I know there are a number of these walkthroughs around various bimmer forums, but I still had a hell of a time working this out, so one more will be useful to someone, I'm sure, especially for us Z folks to have one specifically with the Z in mind. This guide should serve all E85/86 Z's, with only some minor modification for other chassis needed.
Note: With coding, all E85/E86 Z4 models are under the “E85” chassis. I will refer to E85 moving forward, but the instructions apply to any E85/E86 variant. For other cars, make sure you select the corresponding chassis code.
Post 1 of 3: Cable/Software Requirements
I will provide information for what I have CONFIRMED and VERIFIED has worked for me to code my 2007 USDM Z4M coupe using a Win7 laptop. This does not mean these choices will be guaranteed to work for you with your PC and/or vehicle.
Cable
- I bought the cable from - Website gets blocked. Google bimmer$0ftw4re but replace the characters with the appropriate letters.
- I bridged pins 7 and 8.
- Windows automatically downloaded drivers when I inserted the cable into the USB port. Your mileage may vary here - you will need your PC to recognize the cable as an OBD interface.
- Set the cable to COM1 with a Latency Timer of 1 in Device Manager.
NOTE: MAKE SURE TO ALWAYS USE THE SAME USB PORT. If not, make sure to set the USB port being used to COM1 and Latency Timer=1 for each new USB port that you plug into.
NOTE: I do not know if you MUST bridge the pins with this cable. I bridged the pins a couple of years ago when I could not connect with my vehicle (root cause: bad software download) and was trying to rule things out. Once I got good software, it worked with the pins bridged. I am not going to spend the time to un-bridge the pins just to see whether they MUST be bridged.
Other CONFIRMED cables:
1.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - Must bridge pins 7+8
2.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - There is a switch built in, set it all the way to the right.
Other seemingly venerated cable sources:
1.
https://www.bimmergeeks.net/store - since these guys provide legit software download, seems like a great option
2.
Cable-shack.co.uk
Software
https://www.bimmergeeks.net/downloads
1.) Download the Standard Tools file.
2.) Unpack the folder using winrar or similar.
3.) Open “Install Instructions.txt” and follow all steps exactly.
4.) Download the NCSDummy Profile for NCSEXPERT. Download the correct profile based on your version of NCSExpert:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-of-NCS-Expert
5.) Unpack the file using winrar or similar.
6.) Place the file into the C:/NCSEXPER/PFL folder
7.) Either run NCSDummy or Navigate to the C:/NCSEXPER/WORK folder and (if not existing) create a new empty text file named FSW_PSW.MAN
NOTE: Additional details around steps 4-7 provided in revtor’s guide, page 32. (revtor's guide is introduced in Post 2 of 3: Coding)
NOTE: All download sources, including bimmergeeks, provide a separate download for daten. When I installed the Standard Tools from bimmergeeks, daten were already there. I compared these existing daten files with the daten download they have for the E85 chassis, and they looked identical (same # of files, same sizes, same dates, etc.) in the important folders. So I did NOT change the daten files – I left them as they were after installation. This may result in outdated daten with other chassis, or even with the E85 over time, but what I can CONFIRM and VERIFY works with the E85 chassis is to simply use the daten that are available after installation (and not download or use different daten files).
NOTE: NCSDummy will be outdated, but I did not update it because it worked. The updates made between this current version and the latest were inconsequential to me. If you want the latest version, it is available here:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...-of-NCS-Expert
Let’s see if we can connect to the car now.
1.) Plug in your cable to your PC.
2.) Plug in your cable to the car’s OBD2 port. Leave the ignition off.
3.) Open INPA on your PC. INPA should show "cable" with a black dot, and should show "ignition" with a white dot.
4.) Turn the key in the car to acc (II) position. INPA should now show "ignition" with a black dot.
If not, you have a communication problem between the car and the PC – time to troubleshoot the software, computer settings, and/or cable.