Coding TCU in E46 - Page 2

vfilipe · #11 01-30-2012, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian-bmw

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

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vfilipe · #12 01-30-2012, 06:36 PM

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

Brian-bmw · #13 01-30-2012, 07:10 PM

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.

big bob · #14 01-31-2012, 05:11 PM

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.

Brian-bmw · #15 01-31-2012, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by big bob

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.

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.

vfilipe · #16 01-31-2012, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by big bob

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.

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?

Brian-bmw · #17 02-01-2012, 10:50 AM

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:

gibbo_ireland had a ULF all along (this does not do you any good)
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)
The European GSM TCU requires the eject box pairing button to pair

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

vfilipe · #18 02-01-2012, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian-bmw

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:

gibbo_ireland had a ULF all along (this does not do you any good)
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)
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?

Brian-bmw · #19 02-01-2012, 11:50 AM

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.

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