If you want to go beyond OBDFusion, I***8217;d suggest a laptop with BMW software. I bought one on eBay for something like $400. It was wiped and reloaded with only the necessary software.

 

If you want to go beyond OBDFusion, I'd suggest a laptop with BMW software. I bought one on eBay for something like $400. It was wiped and reloaded with only the necessary software.

yeah that's probably the best thing. i have a laptop with PA soft and INPA (thanks bali) but nothing that stays in the car and fits in the glovebox.

(amazon review of the creator c310+) We are a BMW specialty repair shop and I bought these for our technicians so they could do a quick test before we have to start charging our customers for diagnostic time. ...It does read codes out in BMW proprietary format (not the same as P Codes). However, we found these were translated from P Codes in the scan tool! So you don't REALLY get BMW codes. I know this because we hooked up our $15k BMW-dedicated AutoLogic tool and got different codes (which helped us repair the car more quickly), and they were not the same.

and the more i read up on these scanners the worse they look. i think the creator is just a P code reader with no bmw specific functions. foxwell/schwaben still looks interesting if someone can share their experience.

 

jfoj did a review of the Foxwell 2-3 years ago. I think he found it to be OK with some features beyond OBDFusion, but something to get worked up over IIRC.

 

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As you can see above, the scanner comes with the following items;
- Zip-up carrying case
- Foxwell Diagnostic Scanner
- Instruction booklet / CD
- USB / Memory Card Reader

The real question is what differentiates this tool from say the Creator C310?
Seems that support might be better for the Schwaben/Foxwell tool.
The Creater C310 seems like support and model coverage is very limited.

The next tool/software recommended for the E46 or similar vintage BMW is BMW Scanner 1.4.0., then INPA. If you feel the need to go further you could deal with NCS and related programs, however, most people will not need these.

As for a stand alone tool like the Foxwell/Schwaben a few nice things are this.

1. It is a stand along generic OBDII scan tool that this model will work on other than BMW's, pretty much any 1996 and newer vehicle.
2. It does deal with some BMW Proprietary codes and will interrogate most of the modules in the vehicle.
3. It should be able to do some programming, BUT I cannot say if this works. It should be able to at least reset Service Intervals, Steering Angle Sensors and other items as I recall. The problem is a replacement Steering Angle Sensor needs to be VIN coded and I have not verified the Foxwell/Schwaben tool is really capable of this.
4. The Foxwell/Schwaben tool can have additional manufacturers added for like $60 so you can enhance the value of the tool to cover other model specific like VW, Mercedes, Ford, GM and others. But since this tool is an Asian tool, often the Ford or GM may be more Europe centric than North American market centric.
5. I recall the Foxwell/Schwaben has some minor Bi-directional capability. This is great for a tool in this class but the Bi-directional capability is limited at I recall. Often you can see switch inputs from the drivers seat position and often you can enable some engine controls like solenoids or cooling fans. I added the VW module to the Schwaben tool I have and I do not recall what features were for BMW or VW. I do not have my E46 close by so unfortunately I cannot run out and test it.
6. One problem with the Prosumer tools is they often do not limit the feature menu based on the car year, chassis and options. So for example you may see things like Blind Spot Monitor or an option your car does not have listed in the menus. So you might get excited to play with a module that your car does not actually have. The Professional scan tools do a better, but not always complete job of narrowing the menus down to include only the modules on the vehicle.

Overall I think the Foxwell/Schawaben tooi is worth having. You will get free updates for 12-18 months depending on the tool. I think additional updates are like $60 per year. Additional model support is $60, but you have to pay $60 for updates on each model installed on the tool. The tool covers a full line of BMW/Mini models so if you have newer or other models in your fleet, this tool should be useful for models beyond the E46. Just be aware these tools continue to be updated, so often a missing or non working feature will be added or fixed in newer updates and there are things these tools will never get sorted out as well.

excellent info. this jfoj guy is great. i would drive up to fairfax and say hello and thank you, but every time i go to fairfax i get a speeding ticket.

 

I bought the Carly gen2 WiFi adapter and Carly app for a portable BMW-specific scanner a few years back. I actually use it a lot, more for the newer BMW models. It reads and clears individual BMW trouble codes for all modules, displays realtime data, does logging, some coding, etc.

 

I have the foxwell unit and am very happy with it. It's much easier (quicker) to hook up than INPA so when I want to do quick checks or reset things I grab it first. I almost never use INPA now because of that so my computer only comes out for PA Soft or NCS Expert, etc.

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I have the foxwell unit and am very happy with it. It's much easier (quicker) to hook up than INPA so when I want to do quick checks or reset things I grab it first.

excellent thanks. i was hoping someone here had firsthand experience.

there are several different models of foxwell but i am thinking NT510 is best for E46. the newer units are only necessary for newer cars?

 

I'm not sure but I have the NT510 and I use it with my E46's, E92, and R52 (Mini).

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Does your scanner read other modules besides just the OBD codes? Like Trans, climate, etc?

Edit: nvm. I just got and read the updates to the thread above^.

 

I DO carry an older XP netbook in the trunk. It's just nice to have there.

Then each car gets a very inexpensive P-code reader in the glovebox,
with a code list. Because when you're in the parking lot at the doctor's,
all you really want to know is, 'Can I drive this thing home?'

t

 

Get an ELM-327 module from eBay or Amazon for something like $10, certainly less than $20, and an app for your phone for $10 that pulls P-codes. You can have a scan tool for under $30 that can give graphs of all sorts of things.

 

You do need to get the BMW version though. They allow you to buy modules for other cars. If you don't use a car specific module you only get generic OBD2 features.

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Here is a video of it (not me). This guy spends a lot of time talking about nothing but about halfway through he starts showing it off.

https://youtu.be/MfhH0CfoUlA

Edit: I didn't actually watch this through so it may be garbage. I just wanted to give a feel for the UI. It gives fault codes for all modules and let's you view live data and trigger actions. Sometimes you have to fight your way through the menus but I find myself doing the same with INPA sometimes too. Anyways, I still think all the same things can be done. They might even have reverse engineered INPA for all I know. There are other NT510 videos online if this turns out to be a dud.

 

I ordered the NT510 from the Foxwell site and they sent me the NT530.

I have a few modules that have errors. IHKA, LM and driver seat all have faults. Is there a table that translates the codes?


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I bought this one when I bought the car. The iCarSoft i190 for BMW. I have added OBDFusion, Torque pro, EML327 wifi adapter and OBD AutoDoctor for the laptop since. But this initial one is great for just plugging in and scrolling through the entire datastream. I keep it in the glove.

 

Long story short I was playing around with my new Foxwell scanner today and now the car won***8217;t start.

View attachment 791489

Then I had some EWS problems and had codes that the unit read, which was good. I ended up replacing the EWSIII antennae and I thought at this point I needed to resync/realign the EWS to DME. My car was working at this point, and I now know this was not needed. but I didn't know, so I did it.

It would not start after I tried to Sync/align the EWS to DME. In fact the tool gave me an error message and I thought nothing of it at first. I have contacted Foxwell and they have been responsive with no fix yet. Since then I borrowed another scanner to do the sync/align and get my car up and running. I tried to upgrade to v8.3 of the BMW SW and tried it again. It broke my car a second time.

foxwell/schwaben can trigger EWS to immobilize the car? hoping someone with more experience can clarify because otherwise it seems like a convenient tool.

 

yeah very happy with the rugged dell laptop for this purpose. i wouldn't deliberately run it over like they did in one of the review videos, but it's nice to have a computer that can easily survive abuse in a garage environment. i can use it with gloves and wash it off easily with soap in the sink. and the screen works well in direct sunlight.

**but bear in mind that a used laptop like this for $400-500 will not be so waterproof/impervious as when it was new at $4000 .. here's the one where they run it over:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO1E8sv3wB8

 

My diagnostic package:

-Lenovo T60 with SSD
-INPA latest version, 5.x
-DIS (GT1)
-WINFKP
-NCS EXPERT

For fuel trims etc, i use ELM327 Bluetooth + Torque pro android smart phone app.
With this software bundle, i can do lot of things with E46. For example coding is easy with Carly or NCS Expert.
Inpa and DIS are the 2 best softwares i know for E46 fault code scanning. INPA is quite nice also with livedata.
If you are not familiar with DIS, it is basically more advanced software compared to INPA. It can for example give throttle for car and do advanced fault diagnostics, and give repair paths.
DIS is also very good, because you can read all modules with just 1 click and get list of all fault codes from all your modules. For English, naturally..*
DIS, INPA and NCS are tools from that time when E46 was new. Those softwares are BMW professional tools. Not intended for different brands or universal testers, but just for your E46..

Cost including laptop + 4 dvd software bundle+cable was under $100.

 

Inpa and DIS are the 2 best softwares i know for E46 fault code scanning. INPA is quite nice also with livedata.
If you are not familiar with DIS, it is basically more advanced software compared to INPA. It can for example give throttle for car and do advanced fault diagnostics, and give repair paths.
DIS is also very good, because you can read all modules with just 1 click and get list of all fault codes from all your modules.

where is the best place to start with DIS? ** it seems like there are several versions - DIS v44 v57 Easy DIS?

for working on E46 only is that better than ISTA (https://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=1227470)?

 

I bought bundle from ebay which was 4 dvd discs, easy next next setup.
I have ista too, but i dont like it so much

 

thanks i am thinking of trying ebay for this.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Mini-I...PA-EDIABAS-GT1-DIS-v44-DIS-v57-SSS-Progman-Super-Easy-Installation/301352241817

What is included on the DVD

Preconfigured EDIABAS 6.4.7 with data through 2008, Preconfigured EDIABAS 7.3.0 with data through Dec 2017

EDIABAS includes (just a partial listing):
INPA
NCS EXPERT
NFS (New Flash System)
Tool32
WinKFP

EDIABAS 6.4.3 CD - .ISO file (optional installation method)
EDIABAS 6.4.5 CD - .ISO file (optional installation method)

DIS and Progman versions:
DIS v44
DIS v57**
SSS Progman v32**
TIS v12/2007 (This is pre-installed in all our DIS offerings (for BMW and Mini), it is not standalone!)
pss-autosoft "EasyInstall***8482;" utility programs to configure, test and verify system settings ...

 

Yep, you will also need cable between laptop and car.
It was maybe 5-6 years ago i bought my software/cable bundle from Romania. Price was approx 30-40 including cable.
I dont know if he still sells kits or not.

 

Just be wary of viruses! The first thing they do is tell you to disable any virus checker. As long as you dedicate a machine to it (or vm) and keep it off your internal network there isn't much harm.

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Just be wary of viruses! The first thing they do is tell you to disable any virus checker. As long as you dedicate a machine to it (or vm) and keep it off your internal network there isn't much harm.

yes i do hope people are careful with those old laptops running xp. the advantage of virtualization is the snapshot. that lets you save the working config, so you can recover later without calling bali for help.

 

The simple/cheap readers basically only read the engine computer and give the P codes mandated by the OBD-II. These readers will not read the ABS, Airbag, HVAC, LCM, KZE, etc. For those other modules you need a BMW specific reader. For computer based readers you want INPA, GT1 or ISTA. For handheld I recommend the Foxwell NT510, 520 PRO or 530 with the BMW module. They are on sale right now from $155. Additional auto brand personality modules can be purchased for $40 (I think).

here's some good info on the additional features you get from the bmw specific scanners. foxwell/schwaben gets the best reviews, but some reports of problems after clearing EWS codes. hoping someone can comment on that.

 

My EWS had an error and lost sync with my key after using the Foxwell tool. I was looking at various errors and clearing them. Big mistake. This was in 2019. Car would crank but would not start. I made a thread during that nightmare. Fortunately Balidawg came to my rescue with INPA and re-synced my key to the car. IIRC The Foxwell has an option to “reset” or “re-sync” but it would not work.

Recently I received an email from them saying there is a new software version available. I’ve been very wary of using that tool again and I haven’t downloaded the software yet.

I think INPA is safer and has a better track record. Good luck!

 

For BMW-specific scanners, I use Carly, BMW Scanner 1.4, and INPA.

DIS and friends (SSS Progman) is a steaming pile of software poo, IMHO. :thumbdwn:

 

You should check out the autel brand, they have great OBD scanners. I also use them, Autel Scanner MD802 to be specific.

my independent here uses the autel. seems like a popular choice for professional mechanics, but not cheap.

 

I’ve owned a cheap Walmart obd2 code reader for about 12+ years, always kept it in the glovebox/trunk etc as mentioned above Incase you get a check engine light and want to know weather it’s serious or not if you are out and about.

Aside from that, skip the code readers and get a laptop!!!

I recently got a Panasonic toughbook on eBay for about 80 bucks, a power cord for 30 and the kdcan cable for 30.
Inpa, ISTA, and all the bmw tools are free to download and get installed with ample help from other members of this and other forums. For 150 bucks you can do everything the dealer can do and more!


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Hello Everyone, I've got an e46 convertible and need to scan down far enough to get all convertible top related codes. What direction should I head in for this? As I understand not just any reader will do the job. Thank you.

You need a scanner with BMW software. 2 easy choices are:

• Foxwell NT530 with BMW software
• BMW Standard tools on a windows laptop. How to Install BMW Standard Tools