The one Balidawg recommends!


AntiBreak Ediabas D can INPA K+... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0817D2L9J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

It even has a switch to connect pins 7 & 8..


Sent from my iPhone using E46Fanatics

 

If you're going to go work on any E90 or newer generation cars, get the Bimmergeeks' cable (despite what BaliDawg says). Every other cable out there has flawed firmware that causes some module communications to fail when being used in D-CAN mode.

 

I want INPA cable to also work with E83 (n52, 2010)
Don't get Bali cable then ?


Switched Left is for older chassis such as E46, E39, E53, E38 etc...
Switched Right is for newer chassis such as E90, E60, E70 etc...

 

i do like my bimmergeeks expert cable, but it is probably overkill. and annoying that i have to use the double k-line adapter. so you're better off getting the cheap one with the switch does the job of the adapter (jumping two pins together). bimmergeeks pro cable looks marginally better than the ones on ebay.

 

I don't think they sell the "expert" one anymore anyway.

 

i guess i went with that expert cable because i was worried about the switch breaking, and i am biased against transparent cable. probably nothing wrong with the pro-cable.

 

I think you'll need D-CAN if you want to flash the DME on the E83, in which case I'd get the bimmergeeks cable. Otherwise it uses K-line for everything else.

 

Yes, I saw a post on another forum where the E83 user said exactly that.
He could do all INPA actions except the DME.
Seems like he needs a different cable then?

Can you clarify D-CAN vs. K-line?
If a cable is sold as K+DCAN, with the switch, it should work on E90/E83?
What kind of cable do you figure he had? K-line only?

Actually, this even says INPA from 1998 to 2008 models.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0817D2L9J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_Jd6gEbTA7X8TF

What does the BimmerGeeks cable have that the switch cables are still lacking?

 

I have several different K+DCAN cables, including the one linked in post #2 above. They all work with the E39 and E46 for everything including flashing with WinKFP. They also work for reading/clearing codes, seeing live data, and coding various modules on those two older cars as well as our 2011 E92 and 2013 E84, but I haven't tried them for flashing on the newer BMWs for the reasons TerraPhantm mentioned.

Point being, if you're not flashing the newer BMWs, the typical K+DCAN cables work fine.

 

I am getting error code 5e40 and wish to recalibrate steering angle as first step to resolve. Does the linked product include cable and software? PC requirements? PA Soft install was no walk in the park.

 

Also, when do you need to flash the DME ?

 

Thanks Terra! Confusing stuff.
Old cars are K and new cars are DCAN?
INPA talks K-line? Hence the conversion stuff ?

First, if I have an E46 and a facelift E83, should I bother with INPA at all?
Stick with PA Soft? Still have no idea when I would need INPA.

Next, if I do need INPA, it sounds like the Geeks cable is he only way to go.
The clone cables are unsafe for which cars exactly? 2010+? Or only cars with CIC/Ethernet stuff?
My 2010 E83 is pretty bare bones. Not even Bluetooth.

It sounds like Geeks cable is the way to go.
Less worry for an extra $20.

 

In general, BMWs built from MY2008 onward are D-CAN.

E46/E39/E38/E53/E85 - Everything is K-line. Powertrain stuff on pin 7, everything else on Pin 8.

N52 E83 - DME is D-CAN, everything else is K-line

E60/E65/E90 - Pre MY2008 they're K-line with every module on pin 7. MY2008 onward they're D-CAN.

INPA... it's a little hard to explain without getting a little technical, but basically the entire suite of software (INPA, NCS Expert, WinKFP, etc) is known as the Ediabas suite. Ediabas itself is basically a set of protocols that will allow a computer to interface with BMWGroup vehicles. The real engineers actually working at BMW all have interfaces that natively speak CAN for the newer cars. But these cables are expensive, rare, and difficult to clone.

For old cars where BMW used K-line, the cables were simpler since that tech dates back to the early 90s - they basically were just modified serial cables. So the aftermarket found it easier to take a cable that converts a serial message into a CAN message rather than making a native CAN cable compatible with the ediabas suite of software. BMW made it relatively easy to do that, because the actual messages within the CAN packets are essentially identical to the serial packets - they just needed to be transmitted over the different bus type.

So IMO since you have a car that has a D-CAN DME, it's best to just get a cable that handles that communication well. And if you ever get an E90, E60 or whatever in the future, that cable will still be good there. If you skip past that to the Fxx cars... that cable isn't useless, but most people just use ethernet nowadays since it's easy to DIY a cable and it's faster.

As far as PASoft goes - it'll work with all your cars, but it won't be able to communicate with the X3's DME since PASoft does not support the CAN-bus.

 

Thanks for the explanation Terra. It really helps in making sense of things.

 

OK, I;ll get the Geeks cable.
But again, when do you ever need to flash the DME ?

 

when do you ever need to flash the DME?

Typically, just once for an E39, E46, etc., since you***8217;ll flash it to the latest and be done. BMW stopped producing new flashes when the cars went out of production.

For the newer cars, it depends on if you***8217;re flashing different tunes and such.

 

I'd get the bimmergeeks cable just because it'll be more reliable for use on newer cars (E90 335 tuners love these cables)...That being said, I went with a cheapo 15 dollar cable on ebay that had the switch, confirming to me that it would work in my book...Not on sale anymore though.

 

INPA is script-driven, so functionality can be presented in different places depending on the version, how the UI scripts are configured, etc.
Glad you got it solved.

 

While I'm not a computer guy, I do need software to check and clear fault codes, test vanos, smg adaptions, and the like. What is the recommended package for 2003 M3? I see the above reference to Mike's Easy BMW tools; is that the way to go?
Sorry about the ignorance, and appreciate any help.

 

For any UK E46 fanatics:

I bought this K+DCAN with Switch cable and have had success - https://amzn.to/3bzcsje

(For me K-Line was accessed using far right switch)