MINI Cooper S (Supercharged) - Connecting the std ECU to DL1

[GMS Racing]

I am considering converting a MINI Cooper S (R53 model year 2004) into a track car and want to install a DL1 and Dash 2. Has anyone connected these to the standard ECU using the CAN or serial interface connector cables?

[Jove]

We have just fitted this to our R53 Cooper S 2004 road / track car

We found the pulse for the RPM wasn't sending right from the CAN so we plugged in to the OBD (white / red) and eveything thing is working fine.

We are going to go through the CAN data and see what is available this is going to take time though.

[GMS Racing]

Wow, great news. I can assist with the ECU data that's available.

http://www.aim-sportline.com/download/e ... 00_eng.pdf

Connection is just 2 wires and you dont even need a special cable.


RT Support,

I am in no way advocating AIM, it is far more expensive and the software leaves A LOT to be desired. It's just a pity that this information is not available from RT. All we need now is to know the protocol set-up and we will all be happy.

[Jove]

Thanks.

We just need to configure the RT CAN interface so DL / D2 picks up the data. It would be nice if the fuel level was in the CAN.

We checked the fuel sender and it required the main speedo to be connected for it to work

[GMS Racing]

CAN-bus

According to my most recent info the CAN bus is a twisted pair of wires yellow/brown - can low, yellow/black can high.
Locations - instrument panel left hand black connector or kickwell next to fuse box 26 pin connector.

I also found this article on the web, of note is the part about the CAN bus requiring termination which is done at the ECU AND the Instrument Cluster. so Disconnecting the Instrument cluster will cause problems because of no termination. This might be the problem that you have.

There is a BUS in my MINI

Posted by murmini on 02 November 2006.

Traditionally, for every electrical device in a car, the manufacturer ran a wire from a power source, via a fuse and then a switch, to the device and then to ground. When you turned the switch on and the device was energized. With the complexity of the modern car, the system soon became fraught with the possibility of failure. Advances in the computer industry have brought new technology to the automobile engineer and we are seeing more addressable network-based systems than ever before.
The electrical systems in the MINI are connected via a vehicle-specific wiring harness relative to the options that were factory installed. In addition there is a wiring harness within each door and a dashboard harness, again subject to the specified factory options. That describes the physical wiring within the car, but of a much more complex nature is the signal-specific connectivity that manages a host of systems and operations. These various signals travel over wires within the wiring harness and are digital in nature. They 'carry' information back and forth between sensors and devices and assist in much of the running of the car's systems, frequently unbeknown to the driver. These signal paths are know as 'buses' - a term from the computer industry that refers to data paths that connect the various parts of the computer together. Every bus carries signals or messages that consists of 'data,' 'control' and 'address' parts. When a command is sent out along a bus, the other devices ignore it as it is not addressed to them, however, when the data package arrives at the specified device, it does as it is commanded. The bus can also handle two way information so the remote device is capable of sending information back to the controller.

The MINI has a number of interconnecting bus systems: the K-bus, I-bus, CAN-bus, D-bus and the DS2-bus:
The K-Bus (from its German name Karosserie - meaning body) is the bus that permits messaging between various parts of the car and is what they call 'event driven'. Different things are given different priority on this bus, meaning some messages are given preferential treatment over others. The K-bus is a single white/red/yellow wire, and is a fairly slow bus - running at only a few kilobits per second and connects such items as the sun roof module, rains sensor (for rain sensing wipers where fitted), wiper interval control, headlight aiming controls (for Xenons), multi-function steering wheel, electronic drive-away protection (key and security systems), run flat monitor, multiple restraint system and the general (body control) module. The climate control also uses this bus along with other lighting and general body function items. These items can 'chat' back and forth with the general module using this bus, with obvious priority being given to items involving safety over say the entertainment system. The general module also communicates with the instrument cluster to pass information to the driver. This general module has the highest priority on this bus and its messages 'outrank' any others. All devices on this bus receive all the messages but as each message has an address header, they only respond to commands sent to them. This bus is designed as a 'tree structure' with each module having its own branch. This is so that a failed module on the bus, will not prevent a message getting to another module.

The I-bus is a subset or secondary K-bus and connects such devices as park distance controller, radio, CD player, digital signal processor and navigation system to the General Body Module. These buses comply with an international standard called ISO 9141 so that third party manufactures providing many parts to many OEMs can interchange parts.
The D-bus and the DS2-bus are serial diagnostic buses that allow both internal and external diagnostics to take place. The D-bus allows emission-related components to communicate with the on board diagnostic systems. These include the engine management module (ECU) the hydraulic power steering system and the ABS (anti-skid brakes), DSC and ASC (stability) systems. The DS2-bus connect non-emission related modules such as the steering angle sensor and the instrument cluster and subsequently allow data to be passed back and forth with the K-bus. Both of these diagnostic buses are connected to the OBDII diagnostic connector in the drivers foot well and allow the service department at your MINI dealership to look into the inner workings and see error and fault codes. Actually, the OBD is established as an ISO 9141 standard thus allowing repair shop diagnostic equipment to be useful across multiple manufacturer's vehicles. This bus also carries diagnostic information that it can share with other buses.

The CAN or Controller Area Network bus, is the fastest data speed bus in the vehicle and manages such things as engine management, ASC and DSC stability control systems and, where applicable, the automatic transmission. It is a serial data bus and employs twisted pair wires, yellow/black and yellow/brown. The high-speed nature of this demands specific wiring requirements, with termination requirements at both the ECU and the instrument cluster and no spur exceeding 1 meter. The use of twisted pair is very important to eliminate electromagnetic interference. It runs directly between the instrument cluster and the engine control module with three shorter network 'spurs' running off it to the steering sensor, the ABS/ASC/DSC module and if present, the automatic transmission control module. The CAN bus is a very versatile serial data bus system with multi-master capabilities, that is, all CAN nodes are able to transmit data and several CAN nodes can request the bus simultaneously. This is a fault-tolerant network and must work flawlessly in a very hostile electrical environment. The CAN vehicle bus used on the MINI was developed by BOSCH and is a remarkable piece of network engineering.
So there you have it... not one but five buses in the MINI. Of course, much of the MINI bus technology comes with the heritage of BMW and the E-46 3-series models 1999 - 2005. Another reason to appreciate just what BMW brings to the MINI.

[Jove]

Some videos for you to drool over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3MC7IzPPZc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY3xheFT0bY

[GMS Racing]

OK, that's a good start, you say that you are picking up RPM from the ODBII now we need to find a way to get RPM and the other sensor info from the CAN. I have done more investigation and found that the bus has to be teminated with a 120 Ohm resistor at either end. Since the ECU is retained then this end will be terminated. However, removing the instrument cluster will mean that a 120 Ohm resistor (nominal 1/2 Watt, 2% of 5%) will be required to stop signal reflection.



Drool over these!!

[Jove]

Send the girls over they can join our team :p

Thanks for the help I'll give that a try.

[GMS Racing]

I've been trawling the Internet these past several days and have basically got nowhere. It appears that BMW use the KWP2000 protocol but I cannot find any further information.

In the CAN Adapter Configuration Utility RT make mention that they can assist with the setup and that (in most cases) this will be chargeable. Since the very thought of having to pay extra goes against my idea of buying a completely useable product out of the box, it looks like I will be buying the AIM MXL for my new race car as this comes with the BMW MINI protocol embedded as standard and ALL 21 MINI parameters can be displayed and logged. BTW, the AIM lists 15 manufacturer's (most models ECU's) and 45 race ECU's (several per manufacturer) available as a simple selection in the software. If one is not there then they will get it, that's service.

I'm sorry if this is seen as being disloyal (I have installed RT kit in several race cars, and I am busy right now with a new DL1 / Dash 2 install in a Golf Mk. 1 [no CAN Bus thank goodness]) it really seems that RT want to be in the logging and display market but is not willing and/or able to support their products.

Now I have a DL1 Mk.1 and nowhere to use it!!

[Jove]

The problem is decoding and working out what each message is.

It' also depends which MINI you have as the preface doesn't have all the message set that the face-lift MINIs have and to make things even more interesting the R56 is a whole different engine & ECU. I might get in touch with RT to help me out on this one.

As for whether the ECU interface works I've not even got that far yet.

[Support]

Hi All,

Have you even asked us about this directly yet? It might be that we can help you... with regards whether it is chargeable or not depends on whether we think that other users will want to use it. If we feel it is of general use then we do it FOC, if we think that there will be no on-going demand we reserve the right to make it chargeable; i.e. outside of the normal free support.

Just email over the information that you have to andrew@race.... and I'll have a look to see what we can do.

Kind regards,

Andy

[Jove]

Thanks Andy

I haven't ask because I'm in unknown territory and to be honest i'm still learning about the MINI CAN system everyday.

I'll email what I have later this week.

[GMS Racing]

Andy,

Support has rarely been on the forum lately and as per your post in another thread I have escalated it on the forum hoping that someone else had done it and also escalated it to the South Arican distributor who was in the UK a couple of weeks ago and said he would raise it with you while at RT. I did not even consider contacting you - sorry.

Basically all of the info that I have is contained in this thread (not much, I know). I have spent days on the internet trying to get info, but to no avail. Either a person needs a contact at BMW or some form of device that can interrogate the CAN Bus.

From what I can see there are at least three RT users trying to find a solution, not sure if that's enough. Maybe we could split the cost between us?

[GMS Racing]

Andy,

I have more info that is not in this thread.

These are the sensors available on the MINI CAN bus:

ECU_1 RPM RPM
ECU_2 SPEED_BMW Vehicle speed
ECU_3 PEDAL_POSITION Throttle position
ECU_4 BREAK_SWITCH Brake switch on/off
ECU_5 BREAK_PRESSURE Brake pressure
ECU_6 CLUTCH_SWITCH Clutch switch on/off
ECU_7 STEER_ANGLE Steering angle
ECU_8 WATER_TEMP Water temperature
ECU_9 ENGINE_OIL_TEMP Oil temperature
ECU_10 GEAR_BOX_OIL_TEMP Gearbox oil temperature
ECU_11 TEMP_OUTSIDE Intake air temperature
ECU_12 FUEL Fuel level
ECU_13 RPM_TURBO Booster rpm
ECU_14 ENGINE_MOMENT Torque value (%)
ECU_15 TORQUE Torque value
ECU_16 ELECTROVALVE_STATE Electro valve state
ECU_17 FULL_LOAD_ALTERNATOR Alternator load
ECU_18 WHEEL_SPEED_FRONT_LEFT Vehicle speed – front left wheel
ECU_19 WHEEL_SPEED_FRONT_RIGHT Vehicle speed – front right wheel
ECU_20 WHEEL_SPEED_REAR_LEFT Vehicle speed – rear left wheel
ECU_21 WHEEL_SPEED_REAR_RIGHT Vehicle speed – rear right wheel

Some really useful data

[GMS Racing]

Well, heard nothing more from Support