E46 cd radio bench testing

[XWGS]

Hi all ,

I need to repair 2 e46 head units, one is an early Blaupunkt and the other a Alpine, both have same type of rear connectors.

On the bench - do I just hook up power and speakers?
I have read that its not as simple as this and that the radio is somehow linked to the can bus.
Can I send some type of rs232 code to the radio or poll the radio to be active while I repair/test?

Any Advice?

cheers
Paul
Melbourne Aus

[Thaniel]

There is a bit of information in the comments of this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoEVNWlOVfo

"Regarding your question: No you don't really need the IKE to get the radio and the bus running. You only need a pullup-resistor for the busline (due to open collector architecture) and the message to tell the radio that there is an IKE. By doing this the "disabled" message disappears and you can use the radio as usual."

I haven't done it myself but it sounds possible.

Thaniel

[XWGS]

Thanks for that info Thaniel,
just to clarify..
A pull-up resistor Say 2k? From the bus pin to 12 volts? ( or maybe a greater resistance?)
Only asking cause I don't want to smoke up the radio ...
Thanks Again
Paul

[Thaniel]

The Kbus is a pulsed 12v signal and at idle (no signal) it is high (12V). So I do expect they mean to 12V as that would be up as opposed to ground which would pull the bus to zero. I haven't messed with a radio yet. Just been bench testing my IKE. I've grounded and hit the kbus line lots of times. I'm guessing that's what the resister is for. Keep from pulling too much current. (on the IKE it supplies the power so I don't have to do anything but listen to the bus :-) )

- - - Updated - - -

If you haven't read already the bus messages are sent is 9600 baud 8E1 format. And with the idle bus being high instead of low (which is more typical) you may have to invert the message. Either through hardware or software. Probably a lot more work then you are hoping for just to test the unit. But if you are up to it it is quite intersting stuff.

[XWGS]

Tried it Thaniel , I stuck a 100 k pot to pull up pin7 but still no joy..
tried it at different resistances just incase and still got the disabled message...

- - - Updated - - -

Ahh here is the thing I missed out on " and a message to tell the radio that there is an IKE"

The resistor is there obviously to tie the bus up to 12v and as you said earlier, you are sending ground pulses as data as the thing has an open collector input.

ok cool, now we are opening the next step of this.. I need to send an IKE message to the radio..

i guess I will need an interface from pc to radio

[Thaniel]

Yes. I got a radio myself today. It's much easier if you just get a Ike. Hook the k bus lines together (may still need the resister) and voila. Ike sends the messages and disabled goes away.

[gpeterson]

Not sure a message is required... I plugged an e46 radio into my e36 and it said disabled until I added a 10k pullup. The only other device on the bus is MFL. I didn't get out a scope yet to see what is going on, but I still can't use the radio on a bench, even with the pullup.

- - - Updated - - -

Hooked up a scope, saw lots of bus activity upon powerup. I hooked up a vagcom interface and logged this with navcoder:

Capture.PNG

Radio still showed "-DISABLE-". I hit Scan > Single Module in navcoder and selected radio. Disable message is gone, radio working now, so I guess it does need to see some bus traffic.

[harrimansat]

Hi all ,

I need to repair 2 e46 head units, one is an early Blaupunkt and the other a Alpine, both have same type of rear connectors.

On the bench - do I just hook up power and speakers?
I have read that its not as simple as this and that the radio is somehow linked to the can bus.
Can I send some type of rs232 code to the radio or poll the radio to be active while I repair/test?

Any Advice?

cheers
Paul
Melbourne Aus

Hi, any traffic on IBUS pint 7 will enable the radio.
Tested today

https://youtu.be/Ye6BSlrXkZc


Regards

[mbt28]

Hello,

I tried to connect ACC, Ground and B+, and connected to computer with a combintion of usb serial receiver and linbus tranceiver. But the radio just blinking the led and doesnt wake up? Should I send ibus messages to wake it up? Or my power is just not enough for its last position?

Thanks.

[Thaniel]

Did you try the "on" button (press the volume knob in). It should say "disabled" if power is supplied and it is turned on. Even if there is no Kbus signal at all.

[mbt28]

Did you try the "on" button (press the volume knob in). It should say "disabled" if power is supplied and it is turned on. Even if there is no Kbus signal at all.

Yes, just blinking at all. If I unplug 12+ switched blinking frequency decreases thats all, I dont understand why. It is a cd53.

Edit: I think there was a problem with the cables now it is working

Note: Arduino succesfully sends cd changer emulation signals, I checked it from usb serial adapter through pc. Also I tried with navcoder to send signals to head unit but it doesnt work. Something wrong with the linbus tranciever but I cannot figure out what it is.

[Wrussell458]

Yes, just blinking at all. If I unplug 12+ switched blinking frequency decreases thats all, I dont understand why. It is a cd53.

Edit: I think there was a problem with the cables now it is working

Note: Arduino succesfully sends cd changer emulation signals, I checked it from usb serial adapter through pc. Also I tried with navcoder to send signals to head unit but it doesnt work. Something wrong with the linbus tranciever but I cannot figure out what it is.

Wrussell458
I have the the same challenge to bench test the e46 business cd radio.
What pins to I connect the positive lead. I assume the negative is earth ground. Do I need to connect to other pins such as illumination? Do I need to connect a pulling resistor of a certain value and where?
Thanks, Bill
Clinton, CT

[BMWMdivision]

Yes. I got a radio myself today. It's much easier if you just get a Ike. Hook the k bus lines together (may still need the resister) and voila. Ike sends the messages and disabled goes away.

Thanks a lot for sharing all the knowledge Thaniel!! If I understand correctly, I only need the following things to bench test my e46 radio: 12v power supply, an e46 IKE, and maybe a resistor?