Coding TCU in E46
 

Hi all

So, I have a little problem...

I have a 2002 e46, and 3 years ago I retrofited OEM Sat Nav with Widescreen, tv, mk3 and harman-kardon. I used a wiring harness from a 2005 E46, and this harness have a 54 pin connector. So far, so god...

Some time ago I started thinking about retrofit bluetooth, but, as the ulf are very expensive, I started looking for an alternative. That's when I realized that a TCU can also work, but not 100% guaranteed. In these respect, I have to thank this forum for all the shared information :thumbup:

I bought a used TCU from ebay: eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

EVEREST IBUS ECE
Part #:6963758
19-02-2006
SW:28 HW:50


So, I connected this to the car, and it didn't work, not even a small signl... and burned the fuse #7.
After that, I realized that, as the navi wiring was retrofited, the TCU had no power or ground ...
Connections made ​​and...it works. :D

Now the real problem. The coding
I used NCS to change the FA, adding $644 (PREPARATION F MOBILE PHONE W BLUETOOTH), $633 (PREPARATION, MOBILE PHONE, BUSINESS), $640 (PREPARATION F TEL.INSTALLATION UNIVERSAL) and $638 (CAR TELEPHONE PROFESSIONAL), one at a time, and then used Progman to code the module. But in progman only appears, in the retrofit menu, the options TEL/ULF, ULF, Professional TEL and BIT, and nothing about TCU or Telematics.
I tried all settings FA/Option that I remembered, and finally got it to work (FA=633 and Option=ULF/TEL). But with a limitation... I can only pair a phone, and has to be about the time when the Progman just encode the TCU. After that the TCU works well but is not found on other phones, so it is impossible to try to pair again.
To pair another phone I have to remove the FAs, and code ALSZ and AKMB, turn off the car and wait, add again the FAs, encode again the AKMB and ALSZ, and recode using the ULF/TEL Option in Progman.

I tried navcoder to pair but gives error.
And one more thing. The VR in this TCU is in German. I tried to code to english with navcoder but without success.

Some of you have any ideas to code this? and to change the VR? :dunno:

Thanks in advance
And sorry if the text isn't very correct. English is not my native language

I can answer one small part...

The TCU VR language is driven by the language selection that the nav computer is using. So, what language is the nav computer set to?

If your nav computer is not German, then are you using a modified OS that has mapped German to something else?

The MK3 is set to english and spanich. And the current OS i'm using isn't modified. But I will try to update the languages through Navcoder or Progman, maybe that way the TCU can load other language.

Early TCUs were locked to one language.
It is possible that your TCU supports German only, and no other language (regardless as to how you code it)

As for how Progman works with your car... well, that's Progman for you ... :-(

Hope it's not the case:( . I'll try loading the languages

I didn't understand what you want to mean by that... :dunno:

I am not sure what your point was regarding Progman

If you were not happy about how Progman works with your E46, well, I cannot help you with that.

That's not the point. I think you didn't understand my post

What I want is some idea on what the correct way to code the TCU to the car, with Progman, NCS, WinKFP, Navcoder or whatever...so I can pair more then one phone at any time.

You do not need to code the TCU to pair multiple phones. You therefore do not need to use Progman, NCS, WinKFP, NavCoder or anything at all.

The pairing of multiple phones is a standard function built into the TCU, and is not coding relevant

If more than one phone has been paired, and both phones are available and active, then it is a real lottery as to which phone pairs with the TCU when the TCU turns on.

Try it to see what happens

But the problem is that the TCU don't recognize any phone when it was supposed to happen (right after turn the ignition on). When I first connected the TCU to the car, I knew she had to go into pairing mode, but that didn't happen. I only managed to pair a phone, when coded it .
And this is the real problem, because whenever I want to pair a phone, I have to code the TCU, and it's very boring, apart from that, it can only have a phone paired at a time.

Maybe I'm coding it the wrong way... I need ideas...

Try this method for pairing the phone. It is a little different, but from my reading, there may be two methods for TCU pairing, depending on the version of the TCU.

http://www.xoutpost.com/articles/all...tooth-ulf.html

Already tried that. Unfortunately didn't work :(

For the guys who retrofitted TCU, and did the coding.
How did you encode it? Which tool you use?

I used NavCoder, but only with a U.S. CDMA TCU. Most of the others I am familiar with used NavCoder.

I have only done cars 2002 and older that predated the Assist TCU. So, I did not actually attempt to code the car for the TCU (or ULF). I merely used NavCoder to enable the TCU features that I wanted, such as Bluetooth (when necessary) and voice recognition. I left the car's phone coding as it was.

All US cars were coded and prewired for TCU. That's why a TCU is plug and play for US users.

Unfortunately the author of the 'USE A TCU INSTEAD OF A ULF IN ANY IBUS CAR!!!111' thread has neglected to add this to his first post even after I PM'd him about it.

So the rest of the world gets bad advice when they read it. ;)

big bob, if you are referring to this thread, I do not recall ever receiving a PM from you or anyone else about international market cars.

http://www.xoutpost.com/electronics/...i-bus-car.html

That said, I probably would not change the post because it is written at a level above international market coding. The point of the thread and the ensuing posts is that it was previously believed that only the ULF could be retrofitted into an early model year I-Bus car. We learned that it is possible to retrofit a TCU as well.

I do not have first-hand experience with all of the international coding and wiring options. I do know from several phone and email conversations with Martin of BimmerNav (the guy who pretty much figured all this Bluetooth retrofit stuff out), that TCUs and ULFs can be plug-and-play retrofitted into most non-U.S. market cars as well. Some international market cars are not pre-wired, and some the pre-wiring is unique to the phone type. But even those are retrofitable without dealer coding.

Judging from the number of people all over the world who have used this post and another one like it, I do not think that anyone is getting bad advice. To the contrary, they have expressed great gratitude that the BMW community has figured this out together and made the information available.

The TCU works great. When I turn on the car, the phone immediately connects to the TCU and I can make and receive calls without a problem.
The thing is, that every time I need to pair a new phone, I have to code the TCU, because it doesn't enter in pairing mode.

And TCU modules also exist in Europe, aren't unique to the U.S. market. So in theory, this should work...

So, someone can tell me, what's the code (in the car VO) corresponding to the TCU or pre installation!?
And the best tool to do the coding?
What's the last version of the Progman and where can I download it?

vfilipe, check out this post from "gibbo_ireland" and his posts that follow. He says he has the TCU and could not get it to pair. He ultimately got it to pair by doing something to the eject box wiring and using the eject box button. Initially, I was skeptical that he had a TCU (and really had a ULF). He never responded to posts after his success post, so we do not know what he did and what parts he really had. But, there are probably three possibilities to consider:

1. gibbo_ireland had a ULF all along (this does not do you any good)
2. The European GSM TCU requires a eject box to be connected, but not necessarily the pairing button (gibbo_ireland's use of the pairing button was merely coincidental after his eject box wiring modification)
3. The European GSM TCU requires the eject box pairing button to pair

http://www.xoutpost.com/720706-post8.html

Worth a try.
But how can I simulate an eject box?

No clue. It might be worth a PM attempt to reach gibbo_ireland to see what he actually did.

The other angle is to study the wiring diagram for the TCU and trace what is happening at the eject box plug. There may just be a loop-back on one of the wires that brings things to life.