RDC Module (TPMS) Location

[Cavpilot2k]

So I need to replace my RDC Module.
I've found all kinds of references to where it should be, but many of those are for E92 and earlier model E82's (I think it moved after LCI).

Can someone DEFINITIVELY tell me where to find it in a 2012 135i coupe? I don't want to go pulling all kinds of panels out of fender wells and wherever else to find it (there are at least six potential locations identified in the research I found online, but none of them definitively linked to my model and year).

Help would be greatly appreciated.

[________]

Right side of the trunk just underneath the right tail lamp (under the floor panel there).
Just take the side panel that has a little cubby/net and you'll see it in the floor. It has a RDC big letter inscription in it, about fist size module. Can't miss it.

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Right side of the trunk just underneath the right tail lamp (under the floor panel there).
Just take the side panel that has a little cubby/net and you'll see it in the floor. It has a RDC big letter inscription in it, about fist size module. Can't miss it.

Thanks! I appreciate the info a ton.

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Right side of the trunk just underneath the right tail lamp (under the floor panel there).
Just take the side panel that has a little cubby/net and you'll see it in the floor. It has a RDC big letter inscription in it, about fist size module. Can't miss it.

Question:
Looking it up on RealOEM, I get an image like this piece (the black one), and can find several places online that sell it, but ECS website says it's not the right part (and doesn't list it fitting an E82).

Other searches show the white module that looks like a circuit bread board.

I suspect the black one is the right one, but if you've seen it (for this model year), can you confirm which one it is?

[________]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

Question:
Looking it up on RealOEM, I get an image like this piece (the black one), and can find several places online that sell it, but ECS website says it's not the right part (and doesn't list it fitting an E82).

Other searches show the white module that looks like a circuit bread board.

I suspect the black one is the right one, but if you've seen it (for this model year), can you confirm which one it is?

My car has the light grey one (the second image, larger picture).

However, why don't you disconnect it and code it out (making the car FTM and not TPMS).

That's what I did and my box is sitting disconnected in the trunk lol

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

My car has the light grey one (the second image, larger picture).

However, why don't you disconnect it and code it out (making the car FTM and not TPMS).

That's what I did and my box is sitting disconnected in the trunk lol

I could do that, but isn't that just fooling the system into thinking it has FTMS? It doesn't actually work if the car wasn't designed for FTM, does it? I would think it would need a different set of sensors and/or receiver for FTM to work.

Am I incorrect on that?

Even so, it would make the caution go away.

Carly can do that, right (I'm not with my car to log in and check)?

[________]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

I could do that, but isn't that just fooling the system into thinking it has FTMS? It doesn't actually work if the car wasn't designed for FTM, does it? I would think it would need a different set of sensors and/or receiver for FTM to work.

Am I incorrect on that?

Even so, it would make the caution go away.

Carly can do that, right (I'm not with my car to log in and check)?

You're incorrect. But don't worry!

FTM, or flat tire monitor, is a built-in computer logic that uses the ABS sensors to identify if one wheel is spinning at a different speed than the others (indicating a flat tire, due to the change in diameter).

Canadian cars have that (my X3 has it). So the wheels don't carry a TPM sensor (just a regular rubber stem).

The TPMS, tire pressure monitoring system, uses signal from sensors inside the wheels to measure the pressure more accurately than the FTM (the US mandates TPMS for all vehicles to save gas and reduce pollution, as a fine and accurate pressure indication helps the vehicle be safer and more fuel efficient).

When I disconnected my RDC, I got an error on my dash.

So I coded it out (unfortunately you cannot use Carly for that, I don't believe) using NCS Expert.
So now I have the same function of "reset FTM" in my cluster, and I can safely remove the sensors from my wheels.

I did that because I was mounting winter wheels without sensors.

I keep track of my tire pressure frequently as I have gauges in the trunk, and I also have a tire compressor. And because I race a lot I'm always fooling around with the tire pressure. So no need to rely on the sensors.

I've never had a flat in the 1er, but several in the X3. And it always indicated as much (so FTM does work as designed for that purpose).

Cheers!

[rowsdower]

Anyone know where this is on a 2011 128i? I only have one module in that black styrofoam block on the passenger side of the trunk near the tail light, and it is for Passive Go.

[Suhb]

I managed to code out TPMS, but I never got the FTM working.

I followed a variation of all these guides:
https://e84.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1145078
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1495676
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1487472

I tried by adding $265 and again by not adding it. I can reset the sensors on the dashboard. But when I drop the pressure on any wheel it will not trigger a light. Any idea? Also the DSC module in my car has none of the values listed in any of the guides. There's other things in there instead listed in levels 0-3 instead of aktiv and nicht aktiv.

Any ideas?

[________]

Originally Posted by Suhb

I managed to code out TPMS, but I never got the FTM working.

I followed a variation of all these guides:
https://e84.xbimmers.com/forums/show....php?t=1145078
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1495676
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1487472

I tried by adding $265 and again by not adding it. I can reset the sensors on the dashboard. But when I drop the pressure on any wheel it will not trigger a light. Any idea? Also the DSC module in my car has none of the values listed in any of the guides. There's other things in there instead listed in levels 0-3 instead of aktiv and nicht aktiv.

Any ideas?

Did you reset (factory default) DSC and Kombi?

[Suhb]

Yup. Did you add $265 to your VO and do you have iDrive?

Solved:

Removed $2vb from VO, didn’t add $265 to VO
FA_Write to CAS and NFRM
Reset CAS, DSC, KOMBI, NFRM to factory default

Probably didn’t need to reset all those but I went did anyway. Dropped the PSI on one tire and saw the error come up on the dash in a quarter mile.

[________]

Originally Posted by Suhb

Yup. Did you add $265 to your VO and do you have iDrive?

Solved:

Removed $2vb from VO, didn’t add $265 to VO
FA_Write to CAS and NFRM
Reset CAS, DSC, KOMBI, NFRM to factory default

Probably didn’t need to reset all those but I went did anyway. Dropped the PSI on one tire and saw the error come up on the dash in a quarter mile.

I did not add anything to VO, only removed 2VB.
I do not have iDrive.

I'm glad you got it working. I forgot to reset Kombi the first time, so I never got it working lol... that's how I learned how important it is.

You lose your Kombi coding, so I did it again afterwards.

[rowsdower]

Originally Posted by rowsdower

Anyone know where this is on a 2011 128i? I only have one module in that black styrofoam block on the passenger side of the trunk near the tail light, and it is for Passive Go.

Anybody?

I saw on e90post that it's sometimes under the car near the subframe mount but I didn't see it there. Any other locations specific to E8x cars that I should look at?

[Cavpilot2k]

Unfortunately I just verified that Carly does not support coding the TPMS out.
By the time I invest in the HW/SW for another diagnostic/coding tool I might as well just buy another RDC module and replace it.

[________]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

Unfortunately I just verified that Carly does not support coding the TPMS out.
By the time I invest in the HW/SW for another diagnostic/coding tool I might as well just buy another RDC module and replace it.

OBD cable is 15 bucks and software is free...

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

OBD cable is 15 bucks and software is free...

Hmm. Which SW? Is it iphone compatible or Android only?

[________]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

Hmm. Which SW? Is it iphone compatible or Android only?

Windows
NCS Expert

[Cavpilot2k]

Originally Posted by OnerDriver

Windows
NCS Expert

Thanks.
Any old OBD to USB cable?

[________]

Originally Posted by Cavpilot2k

Thanks.
Any old OBD to USB cable?

Not any. You'll need a BMW USB OBD2 K+DCAN cable.

NCS Expert can be found here, I recommend just downloading the entire virtual machine as it's all setup good to go. There's a Coding VM with NCS Expert and INPA around here.

Then it's easy, just following steps (there's a tutorial here too on enabling FTM and disabling TPMS).

Easy peasy, don't get scared about the amount of info you will find, the process is simple.

[rowsdower]

The Bimmergeeks cable is best and the software can be found on their site. The software isn’t actually that easy to setup. Each time I’ve done it, it’s a total pain in the ass. You can do a lot with it though.

[Cavpilot2k]

So I replaced the RDC and reset the TPMS, and the caution has not gone away.
Carly gives me a "00604D: Error Control Unit" fault code.

It is the same whether I have my summer and winter wheels on (it's been that long), so I highly doubt I have 8 bad individual sensors.

Can anybody offer some help?

[JimD]

I have not coded out TPMS yet. I could not find the cable I've used previously so I ordered one from Bimmergeeks last weekend. I got it yesterday. I do not expect to have time to do the coding this weekend, I downloaded but have not fully installed the software yet. So I expect it to take me several more hours to get set up and I don't think I will have that from last weekend.

I will offer, for now, just a general coding comment. I have never messed with the vehicle order. I coded my convertible to lower the top with the key fob (without comfort access) and added the speed to the little digital display where mpg is another option (without the BMW speed "correction"). I've done a few other things. But all I did was through changing settings from activ to not activ or from Wert 1 to Wert 2. The switch that needed to be changed was not consistently in the same area of the software as was reported by people coding different vehicles, however. I had to go look in other software sets until I found the item I needed to change. I expect to have to do that for this too.

So based upon previous not directly related experience, I would not expect changing the vehicle order to do squat. I would expect to need to flip all the settings the first and third post above says to change. I expect they will not be where they found them. I expect to have to look around. I expect it to take awhile. Once you know exactly what to change and have the software working, the coding takes only a few minutes. But figuring out what to do and where to do it can be a bit frustrating and take awhile. That is why people pay good money for Carly and Pro tools.