GT1 kits from China

LOL been back for a while, Just have less time been teaching alot of BMW training classes and the shops been realy busy!! Not to mention Snowmobile racing in the winter consumes alot of time.

Did you figure out what your gonna do?

I have been looking for a diagnostic kit as well. Carsoft looked promising. With the Peake tools, you need one for engine and one for airbags. The total cost of the Peake tools would make Carsoft look attractive. Carsoft appears to have programming capabilities as well.

If car to PC hardware interfacing parts are cheap and easily available and information on the interfacing protocol is available, I would have no trouble DIY program myself a diagnostics tool.

Don't get carsoft!!! Wait till I am done beta testing this other tool it will be much better.

Originally Posted by vI6ous

get a Bentley Manual and the Peake Tool. That combined with the knowledge base of this forum and your money...

Abso*uckinlootly!!! What he said ^

Definitely subscribing to this thread!!! Tools that carry functions like component activations, and reading faults from individual modules are very effective in diagnosing electrical problems in BMW's. Bus systems are used heavily and signal paths can go though many different modules.

I think I will buy a new "tire pressure control- RDC" unit, install it, and then take it to the dealer to recode. I haven't found a local mom and pop shop capable of recoding yet in the Central PA area.

Meanwhile I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on a pass thru kit to use with www.bmwtis.com

Also, does anyone know how long BWM will continue to update E46 documentation and software? If GT1 is about to be discontinued, but no significant updates for the E46 exist beyond GT1, then maybe GT1 would be ok?

Also, what is GT1 and DIS being replaced with? OPS and SSS?

I was thinking with GT1 being discontinued there might be some good deals on line soon.

And I am not interested in a basic diagnostic scanner. There are tons of threads about that. I am interested in being able to recode proprietary BMW auxiliary systems.

I just replaced the $260 "tire pressure control- RDC" unit per the dealers $150 diagnosis. My tire light still came on after 6 minutes of driving. So I brought it back to the dealer. They said it needed to be recoded. Yet after recoding they identify a tire pressure sensor in one of the wheels as being bad as well. So I ask them to replace that and then to put the old "tire pressure control-RDC" unit back in to verify that was in fact faulty. They replaced the bad tire pressure sensor, but refused to change out the new module for the old.

So i tell them to hold my paperwork, I go out to the car. Changed the control module out myself, recalibrated the tire pressure system, and after 25 minutes of driving the light remained off (Before I could only get it to stay off for 6 minutes tops). So THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY RDC CONTROL UNIT!

In their original diagnosis they found a fault on the RIGHT FRONT tire pressure sensor. So they swapped the front two tires, but then apparently forgot to recalibrate the system (required after tire rotation). So although the RIGHT FRONT tire is now moved to the LEFT FRONT, the tire pressure sensor ID is still assigned as being RIGHT FRONT. So they assumed the control module's right front channel was faulty, when in fact it was the tire pressure module assigned as RIGHT FRONT that was faulty.

So now i have a brand new RDC control unit that I cannot return because it is an electronics item from ECS Tuning. And worse yet, after research from BERU, the company that manufactures the system for BMW, I don't believe the "tire pressure control-RDC" unit needed to be coded in the first place. A simple press of the tire recalibration button is all that is needed.

See the last condition on item 8
http://www.beru.com/download/produkt...tung_tss_e.pdf

See page 12 for recalibration
http://www.beru.com/download/produkt...rung_tss_e.pdf

Furious, I was able to get BMW to cover all additional labor to get the system working for free, but they still wouldn't admit to the faulty diagnosis. I just wish there was some indication on the dash as to the status of each tire pressure sensor. I would be able to diagnose the faulty tire myself that way. Unfortunately, GT1 is the only program I know of currently, that can give a live read out of battery life, temperature, pressure, and communications status of each tire pressure sensor. Had the car been a 7 series, I'ld be able to get a live readout on the I-drive display.

Bottom line, Dealers do not see very many E46 cars with the RDC tire pressure system, and as such, take a long time to diagnose the system, and then often get it wrong.