DIY Carplay/Android Auto Carsara Install and Setup Tips

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by Boston4

After I removed the CarPlay MMI and returned it to stock form this afternoon, normal functionality is back. Most of codes for the CAN system are gone but there are 15-20 that keep coming back after I clear them, related to the CAN network. This is down from almost 70 this morning. No symptoms aside from the stored codes though so hopefully they will clear out over the next couple days. Battery is from mid-2019 and reads 12.7v at the posts so I don’t think that’s a problem. Connectors in the MMI looked fine when I took it back apart (I’d used the quad lock and no iDrive connector) - no smoking gun, at least. I’m wondering if my box just failed.

Do you have a copy of ISTA available to run a more detailed diagnostic? If you are still getting that many codes after clearing them and the Carsara is disconnected it makes me think possibly something else is having issues and it's propagating across. With the box removed you shouldn't be seeing errors especially if you cleared the codes.

May be worth digging on the forums or posting the codes you're still getting to see if it's of any help narrowing down why they're still appearing.

I had my iDrive controller fail randomly in all of this (tied to a battery change), so it is possible some other part of the system is having issues or potentially failed from a shock during the installation.

[Boston4]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

Do you have a copy of ISTA available to run a more detailed diagnostic? If you are still getting that many codes after clearing them and the Carsara is disconnected it makes me think possibly something else is having issues and it's propagating across. With the box removed you shouldn't be seeing errors especially if you cleared the codes.

May be worth digging on the forums or posting the codes you're still getting to see if it's of any help narrowing down why they're still appearing.

I had my iDrive controller fail randomly in all of this (tied to a battery change), so it is possible some other part of the system is having issues or potentially failed from a shock during the installation.

I don't have ISTA - haven't needed it until now. The only thing that's still plugged in is the piggyback onto the factory mic, but I can't imagine that would have this effect, especially since the mic works when I connect my phone to the normal head unit bluetooth.

Here's the list:

00 Safety and information module (SIM)
C908: K-CAN COMMUNICATION: WIRED OPERATION

01 Safety and information module
C944: Bus line error - General

20 Tyre pressure control
D104: Error CAN single-wire operation

27 Comfort access
D2C4: K_CAN_Line_Failure

40 Car access system
D904: K_CAN_Leitungsfehler

41 Antitheft alarm system
D944: K-Can Physical error

56 Roof function centre
DE84: CAN bus CAN LOW error 0xDE84

56 Rain/driving lights sensor
DE84: CAN bus CAN LOW error 0xDE84

60 Instrument panel
E104: CAN LOW ERROR

61 Flexible bus interface
E147: CAN bus: short circuit

61 Combox emergency call
E147: CAN bus: short circuit

63 Headunit/radio
E1C4: K-CAN line fault

64 Park distance control
E204: Error location: CAN low, physical bus error

67 Controller
E2C4: Bus line fault CAN

6D Seat module, driver, rear
E444: K-CAN: Bus line fault

72 Basic body module
E584: Bus line fault K-CAN

78 Heating/air-conditioning control
E704: CAN-BUS. Physical bus error

[Boston4]

I'm curious to see if these will go away because htey don't appear to have any symptoms - the car starts and drives normally, the headunit works, comfort access works, PDC works, climate control works, wipers work, no lights on the dash.

[blk33]

Originally Posted by Boston4

I'm curious to see if these will go away because htey don't appear to have any symptoms - the car starts and drives normally, the headunit works, comfort access works, PDC works, climate control works, wipers work, no lights on the dash.

Hi,
I'm not sure which version of Carsara you have.
Mine was the updated Carsara without the Quadlock connector.
Make sure when you return everything back to normal you have ALL the Carsara cables disconnected. The updated Carsara taps into the power and canbus at the iDrive connector.
See post #536 for details of the connector and cables. My standard cable interfered with canbus before I did a cut and snip.

[Boston4]

Originally Posted by blk33

Hi,
I'm not sure which version of Carsara you have.
Mine was the updated Carsara without the Quadlock connector.
Make sure when you return everything back to normal you have ALL the Carsara cables disconnected. The updated Carsara taps into the power and canbus at the iDrive connector.
See post #536 for details of the connector and cables. My standard cable interfered with canbus before I did a cut and snip.

Mine's the original version - I believe it hits the canbus from the quadlock. Only thing that's still plugged in is the mic piggyback. I don't think this would be causing the issue, especially since hte mic works when I connect my phone to the factory bluetooth.

[2k328ci]

Hi all,

I have recently gotten a Wireless Carplay installed onto my e92 M3 with CIC and for the most part it works great and very responsive while looking completely OEM. I do however have a problem with the volume level of Siri or Navigation instructions vs. music. Siri or Nav instructions are much quieter than the music and couldn't figure out how to bring those levels up to match the music. When I turn up the volume while Siri speaks, it turns up the volume for everything so when the music returns, it is very loud. I've tried the volume controls inside the Carplay box interface as well as the CIC AUX volume setting and it just changes the volume globally. Has anyone encountered this problem at all?

(I have the Eztronics branded version but they are all similar)

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by 2k328ci

Hi all,

I have recently gotten a Wireless Carplay installed onto my e92 M3 with CIC and for the most part it works great and very responsive while looking completely OEM. I do however have a problem with the volume level of Siri or Navigation instructions vs. music. Siri or Nav instructions are much quieter than the music and couldn't figure out how to bring those levels up to match the music. When I turn up the volume while Siri speaks, it turns up the volume for everything so when the music returns, it is very loud. I've tried the volume controls inside the Carplay box interface as well as the CIC AUX volume setting and it just changes the volume globally. Has anyone encountered this problem at all?

(I have the Eztronics branded version but they are all similar)

The different units tend to have slightly different firmware. In the Carsara unit there is a volume setting for "Alter Volume" which controls the voice over pop ins.

[Boston4]

Update here -

The issue was diagnosed as a faulty RDC control module (tire pressure monitoring system), which was taking down the CAN bus and waking the car, causing 70+ errors across the modules and killing the battery. I don’t think it’s really possible to determine which component caused the failure - maybe the Carsara failed and affected the rest of the system, or maybe the RDC module failed and affected the Carsara. $600 to replace the failed module.

I suspect it was the former, since the screen didn’t work at all until the box was removed, and removing it caused the CAN errors across the rest of the system to change from the network being entirely unreachable to being intermittently unavailable. But who knows. Personally I’ll opt not to reinstall a system like this - my car has Bluetooth and a combox so I’ll go back to using a phone mount for navigation. Seems like I’m in the minority of people who have had issues of this nature so I’m guessing I just got unlucky.

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by Boston4

Update here -

The issue was diagnosed as a faulty RDC control module (tire pressure monitoring system), which was taking down the CAN bus and waking the car, causing 70+ errors across the modules and killing the battery. I don't think it's really possible to determine which component caused the failure - maybe the Carsara failed and affected the rest of the system, or maybe the RDC module failed and affected the Carsara. $600 to replace the failed module.

I suspect it was the former, since the screen didn't work at all until the box was removed, and removing it caused the CAN errors across the rest of the system to change from the network being entirely unreachable to being intermittently unavailable. But who knows. Personally I'll opt not to reinstall a system like this - my car has Bluetooth and a combox so I'll go back to using a phone mount for navigation. Seems like I'm in the minority of people who have had issues of this nature so I'm guessing I just got unlucky.

Hard to say. Modules in this car are known to just crap the bed. Lots of folks in other threads have reported similar issues with RDC randomly dying. The fact that the display didn't work could be related or caused by the module, but it could also just be based on the Carsara not having the same logic for error handling that other OEM modules might have.

Glad you were at least able to sort it out.

[2k328ci]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

The different units tend to have slightly different firmware. In the Carsara unit there is a volume setting for "Alter Volume" which controls the voice over pop ins.

Thanks, there's actually a Navi volume setting in the audio settings but changing that didn't seem to affect anything. I'm starting to wonder if its anything I have set on my iPhone volume settings while Siri or Nav is active. Haven driven it in a week or so due to snow but would try it next. After reading through 30+ pages of this thread now I see that my problem hasn't cropped up before.

[Tigamilla]

Does anyone in here have the mic splitter than comes with the Carsara box that they don't need? Please PM me and I'll happily pay for it! - thanks!

[Brasilcat]

Does anyone know what is the latest recommend unit to purchase? CARSARA, AIOCOAI or some other brand? I attempted to follow the original link and it's BO.
I'm looking to have the new screen unit with touch screen and CARplay and Android.
Most units on AliExpress say they are not wireless. Am i looking for the wrong units or in the wrong place?

Great thread btw!

[bugg]

Anybody know if we're able to push firmware updates to the Carsara box? My unit has recently had Google Maps intermittently crash during use. Unsure if it's a Carsara issue or just an older phone (Pixel 3) issue. The box has otherwise been flawless other than some slight input lag. Would like to install a touchscreen unit sometime in the future, but none of them have seemed like the correct solution yet.

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by bugg

Anybody know if we're able to push firmware updates to the Carsara box? My unit has recently had Google Maps intermittently crash during use. Unsure if it's a Carsara issue or just an older phone (Pixel 3) issue. The box has otherwise been flawless other than some slight input lag. Would like to install a touchscreen unit sometime in the future, but none of them have seemed like the correct solution yet.

For AA apps are all driven from your phone, if you experience crashing see if restarting your phone helps. Android will kill applications on it's own due to high memory usage, so if your phone is older and Google maps is trying to use too much RAM it might just kill it on it's own.

[mrvedit]

Originally Posted by bugg

Anybody know if we're able to push firmware updates to the Carsara box? My unit has recently had Google Maps intermittently crash during use. Unsure if it's a Carsara issue or just an older phone (Pixel 3) issue. The box has otherwise been flawless other than some slight input lag. Would like to install a touchscreen unit sometime in the future, but none of them have seemed like the correct solution yet.

Perhaps not your issue with an older phone, but Apple iOS 15.1 causes Google Maps and Waze to randomly lockup. The latest iOS 15.2.1 supposedly fixes this, but I find it is still not perfect.
For more information, check out these links:
https://www.iphonetricks.org/ios-15-...-and-messages/
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/a...es-179096.html

[KevinTorresm3]

Hey,

Thanks for the info, Getting ready to do mine.

[B8bydesign]

Been running my Carsara for a few months now and it's been great, only issue I'm having is I don't seen to have sound when using Waze or Google Maps. Is there a setting I might need to tweak to get sound from those apps?

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by B8bydesign

Been running my Carsara for a few months now and it's been great, only issue I'm having is I don't seen to have sound when using Waze or Google Maps. Is there a setting I might need to tweak to get sound from those apps?

The carsara should control that with the alter volume setting. If your Alter Volume isn't turned down, then double check the apps or phone volume aren't turned down or muted.

[bugg]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

For AA apps are all driven from your phone, if you experience crashing see if restarting your phone helps. Android will kill applications on it's own due to high memory usage, so if your phone is older and Google maps is trying to use too much RAM it might just kill it on it's own.

Very possible. I'm running a Pixel 3 (already low on RAM when it was new) and it's officially reached end of life now. Wireless AA has always been a huge battery drain on my phone as well (faster than the Induktiv wireless charger can charge). I did message Carsara on Aliexpress and got a firmware update from them. I've been running Waze with no crashes, but will have to try Google Maps again once my car's rod bearings are done.

My box was on SDK 25.0.0.5.6.0.0.0

Link for Firmware from Carsara here

Their quoted instructions:

System update steps
-Copy all the files to root directory of USB flash sticker
-Connect the USB flash sticker to USB cable of the box
-Enter the box system menu, click Setup menu
-Click software update, input code 2863 to enter
-Click system update, it pops to ask whether to update, click “√” to update
-Wait about 3 minutes for the update to finish, do not power off during update
-When update complete, the screen will return to original menu

Note - I don't know if these steps will work for everyone, or if they're specific to my firmware version. Best practice would be to message Carsara and check.

[vilord]

Originally Posted by bugg

I've been running Waze with no crashes, but will have to try Google Maps again once my car's rod bearings are done.

Have you noticed overall positives or negatives from the new firmware? I also got the firmware update files from carsara via aliexpress, but I don't have the usb cable hooked up to my box at the moment so I haven't tried loading it yet.

Biggest complaints before were:
- occasionally it would just randomly dump me out of android auto
- occasionally android auto doesn't "trigger", so it connects to bluetooth but doesn't do anything
- every time i start up, i have to go manually click the 'connect android auto' popup on the MMI... I don't have to do this with carplay, it just connects. (this is unrelated to the android setting on the phone, it's specific to the mmi and really irritating because if i don't click it fast enough, the popup vanishes and i have to go through a rigamarole of disconnecting/reconnecting/resetting/etc)

[cyman83]

Originally Posted by bugg

Very possible. I'm running a Pixel 3 (already low on RAM when it was new) and it's officially reached end of life now. Wireless AA has always been a huge battery drain on my phone as well (faster than the Induktiv wireless charger can charge). I did message Carsara on Aliexpress and got a firmware update from them. I've been running Waze with no crashes, but will have to try Google Maps again once my car's rod bearings are done.

My box was on SDK 25.0.0.5.6.0.0.0

Link for Firmware from Carsara here

Their quoted instructions:


Note - I don't know if these steps will work for everyone, or if they're specific to my firmware version. Best practice would be to message Carsara and check.

do you have updated link to the firmware? the link you posted seems to have expired.

[NitroBiz]

Anyone have a link to the latest Carsara unit on AliExpress?