If its not one thing its another...

[projectbimmers]

So I thought I was on to something once I ordered the K-Dcan cable and BMW software for diag and coding.

The cable was working for like 3 days then all of a sudden it wouldnt communicate with the vehicle any longer. In hindsight I do remember, each time at first when i was using the cable to connect with the car via 20pin to 16pin BMW diagnostic harness I had to wiggle the harness a bit before it recognized ign.

Once the cable stopped working I went through a tedious amount of troubleshooting. Had me quite discouraged for a while because this is all very new to me. Kdcan cables and configuring port settings and latency and FTDI drivers etc etc thats all necessary for this level of vehicle communication through software.

Mind you the hardware was very inexpensive and the software was free to download and install from the internet. At ur own risk of course. Being of the fearless DIY nature I decided to try my hand at all this. So far so good up until the cord crapped out.

My plan was to perform an EWS DME sync. That should sort my crank no start issue out. The procedure should be able to be performed with the software I have. If I can get the damn thing to work again.

I am now left to think the 20 pin harness is at fault. I'm not 100% sure and I dont just like replacing parts to fix issues. I just dont know what else to think at this point.

 

[obi_waynne]

Can you get a replacement sent? It sounds like it wasn't fit for purpose from the outset. I know most countries have distance selling regulations and consumer protection that allows you to get a refund/replacment of faulty goods, or goods that fail shortly after purchase.

 

[projectbimmers]

Can you get a replacement sent? It sounds like it wasn't fit for purpose from the outset. I know most countries have distance selling regulations and consumer protection that allows you to get a refund/replacment of faulty goods, or goods that fail shortly after purchase.

Ehhhhh. for an 11 dollar piece I'm not even goin to go through th trouble of gettin a refund. I will just order one today from elsewhere and just dissect the one I have here to see if I can find out what the issue with it. I suspect the tiny wiring they used inside. Soldering looked shotty. Perhaps a rewiring internally with proper connectors will fix the current flow. I'd use it as a spare harness if it works.

 

[projectbimmers]

This is the piece I'm referring to.

 

[projectbimmers]

Ok so I got to the bottom of the problem. I am a very good trouble shooter so I didnt want to just say for sure that the 20pin harness was the fault without a proper round of troubleshooting. It's a good thing I did because the problem wasnt the 20 pin after all. The K-Dcan cable ended up being the fault. The damn thing was wired backwards internally. The mother board was upside down. I cant make this stuff up guys.

Made for great trouble shooting content.