supertramp
Active member
Go for four pipes Gav ....... costs a small fortune though :thumbs:
-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
Gavsadler's X3 35i M-Sport
- Thread starter gavsadler
- Start date
gavsadler
///Member
Update July-2018:
The car has been serving us well the past few months, with no new issues popping up.
A little while back, I purchased a FISCON Bluetooth module from RichardH (Thanks again). It has been sitting in my bag since then, as my time has been rather limited.
Last weekend, I decided/negotiated to disassemble the mommy-mobile, and have a go at installing this module. From what Richard told me, it is fairly straight-forward, and there are also detailed instructions on their website.
Here's a brief overview of the installation, together with some pics:
1) Remove trim panel around air vents and start button:
2) Loosen panel below radio section (also unclip light):
3) Remove radio control panel:
4) Loosen radio unit and remove, note the plugs at the back:
5) The main plug needs to be removed, note the bottom right corner, this is the fibre optic plug, which needs to plug into the fiscon unit:
6) Plug the fibre optic plug into the fiscon unit, and then the plug from the fiscon unit back into the main plug for the radio:
7) The fiscon unit also needs power (and earth), so I did some testing and plumbed into 2 wires using Positaps (these are awesome BTW, so easy to use):
8) Reinstall all the hardware and trim panels.
9) The fiscon unit comes with a module which can be used to code the car. After installation, turn on the ignition and plug the module into the OBS port. A LED lights up, and goes off once coding is completed (<1min).
This is where I got stuck, the LED never turned off, after approx 5mins. I consulted the installation manual, and there was a big block with bold writing which mentioned that this module is for 1-time use only.
So, when Richard initially installed it in his car, that's when the module was used. I was unable to code the car to accept a telephone module in iDrive. Options now are to code it using ESYS or perhaps ISTA (or some other BMW diagnostics and programming software).
So, I'll have to sponsor some beers to someone who has the software and an ENET cable, or wait a little bit until i get my own cables etc.
But, on the plus side, if i turn on bluetooth on my phone, it does detect the fiscon unit, so at least my wiring efforts are up to scratch.
More updates to follow once I've coded the car and tried out the functionality.
The car has been serving us well the past few months, with no new issues popping up.
A little while back, I purchased a FISCON Bluetooth module from RichardH (Thanks again). It has been sitting in my bag since then, as my time has been rather limited.
Last weekend, I decided/negotiated to disassemble the mommy-mobile, and have a go at installing this module. From what Richard told me, it is fairly straight-forward, and there are also detailed instructions on their website.
Here's a brief overview of the installation, together with some pics:
1) Remove trim panel around air vents and start button:
2) Loosen panel below radio section (also unclip light):
3) Remove radio control panel:
4) Loosen radio unit and remove, note the plugs at the back:
5) The main plug needs to be removed, note the bottom right corner, this is the fibre optic plug, which needs to plug into the fiscon unit:
6) Plug the fibre optic plug into the fiscon unit, and then the plug from the fiscon unit back into the main plug for the radio:
7) The fiscon unit also needs power (and earth), so I did some testing and plumbed into 2 wires using Positaps (these are awesome BTW, so easy to use):
8) Reinstall all the hardware and trim panels.
9) The fiscon unit comes with a module which can be used to code the car. After installation, turn on the ignition and plug the module into the OBS port. A LED lights up, and goes off once coding is completed (<1min).
This is where I got stuck, the LED never turned off, after approx 5mins. I consulted the installation manual, and there was a big block with bold writing which mentioned that this module is for 1-time use only.
So, when Richard initially installed it in his car, that's when the module was used. I was unable to code the car to accept a telephone module in iDrive. Options now are to code it using ESYS or perhaps ISTA (or some other BMW diagnostics and programming software).
So, I'll have to sponsor some beers to someone who has the software and an ENET cable, or wait a little bit until i get my own cables etc.
But, on the plus side, if i turn on bluetooth on my phone, it does detect the fiscon unit, so at least my wiring efforts are up to scratch.
More updates to follow once I've coded the car and tried out the functionality.
gavsadler
///Member
Update October 2018:
A couple of weeks ago it was reminding me that a brake fluid change was required. So one Saturday morning, I jacked the car up and bled some of the old fluid out (topping up the reservoir after bleeding at each wheel). This went smoothly and in total I probably changed about 500ml of fluid. I thought I had pics of the old stuff but can't locate them. It was a bit murky, but I've seen much worse as well.
Also, I rotated the tyres front to back, just to even out the wear on them.
Then, the next day, issues, car was battling to start and showing all sorts of funnies:
[video=youtube]
Here's another video from a couple of days after that:
[video=youtube]
Puzzled, I called in the services of my local east rand vehicle / software guru: Dannyboy from DSC Motorsport. We scanned the car, and it was throwing up 3 faults: 1 for an old battery, and 2 relating to a fuel rail pressure sensor (stuck reading) and an overall low fuel pressure warning.
The next day, I drove the car and although it complained in the morning, it didn't give any issues after that. I took a trip to Randburg, and also met up with RichardH, who also scanned the car. Again it complained about fuel pressure, but behaved itself while it was there. We also tried to code the Fiscon Unit, but his ESYS software was not participating.
Anyways, a few days later, I took the plunge and decided to buy a new fuel pressure sensor. Agents only: R1200. Dannyboy came through to help again and we fitted the sensor.
Here's a pic of the sensor:
Also, when we scanned the car and went through some test plans, it was complaining about a regulator valve on the high pressure fuel pump. So we decided to strip away to get to the HPFP and see if anything looked odd.
What a PITA job to do. The pump sits under the intake manifold and behind the alternator. There is hardly any space to work there. We managed to loosen the valve, but it doesn't seperate from the pump itself. So we jiggled it around a bit, sprayed the electrical contacts and put everything back.
After that, the car started fine and idled fine. There have been no fault codes since related to fuel pressure.
The only thing that the car is doing now, it it's taking longer to start than normal, but I think that's because the battery is Kaput. I will probably need to change this before the end of the year.
Also, when we were busy stripping the car to get to the HPFP, the charge pipe decided to say howzit, and cracked where it fits to the throttle body.
Big kudos to Danny from DSC Motorsport who has replaced the pipe at his cost with a new shipment which came in recently.
Here's a pic of the pipe. This is also a new design compared to previous pipes which have come in before:
Note the 2 ports which are ready for meth bungs :smilebounce:
I guess it's official that the modding on the X3 has started lol
A couple of weeks ago it was reminding me that a brake fluid change was required. So one Saturday morning, I jacked the car up and bled some of the old fluid out (topping up the reservoir after bleeding at each wheel). This went smoothly and in total I probably changed about 500ml of fluid. I thought I had pics of the old stuff but can't locate them. It was a bit murky, but I've seen much worse as well.
Also, I rotated the tyres front to back, just to even out the wear on them.
Then, the next day, issues, car was battling to start and showing all sorts of funnies:
[video=youtube]
Here's another video from a couple of days after that:
[video=youtube]
Puzzled, I called in the services of my local east rand vehicle / software guru: Dannyboy from DSC Motorsport. We scanned the car, and it was throwing up 3 faults: 1 for an old battery, and 2 relating to a fuel rail pressure sensor (stuck reading) and an overall low fuel pressure warning.
The next day, I drove the car and although it complained in the morning, it didn't give any issues after that. I took a trip to Randburg, and also met up with RichardH, who also scanned the car. Again it complained about fuel pressure, but behaved itself while it was there. We also tried to code the Fiscon Unit, but his ESYS software was not participating.
Anyways, a few days later, I took the plunge and decided to buy a new fuel pressure sensor. Agents only: R1200. Dannyboy came through to help again and we fitted the sensor.
Here's a pic of the sensor:
Also, when we scanned the car and went through some test plans, it was complaining about a regulator valve on the high pressure fuel pump. So we decided to strip away to get to the HPFP and see if anything looked odd.
What a PITA job to do. The pump sits under the intake manifold and behind the alternator. There is hardly any space to work there. We managed to loosen the valve, but it doesn't seperate from the pump itself. So we jiggled it around a bit, sprayed the electrical contacts and put everything back.
After that, the car started fine and idled fine. There have been no fault codes since related to fuel pressure.
The only thing that the car is doing now, it it's taking longer to start than normal, but I think that's because the battery is Kaput. I will probably need to change this before the end of the year.
Also, when we were busy stripping the car to get to the HPFP, the charge pipe decided to say howzit, and cracked where it fits to the throttle body.
Big kudos to Danny from DSC Motorsport who has replaced the pipe at his cost with a new shipment which came in recently.
Here's a pic of the pipe. This is also a new design compared to previous pipes which have come in before:
Note the 2 ports which are ready for meth bungs :smilebounce:
I guess it's official that the modding on the X3 has started lol
supertramp
Active member
gavsadler said:Update July-2018:
The car has been serving us well the past few months, with no new issues popping up.
A little while back, I purchased a FISCON Bluetooth module from RichardH (Thanks again). It has been sitting in my bag since then, as my time has been rather limited.
Last weekend, I decided/negotiated to disassemble the mommy-mobile, and have a go at installing this module. From what Richard told me, it is fairly straight-forward, and there are also detailed instructions on their website.
Here's a brief overview of the installation, together with some pics:
1) Remove trim panel around air vents and start button:
2) Loosen panel below radio section (also unclip light):
3) Remove radio control panel:
4) Loosen radio unit and remove, note the plugs at the back:
5) The main plug needs to be removed, note the bottom right corner, this is the fibre optic plug, which needs to plug into the fiscon unit:
6) Plug the fibre optic plug into the fiscon unit, and then the plug from the fiscon unit back into the main plug for the radio:
7) The fiscon unit also needs power (and earth), so I did some testing and plumbed into 2 wires using Positaps (these are awesome BTW, so easy to use):
8) Reinstall all the hardware and trim panels.
9) The fiscon unit comes with a module which can be used to code the car. After installation, turn on the ignition and plug the module into the OBS port. A LED lights up, and goes off once coding is completed (<1min).
This is where I got stuck, the LED never turned off, after approx 5mins. I consulted the installation manual, and there was a big block with bold writing which mentioned that this module is for 1-time use only.
So, when Richard initially installed it in his car, that's when the module was used. I was unable to code the car to accept a telephone module in iDrive. Options now are to code it using ESYS or perhaps ISTA (or some other BMW diagnostics and programming software).
So, I'll have to sponsor some beers to someone who has the software and an ENET cable, or wait a little bit until i get my own cables etc.
But, on the plus side, if i turn on bluetooth on my phone, it does detect the fiscon unit, so at least my wiring efforts are up to scratch.
More updates to follow once I've coded the car and tried out the functionality.
Hi Gav,
Did you manage to get the Fiscon up and running :fencelook:
supertramp
Active member
If I may answer for Gavin,
Yip, when believe it or not the F25 X3 you buy just has the AUX connection in the center console and no USB port available then the sh*t begins ..... no telephone, blue tooth, no iPod connectivity where you can control volume off your steering wheel and actually see the artists, songs etc on the iDrive screen ...... soooooo big loss in what you were used to!
The Fiscon enables you to have all of what you are missing out on as mentioned above but comes at a small fortune as you will have to import.
You can go Parrot MKi9200 but that's also a mission of having to paste the little screen to your dash somewhere .... been there done that as well!
I now just use my iPod off the AUX facility and have the effort to have to manually change to the artists, albums etc whilst driving ....... actually now have created "playlists" where around 70 etc songs play consistently one after the other but if you get sick of one particular number it's back to the drawing board :=):
Why you may ask did BMW not make everyone of their cars standard with the USB connectivity and telephone etc I just cannot get over, all the "respectably" mid range sh*t and "other" coming out now have it all, GPS, Bluetooth etc etc :blueCry:
Yip, when believe it or not the F25 X3 you buy just has the AUX connection in the center console and no USB port available then the sh*t begins ..... no telephone, blue tooth, no iPod connectivity where you can control volume off your steering wheel and actually see the artists, songs etc on the iDrive screen ...... soooooo big loss in what you were used to!
The Fiscon enables you to have all of what you are missing out on as mentioned above but comes at a small fortune as you will have to import.
You can go Parrot MKi9200 but that's also a mission of having to paste the little screen to your dash somewhere .... been there done that as well!
I now just use my iPod off the AUX facility and have the effort to have to manually change to the artists, albums etc whilst driving ....... actually now have created "playlists" where around 70 etc songs play consistently one after the other but if you get sick of one particular number it's back to the drawing board :=):
Why you may ask did BMW not make everyone of their cars standard with the USB connectivity and telephone etc I just cannot get over, all the "respectably" mid range sh*t and "other" coming out now have it all, GPS, Bluetooth etc etc :blueCry:
gavsadler
///Member
Lol, no FISCON yet :fencelook:
Waiting for Richard to get back from his Bay, then will arrange a meetup so that he can code the car.
I got cables and ESYS in December, but having issues. Either my software isn't working, or the cable is faulty, because I cannot connect to the car.
Also did some other maintenance items in December, so will update this thread soon...
Waiting for Richard to get back from his Bay, then will arrange a meetup so that he can code the car.
I got cables and ESYS in December, but having issues. Either my software isn't working, or the cable is faulty, because I cannot connect to the car.
Also did some other maintenance items in December, so will update this thread soon...
gavsadler
///Member
Right, still haven't coded the Fiscon, but hoping to meetup with Richard in the next week or so to get that done.
On to more pressing issues, after replacing the fuel rail pressure sensor, things seemed ok for a while, but about once a week the car would struggle to start, and throw up a drivetrain fault.
Further scans revealed that it was still complaining about low pressure on the high pressure fuel pump.
BMW wanted close to R15k for a new pump. Hell to the no!
So I got shopping online and ordered one from the UK. It's an OSIAS brand "All for better performance" :fencelook:
So a few weeks later it arrived. Cost approx. R8k all-in
Dannyboy came through one day to assist, and we set about stripping things to get to the HPFP.
Air filter off
Boost pipe off
Throttle body off
Small water pipe off
Loosened up a few other things.
The HPFP sits under the intake manifold, behind the alternator, so it's a real PITA to get to. It's secured using 3 bolts. Using some creative tooling, and after much swearing, we got it out.
Here's some pics of the old pump next to the new pump:
Sorry didn't take any pics of the job in progress, mostly because it was a fairly filthy job and we were pushing to get finished.
After installing things, we buttoned everything back up. The car started first time, and also MUCH easier and faster than previously.
We cleared codes, and none of them have reappeared again.
On to more pressing issues, after replacing the fuel rail pressure sensor, things seemed ok for a while, but about once a week the car would struggle to start, and throw up a drivetrain fault.
Further scans revealed that it was still complaining about low pressure on the high pressure fuel pump.
BMW wanted close to R15k for a new pump. Hell to the no!
So I got shopping online and ordered one from the UK. It's an OSIAS brand "All for better performance" :fencelook:
So a few weeks later it arrived. Cost approx. R8k all-in
Dannyboy came through one day to assist, and we set about stripping things to get to the HPFP.
Air filter off
Boost pipe off
Throttle body off
Small water pipe off
Loosened up a few other things.
The HPFP sits under the intake manifold, behind the alternator, so it's a real PITA to get to. It's secured using 3 bolts. Using some creative tooling, and after much swearing, we got it out.
Here's some pics of the old pump next to the new pump:
Sorry didn't take any pics of the job in progress, mostly because it was a fairly filthy job and we were pushing to get finished.
After installing things, we buttoned everything back up. The car started first time, and also MUCH easier and faster than previously.
We cleared codes, and none of them have reappeared again.
