DZeckhausen

As many of you know, I agreed to test a prototype of a new hardware device that gets rid of the navigation system "ACCEPT" screen. It does this by plugging into the BMW iBus and inserting a fake button press at just the right moment.

Well, they say timing is everything. One day before the prototype ACCEPT killer arrived, my new MK IV DVD-based navigation computer arrived. I swapped out my old MK III CD-based computer for the new one and installed the operating system. Since the unit was brand new and had never been coded, it defaulted to a European setting. The result? My distance readout was in yards, rather than feet. My EMERGENCY menu option was missing. And the lawyer ACCEPT screen no longer appeared. Normally, the elimination of the ACCEPT screen would be worth the sacrifice of the first two items. But here I was, obligated to test this new hardware device that eliminates the ACCEPT screen, and I had no ACCEPT screen to eliminate!

This is where our own M5Manny (who works in sales at JMK BMW) stepped in. Manny arranged with the service manager, Hilario, to squeeze me in this morning to have my system recoded back to USA mode. At 9:00, I arrived at JMK and Hilario drove my car right into the service area. Jack Donahue, one of their senior technicians, was assigned to the case.

Jack hooked a small wireless module, called a "diagnostic head" into the OBD port on the driver's side of my dash. This device communicates over a WiFi link to a 5 foot tall computer console known as the BMW D.I.S.


After exploring a few random error codes in my car's computer and determining they were nothing to worry about, Jack set about to the task of recoding my system. Although other dealerships seem to have a problem with this procedure, Jack had it done in just a few minutes. He started by selecting "ZCS/FA Coding" from the touch-screen menu, then he picked the model "E39" and finally he touched the first item in the list labeled "RECODING". In just a few moments, the download to my car was complete and everything was restored to USA settings. The distance was now displayed in feet, the EMERGENCY menu option reappeared, and the dreaded ACCEPT screen appeared when the car was restarted.

Now I could get down to the business of testing. I removed the CD changer and unplugged the power/ground/iBus connector. This was plugged into the prototype circuit board, then the cable coming from the prototype was plugged into the changer. A row of green diagnostic LEDs lit up, then went out after about 30 seconds.


The device works exactly as advertised. When the car is started, the ACCEPT screen appears as normal. But about 8 seconds later, it vanishes as if an unseen ghost had pressed the button. That's long enough that one could argue that the ACCEPT screen had been read and understood by the driver, yet soon enough that it's not in the way if you want to get down to the business of "navigating" right after pulling away from the curb.

The prototype does not resemble the final product. It's a wire wrap board enclosed in a black hobby box. The final product will use a custom printed circuit board to shrink the size down to just a couple inches. The device can be attached, with Velcro, to the side of the CD changer. It can be installed or removed in seconds and it is unaffected by software changes or updates by the dealer.




I will be testing this prototype in a variety of vehicles over the next month and making sure it doesn't issue an unwanted button press, regardless of the sequence with which doors are opened or closed, alarm is set or not, and peripheral devices (i.e., TV tuners, cell phones, Voice Recognition modules, Bluetooth kit) are attached to the iBus.

__________________
Dave Zeckhausen
Owner, Zeckhausen Racing

2001 540i 6-Speed (Sold)
StopTech 4-wheel big brake upgrade (ST-60 front/ST22 rear)
M5 3.15 Limited Slip Differential
M5 Front Swaybar
Dinan Stage 3 Suspension
Dinan Front Strut Tower Brace
Rogue Octane Short Shifter & Transmission Mounts
European Dash Conversion
CDV Deleted (of course!)
Bluetooth, NAV-TV, DVD Player

2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8 w/StopTech ST-60 front/ST-40 rear BBK
2007 Corvette Z51 Coupe 6-Speed w/StopTech Trophy ST-60 front/ST-40 rear
2009 Honda Fit Sport w/NAV w/Acura Integra front calipers, StopTech floating rotors on order
2012 BMW 328i Luxury Line, 8-Speed

M5manny

Great write up Dave! Always glad to help

__________________
BMW Ninja

twitter.com/m5manny

540-aiite

Dave,

You are lazy too...Shame on you.

-John

DZeckhausen

I like to concentrate on driving and not on making a series of adjustments that distract me from the driving environment as I pull away from the curb. I used to also have to push the stalk on the turn signal in order to get the instrument cluster display back after restarting the car. However, the installation of the MK IV navigation computer cured this too. Now I hop in the car, buckle up, and drive.


I no longer feel like a mouse in a laboratory, pushing buttons before I get my food pellet.

Am I also lazy because I like the fact that my seat and mirrors automatically change from my wife's settings to mine when I unlock the car with my key? When seat memory first came out, did you complain about it? Do you walk from the couch to the TV to change channels and volume?

540-aiite

Ok, that does it. We need to run a comparison. Your new toy versus my right index finger. Plus, I've done some more changes to my car to show you. After that maybe we can go to that awesome Italian resturant and get lunch.

-John

P.S. It take a great deal of effort to beg my girlfriend to change the channel.

DZeckhausen

What, you don't have the TV tuner channel changing controls integrated into the steering wheel buttons?? You have to reach ALL the way over to the center console to change from Judge Judy to Oprah? That sounds dangerous and distracting!


LOL!!

Philip

Dick,

Since your prototype communicates with the ibus and simulates the pressing of the button, can't any device on the ibus be programmed to do this? For example, a device that reprograms the buttons on the steering wheel? Or shows V1 status in the display? And if so, wouldn't the companies offering those options add this feature?

Regards, Philip

DZeckhausen

Dick? Hmmmmm. My friends call me Dave. LOL!!

The key to making this thing work properly is to analyze and understand the messages that are passed back and forth on the iBus related to the turn-on of the screen. It's not simply a matter of waiting 10 seconds after the car is started to send a fake button press. What happens if the car wasn't shut off long enough to make the ACCEPT screen appear. Sometimes the display simply comes back to where it was when you shut the car down. This is also influenced by opening and closing doors, opening the trunk, and setting the alarm. So timers in the software had to be eliminated and replaced with code that recognized unique sequences of commands from the instrument cluster. This and rigorous testing ensures that the device isn't going to issue an extra button press when one isn't needed and, even more important, that it isn't going to issue a command at the wrong time and corrupt other data on the iBus, potentially causing a system crash.

When I first installed my TV tuner, I used an old hand-made harness that the previous owner of the tuner had made following Eric Weber's instructions. This harness used a 3M connector to tap into the iBus. I've since learned that splice connectors into the iBus are bad because they can allow spurious signals to interfere with the traffic on the iBus and cause all sorts of problems. My NAV display used to freeze up randomly and every now and then my car would refuse to start, demanding a CODE be input, despite the fact that I have never used that feature to set a security code. I would have to disconnect the battery and wait 10 minutes for the countdown before I could restart the car. It was such a pain that I eventually bypassed my TV tuner. Months later, I got a professionally built harness from Parag at TVonNAV that didn't require any splices into the iBus, power, or ground. It simply plugged into one of the factory connectors. That totally solved my problem of glitches on the iBus and I've never had the display freeze or the car refuse to start since then.

To get back to your original question, yes it's possible that other devices can be made to solve this problem. I'm told that the Jaric Design Stealth One can be ordered with this feature as an option. However, for the rest of us who do not have a Valentine One radar detector to integrate into the car, this is a simpler, less expensive option. Installation is seconds rather than an hour. No wire splicing or panel removing. Simply plug it in-line with the CD changer harness and you're done. This device only exists to get rid of the ACCEPT screen. It doesn't do anything else.

Philip

My appologies for the wrong name.

I guess "simpler, less expensive option" depends on what your charging? I'll look forward to finding out. I would expect others who offer ibus devices to follow up with this feature. You have mentioned one already. Since it can already talk to the ibus, I would hope that you are looking at additional functionality.

I could not imagine having the M5 on the road without a V1. Looking forward to seeing your finished product.

BTW--Will you have an equivalent ACCEPT screen in order to purchase this product?

DZeckhausen

I'm not charging anything. I just came up with the idea during a conversation with a developer who was pursuing a different idea that, I felt, wouldn't have as broad appeal. I also offered to test the product. This is so far outside the core business of Zeckhausen Racing (which is brakes) that I am not going to have any involvement in the sales and marketing. I'm just happy to be able to facilitate the invention of the device so that I can have one in my own car!