Next up coding...
I've been reading around the web, that it was possible and relatively easy to plug into my X3's OBD port to tweak some settings for cool stuff and to get rid of certain annoyances... so I took the plunge.
I ordered a
diagnostics and coding kit from ebay.
And started playing around...
When my original incandescent angel eye bulbs started to blow out, I replaced them with brighter led driven units. That said, I thought it would be cool to not have the yellow side marker lights on at the same time as the angel eyes, anymore.
What you'll notice in this picture is that the yellow side markers have been "coded off". In other words, they now only operate as turning indicators.
Once I learned how to connect to my X3 based on the instructions in the kit, I started looking at various control modules and their settings. For me so far, the modules that have been most interesting are the light switching center (ALSZ), the body module (AKMB), and the general module (GM5).
(By the way, the settings in these modules are all in german, thank goodness for Google's translator!)
In the ALSZ module, I found these two settings to be pretty cool:
The blink turning indicator it can be set to flash "einmal" (once), "zweimal" (twice), or "dreimal" (three times). In truth this option had been coded to "dreimal" at my request, by the dealer, at an earlier time. The subtle point observed here was that reading out the codes didn't reset them to their default values.
CYCL_TI_BLK
dreimal
The sidemarker disable option (pictured above as disabled --
nicht_aktiv):
SIDEMARKER_US_LM2
aktiv*
nicht_aktiv
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THE most annoying thing on the X3 for me, is the passenger seat belt warning indicator.There's something weird in my car, where I have to keep that seat belt buckled all the time... regardless of whether someone is sitting there... or not.
I've seen blog posts where folks' remedy to this was to simply pull out the dash board cluster and disconnect the beeper soldered onto the circuit board back there.
Well... in the AKMB module:
SBR_BEIFAHRER
aktiv* - enable passenger side fasten seat belt warning
nicht_aktiv - disable passenger side fasten seat belt warning
This setting seems to enable/disable the passenger's unbuckled seat belt timer that starts counting down when the passenger's seat belt is unbuckled. When the counter reaches zero, the seat belt warning lamp and beeping sound will occur. Even if both GURTWARNUNG and AKUSTIK_GURT_WARN are set to "nicht-aktiv".
SBR_FAHRER
aktiv* - enable driver side fasten seat belt warning
nicht_aktiv - disable driver side fasten seat belt warning
This setting seems to enable/disable the driver's unbuckled seat belt timer that starts counting down when the driver's seat belt is unbuckled. When the counter reaches zero, the seat belt warning lamp and beeping sound will occur. Even if both GURTWARNUNG and AKUSTIK_GURT_WARN are set to "nicht-aktiv".
GURTWARNUNG
mit_gurtschlosskontakt* - enable visible seatbelt warning lamp
ohne_gurtschlosskontakt - disable visible seatbelt warning lamp
This setting can disable the seatbelt warning lamp, when you initially start the car. However if you have your seat belt unbuckled and begin to drive the lamp will light up anyway.
AKUSTIK_GURT_WARN
aktiv* - enable acoustic seatbelt warning
nicht_aktiv - disable acoustic seatbelt warning
This setting can disable the seatbelt warning beep, when you are first starting the car. However if you have your seat belt unbuckled and begin to drive the beep will sound anyway.
Since the
only issue I am having is with the passenger's seat, that's the
only setting I switched to "nicht_aktiv" the other settings
I've left in their default state, denoted by the "*". I do actually want to reminded about buckling my seat belt, when it makes sense. Besides, tickets suck.
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In the GM5 module I discovered that the windows could be rolled down from the keyfob, by default (so I ran outside, press the open button twice then held it for a couple extra seconds... sure enough all windows and sunroof rolled open... )
However, also by default you cannot close the windows via keyfob so:
module: GM5
KOMFORTSCHLIESSUNG_FB
aktiv - enable comfort close from keyfob
nicht_aktiv* - disable comfort close from keyfob
Now I can open and close windows from the keyfob.
I think the mirrors can be folded in and out as well, but I didn't go there.
Also, I didn't code on daytime running lights, cause I don't think there's a way to make the angel eyes the daytime lights on the e83 lci model. I'm open to correction on this however.
Well, that's my short list of tweaks to my X3's modules. There's a ton of settings buried in this car, I'm sure I'll come across some other goodies as time goes by.
