neilv

Your ICOM clone; How much was it?

I'm debating if buying a clone or just having someone else do it, is more cost effective

TeflonDon

I bought mine almost 5 Years Ago.. Still going strong... If you're going to keep a mid 2000 and up BMW... I think it's worth it.... I paid around $350 for mine on eBay back then... Pretty sure you can get them for around $250 - 275 with the ICOM B (Most Connector).....

I just added Wi-Fi to my ICOM last night also.......

Bmwpower530

hi TeflonDon, i need your help to finish coding. Ncs expert, doesnt open my ssd file, or maybe im doing somethink incorect. I apreciate any help.

TeflonDon

Contact me via direct / private message.

TeflonDon

Need your vin #... Sent you an email.....

Bmwpower530

Thanks, for replay. I sent it.

kirvedx

Hi Teflon,

I've done my CIC retrofit - and it looks great. However, I still haven't figured out my firmware version, and still waiting on an iCOMM to do the flashing of it to C1A. Your guide for flashing is going to help me out big time, thanks for posting this.

I'm having a big issue adding my 2011 (bn2000) combox to my car's VO. I've repinned it, installed it, after already installing the CIC and default coded it. To set some basic pretense here my car is a 2006 530XI, and I was able to change the date to #0909 from #0305, and ofc add $6VA, $609. It already had $605 and $639. I want to ultimately do $644 and $6NF too, for enhanced bluetooth and smartphone prep - as I do have SOS and the antennas.

Last night I set the vin (I think, assuming tool32 worked properly, said bytes were sent) in both the CIC and Combox, but I cannot for the life of me get #0910, #0911, nor as a result $6VC to add to my VO. I continuously get #0909 or #0910 is invalid FA, and if I use #0310 (the latest date NCSEXPERT allows me to set the date to) it then says $6VC is invalid FA. I'm using sp-daten v60 from bimmergeeks, and figured it might be due to the fact that I have too low of an SP Daten.

Any idea how I might get $6VC to stick? Any chance you could link the v67 SP-Daten for me for E60 (base and e60)?

Best regards!

TeflonDon

Please contact me via direct message.

LicianDom

Hello.
I have the same problem coding the combox. Please tell me how do you solve it.
Thank you

kirvedx

So I got my ICOM and went through the trouble of learning how to use it; getting it to connect properly, etc. When using the MOST remote connection you exclusively see the CIC/CMEDIA/COMBOX (on the MOST bus), and I am able to see the combox through INPA, WinKFP, etc. When using DCAN or DIAGBUS via ICOM you won't see the combox, but you can still see the CIC.

This still presents a problem, because while you could flash it using ICOM, you can't code it. The trick, I found, was leveraging a virtual VO (i.e. tell NCSEXPERT that your car is a E90, rather than an E60 - as an E90 knows about a combox and can be configured rather similarly to an E60.)

The way to do this is via an SSD file. The steps can seem tricky, but it's straight forward (I'll post the screenshot of the post from bmwcoding.com - which was down at the time I wrote this post, the whole site, making the files unavailable):

1. Get your VO set for a CIC (#0909, $6VA, $609), then default code your CIC (in your E60, as normal for an E60). You could go ahead and set options through a manipulation profile too, but you'll exclusively get to do this in a few steps so I'd just hold off on that anyways. If you're going to flash your CIC, might as well do that first, then default code it (you'll have to anyways).
2. Using NCSEXPERT do a typical read of your "E60" VO (and CAS coding) and back up the trace file:
   1. Load NCSEXPERT, navigate through File->Load Profile->Factory Coding (Expert)->Start (F1)->Chassis (F3)->E60 (In pop-up)->CAS (Resulting pop-up).
   2. Once the main display populates with your VIN and FA/VO, you have a .TRC file you can back up; do so.
3. Similarly, do a read of your CIC coding for a 18kb file and MAKE 2 COPIES (1 to keep forever, 1 to utimately modify).
   1. Load NCSEXPERT, follow the steps in 2.1, and then BACK (F6)->PROCESS ECU (F4)->CIC (In pop-up)->"OK" (the CXX referenced in this pop-up is not your firmware version, btw)->Change Job (F2)->CODIERTEN_LESEN (In pop-up)->EXECUTE JOB (F3).
   2. You'll get a 18kb FSW_PSW.TRC as normal, but its exclusively the CIC. Make 2 backups of this file. The CXX file referenced under "Get Coded" and "JOBNAME" in the main window now reference your CIC's current firmware version.
4. Now, leveraging an SSD file tell NCSEXPERT you are working with an E90 that's got a VO with as similar as features as you can put together for your car (to make it easier, but it won't matter too much) and default code the CIC and COMBOX to work together properly in this "E90". Your CIC will no longer work properly in the car (an E60), but the combox and the CIC will work perfectly together (just, with the CIC coded for an E90...we're getting there!).
   1. This is similar to how you would default code any module, just instead of reading from the car's VO (F3), read it from the SSD file instead:
      1. How to read from an SSD file will go here (step 4.1.1)
   2. Code the COMBOX first, then the CIC.
      1. It's the same as 3.1, using 4.1.1 in place of 2.1, but with the Change Job (F2) step followed by Select SG_CODIEREN, instead of CODIERDATEN_LESEN.
5. In NCSEXPERT, still reading the VO from the SSD file (4.1.1 in place of 2.1), do a read of the codings (3.1) of both your CIC and COMBOX.
6. Now, using notepad++, open both the E60 and E90 CIC trace files, performing the following steps for each file:
   1. Press ctrl+f
   2. Click the replace tab
   3. Near bottom, in search mode select extended range (\n, \r, \t, \0, \x...).
   4. Make sure Wrap around is also selected
   5. For Find, enter \r\n\t
   6. For Replace, enter *
   7. Press ENTER
      This will cause all option values to go up onto the same level as the option keys, separated by an asterisk
   8. Select EDIT, then Line Operations, then Sort lines lexicographically ascending
      This will cause all options to go into alphabetical order
   9. Back in the find and replace window (Repeat steps 1-4):
      1. For Find, enter *
      2. For Replace, enter \r\n\t
   10. Press ENTER
       ​​​​This will cause all keys/options to display as normal, simply sorted alphabetically (you can code modules like this, with sorted MAN files!)
7. Now, spend some hours going back and forth between the E60 and E90 versions of the CIC trace file (as you did the aforementioned process to both), and change any E60 Keys that the E90 trace file also has for the CIC regarding the COMBOX, to match the values of the E90 trace file within the E60 trace file. Similarly, add any keys that the E90 has exclusive to the CIC for the COMBOX that doesn't exist in the E60 trace file - to the E60 trace file.
8. When you're confident that step 11 is done: rename the E60 trace file to FSW_PSW.MAN - and using NCSEXPERT in manipulation, but without an SSD file (so as an E60, reading from the VO [F3]): [[b]IMPORTANT] CODE ONLY THE CIC!!! DO NOT WRITE TO THE CAS NOR TO ANY OTHER MODULE, ONLY TO THE CIC!!!
9. Now, your CIC will work in your E60 again, and the coding/settings for the COMBOX and for the COMBOX in the CIC are correct so that the COMBOX will work as well.
10. Any time you default code your CIC from your VO, you'll need to rewrite the coding file you created back to your CIC. You won't ever have to worry about your COMBOX because your car doesn't know you have one - and never will. This is necessary because the coding the CIC will get by default will be for a CCC Navigation, and will never include a COMBOX (but rather a TCU/Mulf). The car doesn't need to know these settings for the CIC and COMBOX to work together properly - but the CIC does need them for them to work together properly. The gray area here is obviously that the COMBOX is leveraged through the CIC - NOT the car.
    

Here's a link to a video that explains how to use a SSD file:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16WO...2XSrMPQpH/view

The screenshot of user Vortex's post from bmwcoding.com is attached below, along with the files he's shared (E90 SSD, codings from E90 CIC/Combox, merged coding for E60 CIC that is paired with a E90 coded Combox).

I'm mid-process of coding my CIC/Combox. I've confirmed C1A firmware and am troubleshooting potential "glovebox" USB issues as the software patcher file on a thumbdrive doesn't seem to trigger a reboot. I'm guessing my China cable/port needs some tweaking - or I'm going to have to flash in expert mode to undo script activation or some already patched varient of the firmware (not likely, doesn't seem like it). When I finish I'll share my specific files, and post a link to my write-up that will detail the stuff that's hard to find or doesn't exist, while only referencing the stuff that is all over the internet, providing a nifty post I'd hope that doesn't just flood the net.

Hope this helps.



Screenshot of the bmwcoding.com post (website is down)