring, then trying to read the HU config via K-DCAN?

ianc

[Duesentrieb]

Yes, this should work, if my theory is right.

[ianc]

I'll give that a whirl and report back then. Probably won't be until the end of the week as we're on a skiing trip right now. Will let you know...

ianc

[ianc]

Hi Daniel,

I had a chance to try this out tonite. No luck I'm afraid. I unplugged the MOST plug so I could see the red laser light on one side of the connector, then tried to read the 2URAD with NCS via K-DCAN, but same error: steuer gerate antwortet nicht: