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      08-19-2016, 01:03 PM   #1
baba louey
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Repair Manual and Diagnostic Software

I tried this post on my regional Canadian forum and didn't get any responses. Maybe the general forum will have some opinions.

My 2012 M3 just came off of warranty and I'm gearing up for doing maintenance and repairs myself. Most of the threads I've found are somewhat dated. Does any one have opinions and knowledge about any available repair manuals and/or diagnostic software. So far my searching has found a Chilton online manual service but it's only available in the States. With respect to diagnostics, I've found Autoenginuity, Bavarian Technic and BMWHAT. Any information or opinions would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

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      08-19-2016, 04:06 PM   #2
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Hey Baba, quite a few of us are using "Carly for BMW" (former BMWhat) these days. Believe this is one of the best tools for diagnostic at least for the money it cost. You can do a pile of stuff in addition such ad coding, engine parameter resd out etc.

Lots of info to search on the forum on this app.

Cheers
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      08-20-2016, 10:43 AM   #3
baba louey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Helmsman View Post
Hey Baba, quite a few of us are using "Carly for BMW" (former BMWhat) these days. Believe this is one of the best tools for diagnostic at least for the money it cost. You can do a pile of stuff in addition such ad coding, engine parameter resd out etc.

Lots of info to search on the forum on this app.

Cheers
Thanks. I'm used to using a PC for diagnostic software but I will investigate this smart phone app and compare it with the pc packages.

baba
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      08-20-2016, 02:29 PM   #4
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BMW Carly is only for coding features and the diagnostics are for kids. Buy yourself WinKFP, INPA, NCSExpert, Esys or something that uses a KD-can or Icom device. There is nothing you can't do with an Icom.
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      08-21-2016, 12:07 AM   #5
baba louey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrippy View Post
BMW Carly is only for coding features and the diagnostics are for kids. Buy yourself WinKFP, INPA, NCSExpert, Esys or something that uses a KD-can or Icom device. There is nothing you can't do with an Icom.
Thanks. I've not hear of those. I will check them out.

baba
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      08-21-2016, 01:56 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrippy View Post
BMW Carly is only for coding features and the diagnostics are for kids. Buy yourself WinKFP, INPA, NCSExpert, Esys or something that uses a KD-can or Icom device. There is nothing you can't do with an Icom.
What? Diagnostics are for kids? You are kidding me right?

@babba search for Carly here in the forum, since I bought myself this adapter I saved a truckload of money. All the mentioned devices by scrippy aren't the shelled out money worth it.
Check this out!
-> Thursday after work I recieved an call from an mech

Hey, we can't get access to an costumers car ( newer model )
We did the service but can't reset is, as our scanner is not recognizing thw modules
....he went on with....
would you P.L.E.A.S.E. be so kind and come by for a sec. the costumer seems to loose his patience.

I went there, freaking slapped my 40$ Carly adapter in the cars OBD2 port and fucking did a reset with it!

Thats what Carly is, a freaking monster that starts to dominate the world!
It is setting the right people in into thier place, so no harm, no ripoff, no lies, no willingly false diagnostics will be considered EVER anymore ! Let me put it in this words....

When I arrive to a shop, there is no :

"We need to check, erase the CEL and wait for another....
It's more like ...what did Carly say? This? Ok, clear...got it! You want me to order the part?

See? Complete game changer this Carly OBD2 thing is. ( yoda style )
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      08-21-2016, 02:22 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vsix
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrippy View Post
BMW Carly is only for coding features and the diagnostics are for kids. Buy yourself WinKFP, INPA, NCSExpert, Esys or something that uses a KD-can or Icom device. There is nothing you can't do with an Icom.
What? Diagnostics are for kids? You are kidding me right?

@babba search for Carly here in the forum, since I bought myself this adapter I saved a truckload of money. All the mentioned devices by scrippy aren't the shelled out money worth it.
Check this out!
-> Thursday after work I recieved an call from an mech

Hey, we can't get access to an costumers car ( newer model )
We did the service but can't reset is, as our scanner is not recognizing thw modules
....he went on with....
would you P.L.E.A.S.E. be so kind and come by for a sec. the costumer seems to loose his patience.

I went there, freaking slapped my 40$ Carly adapter in the cars OBD2 port and fucking did a reset with it!

Thats what Carly is, a freaking monster that starts to dominate the world!
It is setting the right people in into thier place, so no harm, no ripoff, no lies, no willingly false diagnostics will be considered EVER anymore ! Let me put it in this words....

When I arrive to a shop, there is no :

"We need to check, erase the CEL and wait for another....
It's more like ...what did Carly say? This? Ok, clear...got it! You want me to order the part?

See? Complete game changer this Carly OBD2 thing is. ( yoda style )
Carly is boot bro! It's a 1 trick pony. Get a cable and try and mess with the parameters of the cars modules. You would be surprised what the same ole hardware does with different commands put in. BTW I have Carly and paid for the app. The logging tools are nothing new. At best they are the most "compact" option with the "LEAST" control by the end user. Pick options but don't try new ones. Naaaaaah. I heard it qualifies one as a proper coder though.
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      08-21-2016, 03:47 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrippy View Post
Carly is boot bro! It's a 1 trick pony. Get a cable and try and mess with the parameters of the cars modules. You would be surprised what the same ole hardware does with different commands put in. BTW I have Carly and paid for the app. The logging tools are nothing new. At best they are the most "compact" option with the "LEAST" control by the end user. Pick options but don't try new ones. Naaaaaah. I heard it qualifies one as a proper coder though.
Your oppinion brother and thats ok. A billion others including me experienced completely the opposite from what you are talking about.
Again its cool to have your own oppinion, I like that.
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      08-21-2016, 04:00 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vsix
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrippy View Post
Carly is boot bro! It's a 1 trick pony. Get a cable and try and mess with the parameters of the cars modules. You would be surprised what the same ole hardware does with different commands put in. BTW I have Carly and paid for the app. The logging tools are nothing new. At best they are the most "compact" option with the "LEAST" control by the end user. Pick options but don't try new ones. Naaaaaah. I heard it qualifies one as a proper coder though.
Your oppinion brother and thats ok. A billion others including me experienced completely the opposite from what you talking about.
Again its cool to have your own oppinion, I like that.
Right on man, same to you. You are entitled to your opinion as well. I'm not trying to come off as a hater to Carly. I've totally messed up ECU's in my own cars going my route. If you used the methods I described instead of the Carly app you would understand. Can Carly change the name of your BMW's Bluetooth label for pairing? Can Carly enable 6VC? Can Carly hook up Internet? Can Carly let you PLAY AROUND WITH YOUR OWN CAR AND EXPERIMENT AT YOUR OWN RISK? No it can't. That's all I'm saying and nothing more. It's a SUPER clever app that does everything for you but lacks certain things that are already capable with older readily available cheaper options out there. I wish I was clever enough to develop this tool.
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      08-21-2016, 04:26 AM   #10
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Second skipping carly and buying a k+DKan cable and downloading genuine BMW programs. I paid $100 for the one stop electronics cable and use it with INPA, NCS Expert/Dummy, ISTA P, Rheingold, etc all downloaded for free. There is nothing related to coding, Programing or diagnosing that I can't do. I feel Carly whiLe great for basic coding and reading CEL codes is pretty limited in what it can do if you are used to laptop based programs stick with that.
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      08-21-2016, 01:00 PM   #11
baba louey
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I'm glad that this stimulated some current discussion. I am used to Ross-Tech Vag-Com software for my Audi A4. My expectations for the BMW software would be to be able to read and display all BMW fault codes for every module, be able to alter most "safe" parameters of those modules, and to record/display most sensor outputs so I can trouble shoot problems. My Ross-Tech software did all this and paid-out in a short period of time as I've diagnosed several faults such as a failing mass air flow sensor and a memory fault in the air bag module.

baba
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      08-21-2016, 01:15 PM   #12
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Then Baba just check out this link below and decide on your own.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=Carly
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      08-21-2016, 02:05 PM   #13
baba louey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vsix View Post
Then Baba just check out this link below and decide on your own.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=Carly
Thanks. It looks like I have a few options to evaluate. Now how about any ideas on a repair manual?
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      08-21-2016, 02:39 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by baba louey View Post
Thanks. It looks like I have a few options to evaluate. Now how about any ideas on a repair manual?
We have alot of knowledge in this forum represented by our ALWAYS helpful members along with our incredible DIY section. As for me I don't need an repair manual, I have my beloved forum and my highly respected helpful brothers and sisters on here ( you know who you are ).
This mixed with Carly is pure gold, correction diamond worthy information source to track down car related issues and finally repair them.
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      08-21-2016, 02:51 PM   #15
baba louey
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vsix View Post
We have alot of knowledge in this forum represented by our ALWAYS helpful members along with our incredible DIY section. As for me I don't need an repair manual, I have my beloved forum and my highly respected helpful brothers and sisters on here ( you know who you are ).
This mixed with Carly is pure gold, correction diamond worthy information source to track down car related issues and finally repair them.
I've owned many cars and have always found the various enthusiasts forums on the web to be the most helpful resources around. Still I've always had a service manual for all my cars and I will continue my search for one for my M3.

baba
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      08-22-2016, 09:58 AM   #16
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euautohaus.com. It's what I use. It's all the factory OE stuff
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      08-22-2016, 01:56 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by |||||||||| View Post
Second skipping carly and buying a k+DKan cable and downloading genuine BMW programs. I paid $100 for the one stop electronics cable and use it with INPA, NCS Expert/Dummy, ISTA P, Rheingold, etc all downloaded for free. There is nothing related to coding, Programing or diagnosing that I can't do. I feel Carly whiLe great for basic coding and reading CEL codes is pretty limited in what it can do if you are used to laptop based programs stick with that.
I got this same cable and paid $40 to PSSAutosoft for the genuine bmw GT1 diagnostic software. In hindsight, I could have probably gotten the GT1 software online somewhere for free. But the PSSAutosoft bundles the software with an installer and installation guide so I just went the easy route. The software is a little finicky and I have to restart it more than I like but I have always been able to read the bmw codes and follow up with the suggested in-program diagnostic tests the software has. For instance, I got a code for misfires on cylinder 3 and 6 and ran the spark duration test it suggested and was able to see that cylinder 6 had zero spark duration but cylinder was like .7ms like the rest. All it took was replacing the ignition coil on 6 to fix it. Without that follow up test, I would have replaced cylinder 3's coil unnecessarily.
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      08-22-2016, 02:19 PM   #18
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OP: IMHO Carly and the other phone apps are crutches for people who are unwilling or unable to learn how to use the BMW factory diagnostics and coding tools. It can never be as good as what the factory engineers created. A decent K+DCAN USB cable is cheaper than buying the Carly software and the required dongle. I paid ~$25 USD for mine a few years back. Recent work by nate14 and vmhelper00 at E90post has yielded the V3 virtual appliance which will allow you to skip the usual hours of work setting things up and hit the ground running with the factory tools. Check it out here: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1220039
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      08-22-2016, 06:58 PM   #19
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Thanks all for the varied opinions. This has really flushed out the available options. I am used to PC based programs. One of the best things that I diagnosed was a failing mass air flow sensor. The error from my A4 stated that the air/fuel (A/F) trim corrections had reached its upper limit and still couldn't make the optimal A/F ratio. I recorded mass air flow versus rpm for 1st and 2nd gear wide open throttle (WOT) runs and saw that the mass air flow was only 60-70% of specification. I bought a new MAF sensor, installed it, reran the WOT runs and what do you know! 100% spec. No more CEL. That's the kind of diagnostic capabilities that I'm looking for. However without my A4 Bentley shop manual, figuring out the answer would have taken a lot longer which is why I keep harping about trying to find a manual for the M3.

baba
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      08-23-2016, 01:13 AM   #20
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I've been looking for manuals as well. I appears that there are manual available on DVD on ebay for ~$10. I suspect these are just copies of old torrents burned to DVD. I haven't been able to find a valid torrent file for the manual.
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      08-23-2016, 01:36 PM   #21
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here you go chief, an free online version of the genuine BMW TIS for the e92 coupe.

http://workshop-manuals.com/bmw/3_se...als_e9x-m3-us/

Granted it's ad supported so it's a bit annoying but info is all there I think. If you want you can create a pdf for us all and link us, that would be sick haha
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      08-23-2016, 01:44 PM   #22
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Carly FTW.
One added plus is that you can send them your log data for support.
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