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View Full Version : BMW Scanner 1.4.0 Diagnostic plus coding features to your car. doityourself



spoonerDee
10-11-2011, 05:38 AM
DISCLAIMER Do this at your own risk, I am not responsible for anything that goes wrong. You can damage your car if you are not careful, you have been warned.

Having said that, here we go.

What you need.

A laptop or very accessible computer (to reach the car) running windows XP (you can use VM ware to run a virtual version of XP Like I did since I run windows 7 64 bit on my laptop)
Really small philips head screw driver
Soldering iron
Solder
BMW Scanner 1.4.0 plus software (link below)

I recently purchased the BMW Scanner 1.4.0 online at a huge steal. The real deal scanners can cost several hundreds to several thousand dollars, but there are a few companies that make knock offs that work just the same.... Sort of.

What does the scanner do exactly? It allows you to read and erase error messages. When your check engine light goes off codes are stored in the cars computer, this will allow you to read the actual errors (not just code numbers that you need to look up) and even erase them. The scanner will also code features in your car i.e. one touch window roll down and up with the use of the key, no more day time running lights, or reactivate them, flashing lights when you lock/unlock the car, even tell the car that you now have HID's and also deactivate some of the OBC (on board computer) checks if you run LED lights and dont want error messages etc...

Please note, in order to do the recoding you will have to have access to a soldering iron to connect two leads, I found this out the hard way, now you know so you can do this quicker and easier than me. Update: I have been informed by some members that theirs already came soldered and that they could code right away. Before opening your's up to do the solder work, test it out to see if it's already done. If not, proceed with opening and making the connection.

Where to buy the BMW Scanner 1.4.0 I bought mine from here (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/bmw-scanner-car-diagnostic-tool-version-1-4-0-51768), it was the cheapest I found it with free shipping from China. Be warned that it will take aprox 2 1/2 weeks to arrive since it needs to clear customs.

If you want it faster and don't mind spending more you can buy it here (http://www.resettools.com/bmw_scanner_1.4.0).

Now once you buy it you can already read and clear basic error messages, if you want to do coding you will need a small (very small) phillips head screw driver, soldering iron and solder.

Remove the 4 screws and open up the OBD scanner to reveal the circuit board.

Turn it upside down (red and green LED lights are now facing down and locate pins 7 and 8 as shown here
http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/4858/388659934.jpg

Solder them together as so. Please note, that I have never soldered in my life, this was the first time and I was successful so don't be afraid, just take it slow.
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/3784/396350397.jpg

Once cool put it back together.

Run the software disc that comes with it (must be used with windows XP or older) Unzip the installer tool

Run the installer program and save it to your desk top.

Plug in the scanner using the provided USB cable into your computer

Your computer will recognize new hardware and search for drivers, it will not find any.

On your computer go to My computer then to the C drive then click on the folder marked BMW Scanner. Inside will be a folder marked drivers with a PDF telling you how to install them.

Once that is done you are ready to rock. Open the file on your desk top and it should say that the drivers are installed and give you the option to continue (dont click it continue yet).

Under the dash on the driver side is the access port. Open the latch and plug the scanner in.

Turn your car key to position 1

Click continue, it will tell you to turn the key (you already did that, no need to go past position 1) then press continue, click continue.

It will do a quick scan then it will tell you what car you drive and every single option that came with the car (neat huh?).

Next you will be greeted by this screen.
http://bmw-scanner.pasoft.com.ru/download/bmwscan140/overview_.jpg

On the left click scan, it will run through every diagnostic and report back all errors. NOTE, it will not be able to connect to every singe one listed on all 3 pages, I have no idea why. But honestly I dont need to access them all so I didnt care.

Once it is done scanning it will tell you of any and all errors that have been stored. Double click on the line with the errors and it will let you access that section to see what is wrong and even erase the errors if they no longer exist.

Now, to change your features.

Double click on the ZKE line and a new window will pop up.

On the left will be a button marked coding. Click that, then click recoding. The window will change to another that will give you access to windows roll up and down, auto door locks and all sorts of other features.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj152/allisongsa/Coding/zke1.jpg

Once you have selected what you want to enable and disable click WRITE on the lower right.


It works the same for any of the lines you double click in the main window, as long as the scanner can access them you can check them out and change certain features. BE CAREFUL NOT TO MESS WITH ANYTHING YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT, YOU CAN CAUSE DAMAGE.


Having said all that, was it worth the money and the wait? Hell yes it was. I can now use the remote to close all my windows (a feature not available in the usa), I disabled my sunroof from opening with the one touch feature but will still close, my doors no longer auto lock at 5mph, however they will auto lock if I unlock the doors but never open them after 2 min, and when I install HID's into my car I can now program the LCM (Light control module) to tell it I have HID's and not get error messages and if I want the Bi-xenon feature it will activate that as well.

So there you have it, again DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, DON'T CRY TO ME IF YOU BREAK YOUR CAR.

I am still learning this system my self (PaSoft) so I am not sure if I can answer every question but I will do my best, my advice, research it using google and learn like I am

nk_zhp
10-11-2011, 06:27 AM
Good info, question, when you bring up the recoding window, do the items currently enabled/active show up checked?

spoonerDee
10-11-2011, 07:46 AM
Yes they do, any option that is already active from the dealer will show as a check mark.

nk_zhp
10-11-2011, 09:00 AM
Thanks again for the great info.

spoonerDee
10-11-2011, 10:22 AM
No problem, glad to help

Washburn
11-05-2011, 08:34 AM
Great info: The faster/more expensive place (Reset-tools) is only $20 more, it seems...

Questions:
Your update said that some of those already came with the 2 leads soldered; which place did they come from? Reset-tools or Dealerextreme?

and do I need this?: (Reset-tools recommends it) - i am thinking not...:
"RECOMMENDED: ADD A OBD16F to BMW20 Cable. If your vehicle has a BMW20 plug under the hood you need one of these."

spoonerDee
11-07-2011, 04:05 AM
The added plug is just if you wish to work on older cars like the e36 that have the round connection under the hood.

As for where the ones with the connection already came from, my guess is from reset tools. I neglected to ask those who told me about it, but since I bought from deal extreme and had to do it my self, i'm guessing they came from the other place.

GT172I
11-07-2011, 06:57 AM
I got mine from dealextreme too and didn't mess with any soldering and made the exact same changes to the ZKE3 coding window. Worked fine and didn't even think about soldering any internal circuitry.

My $.02

echo46
11-07-2011, 11:12 AM
This sounds too good to be true. Sounds like even an idiot like me could do this and save a lot of money...

GT172I
11-07-2011, 12:13 PM
This sounds too good to be true. Sounds like even an idiot like me could do this and save a lot of money...

Right.... that's the same reasoning I had when I bought it and have been very happy with that decision. Used it a few times for SES diagnosis

Washburn
11-07-2011, 03:07 PM
I think I am gonna do it :)
is there a chance one of you 'gurus' will be available via PM or phone when I am ready to do it, and have questions ? :)

spoonerDee
11-08-2011, 04:53 AM
Like I said in the OP it really is pretty darn easy, just don't mess with anything you are unsure of and you're golden.

It really is a heck of a deal and well worth the investment, I could not be happier with it. :keith

spoonerDee
11-08-2011, 04:54 AM
I think I am gonna do it :)
is there a chance one of you 'gurus' will be available via PM or phone when I am ready to do it, and have questions ? :)

When you're ready let me know and I will try to make myself available. Would be glad to help.

echo46
11-08-2011, 05:28 AM
Please keep us posted, I am very interested.

Washburn
11-08-2011, 03:11 PM
Spooner; thanks much in advance.
Echo: will do for sure.

spoonerDee
11-28-2011, 10:58 AM
You got it mang

:keith

Meric
11-28-2011, 10:33 PM
I think I am gonna do it :)
is there a chance one of you 'gurus' will be available via PM or phone when I am ready to do it, and have questions ? :)

I can help you :) let me know the time (Calgary's time) :D skype facebook pm chat facetime :D anything

Washburn
11-29-2011, 07:19 AM
Cool - thanks so much in advance :)

Meric
11-29-2011, 07:40 AM
Everything for our cars! :)

Nivo
04-27-2012, 05:39 AM
I recently got the DSC lights on the dash telling me that traction and stability controls were disabled. I got a fault code for the steering angle sensor, well I decided to check it out so first thing I did was just check out the connections and clean them out. I plug it in and turned the steering wheel lock-to-lock a few times then I dove the car for maybe few hundred feet and the lights went out. They are still off and it has been hundreds of miles. I almost thought I had to change the damn thing.

I decided to look at it again last night and it had a MAF fault. I cleaned out the connections/MAF and cleared it. One thing I did notice my 2500-2800 rpms jittering/studdering has lessened. I will know more once I try it out on more gears and see it on the dyno.

Valuable tool.

spoonerDee
04-27-2012, 05:54 AM
I recently got the DSC lights on the dash telling me that traction and stability controls were disabled. I got a fault code for the steering angle sensor, well I decided to check it out so first thing I did was just check out the connections and clean them out. I plug it in and turned the steering wheel lock-to-lock a few times then I dove the car for maybe few hundred feet and the lights went out. They are still off and it has been hundreds of miles. I almost thought I had to change the damn thing.

I decided to look at it again last night and it had a MAF fault. I cleaned out the connections/MAF and cleared it. One thing I did notice my 2500-2800 rpms jittering/studdering has lessened. I will know more once I try it out on more gears and see it on the dyno.

Valuable tool.

You know, I have had the steering angle error on my car. I should give that a shot and see if cleaning helps.

For me though, I have no errors on the dash. Just when I read codes it gives me an error... Odd.

Nivo
04-27-2012, 06:00 AM
You know, I have had the steering angle error on my car. I should give that a shot and see if cleaning helps.
Mine was in a hard fault (red state). I thought I had to replace it, I have done one before and I hate doing that. So did the simplest thing first. and all lights are gone and I have traction control and Stability back (not like it matters to me much as all my previous cars were all hands on, Z cars just raw driving)

Meric
04-27-2012, 06:44 AM
I recently got the DSC lights on the dash telling me that traction and stability controls were disabled. I got a fault code for the steering angle sensor, well I decided to check it out so first thing I did was just check out the connections and clean them out. I plug it in and turned the steering wheel lock-to-lock a few times then I dove the car for maybe few hundred feet and the lights went out. They are still off and it has been hundreds of miles. I almost thought I had to change the damn thing.

I decided to look at it again last night and it had a MAF fault. I cleaned out the connections/MAF and cleared it. One thing I did notice my 2500-2800 rpms jittering/studdering has lessened. I will know more once I try it out on more gears and see it on the dyno.

Valuable tool.

Yeah it shoved me the Steering Wheel angle sensor was faulty after couple hours of drive no error codes! Is it a pain to replace the sensor?

Nivo
04-27-2012, 07:51 AM
Yeah it shoved me the Steering Wheel angle sensor was faulty after couple hours of drive no error codes! Is it a pain to replace the sensor?

The sensor is on the bottom of the steering column just after the zinc plated part of the column.

Oh, I found a good DIY here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1825797

Meric
04-30-2012, 02:54 PM
Thank you. Hope I wont have to replace it in the future.

ELCID86
05-08-2014, 10:34 AM
Bump. Should be linked from one of the coding threads.

Tnhl1989
05-08-2014, 04:17 PM
Current ones I have been receiving requires solder pin 1/2 and 7/8 in order to read the dme. I'll upload photos on the next batch I will be purchasing.

ELCID86
05-08-2014, 05:11 PM
Current ones I have been receiving requires solder pin 1/2 and 7/8 in order to read the dme. I'll upload photos on the next batch I will be purchasing.

I tried to explain that to Botond.


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

trancenation
01-23-2016, 04:20 PM
I'm trying to read live data under the DME section of the BMW scanner 1.4 and it appears to be greyed out. Has anyone been able to read live data?

ELCID86
01-25-2016, 06:11 PM
I'm trying to read live data under the DME section of the BMW scanner 1.4 and it appears to be greyed out. Has anyone been able to read live data?

Nope. I can't even read my DME for some reason.


---
"ZHP is a garbage option anyway- just some cosmetic upgrades with a different cam and diff to claw back some of the performance lost fitting those hideous and heavy wheels. Any 330 with a 3.46 diff will smoke a ZHP every time. The whole Mafia thing reeks of childish behavior." - an e46fanatic

BMWCurves
01-25-2016, 07:26 PM
I'm trying to read live data under the DME section of the BMW scanner 1.4 and it appears to be greyed out. Has anyone been able to read live data?

I haven't tried, but I'll check this weekend.

spoonerDee
01-30-2016, 05:46 PM
I've been meaning to reset my oil count down thingy, I'll take a look soon.