[nate16]

I have just successfully downgraded a car that was i-level 2016 updated at BMW. The DME was updated to 98g1b so the user could not marry their COBB AP. I will be posting instructions shortly on how to downgrade 98G1B to 98G0B including PPK for users that need to revert to older firmware! This was performed on a MEVD172 ECU N55 e92. Tools needed are, my VM of coding tools or a BMW Standard tools setup with SP-Daten v55 or one that contains zsub 8639128 and of course a K+DCAN cable!

I know this has been a grey area of knowledge as of recently in the BMW community. Good new is, it is possible, and instructions are to come shortly!

-Nate

This knowledge has been compiled from my own experience and from some great info posted by 808AWD325xi

Sorry this took so long for me to post!

This method is the downgrade from 98g1b to 98g0b with PPK for MEVD17 ECU. I will explain breifly how to downgrade other ZSUBS but you will need to know the ZSUB you are trying to downgrade to. HansWurst has a great spreadsheet containing most of the PPK zsubs at revision 98g0b!



1) Download my VM tools image or have a setup of BMW Standard tools with SP-Daten V55 for e89 already loaded into WinKFP.
2) Go to C:\EC-Apps\NFS\DATA\DEVELOP and delete all the contents. If you do not have a DEVELOP folder in DATA, create one.
3) Find your ECU type. For this guide we will be using MEVD17.
4) Go to the C:\EC-Apps\DATA\MEVD17 folder. This folder will change depending on your ecu.
5) Open the MEVD172.DAT file in Notepad. Again, this file will change depending on ecu type.
6) Find the line in this file that starts with your targeted zsub. In this case, we will be targeting 8639128 for e92 335xi with MEVD172 ecu.

6a) Here is that line in our dat file:

8639128,0000000,8618483,A,8639129DA,0FFFFFFFFFD,00 0,1 3

Seperated by commas, the first # is your program number. 2nd # is hardware number, 3rd # is 0pa number, 4th # is 0da number. So in our case, here is our data:

program number (zsub): 8639128
hardware number :
0pa number : 8618483
0da number : 8639129DA

7) Back in our MEVD17 folder, we need to find our 0da and 0pa that match these numbers and copy them to our DEVELOP folder we made before. In our case, these files are: 8618483A.0pa and B8639129.0da -- Copy both of these files to the DEVELOP folder.

8) Naviate to C:\EC-Apps\NFS\CFGDAT and open Coapi.ini with Notepad.
9) Change the lines for ZBNUMBER and SWNUMBER to both equal the program number.
ex:
ZBNUMBER = 8639128
SWNUMBER = 8639128
10) Save and close Coapi.ini
11) Load WinKFP and click configuration.
12) Configure WinKFP as shown.

13) Plug K+DCAN into car and leave car connected to charger in the on position with engine off.
14) Click comfort mode and enter your target ZSUB. In this case 8639128.
15) Press OK to default options.
16) Select Enter VIN
17) Enter VIN, press ok, then press Done.
18) Look at WinKFP and take note of the ECU address, PABD, and P-SGBD that show up. In our case, the ECU address is 12, the PABD is 05MEVD172.ipo and the P-SGBD is 05MEVD172.prg
19) Exit WinKFP.
20) Reopen WinKFP and select comfort mode.
21) Enter target ZSUB, in our case 8639128 and press ok, press ok to select default options
22) Select Done, click cancel to the VIN box when it pops up. Don't worry, we'll add that part soon.
23) Select Expert Mode.
24) Select PABD and choose our recorded PABD we found earlier. In our case, 05MEVD172.ipo
25) Select P-SGBD and choose our recorded P-SGBD we found earlier. In our case, 05MEVD172.prg
26) Select ECU Address and enter the address we found earlier. In our case, 12
27) Select Program File. We should see our 0pa as the only option here. In our case, 8618483A.0pa
28) Select Data File. We should see our 0da as the only option here. In our case, B8639129.0da
29) Select Done.
30) Select Prog Program and enter your full VIN number when it comes up.
31) Your car should start programming. Wait until it completes. Then select Prog Data and the second pass should complete.
32) Step 31 is a little undocumented here as my downgrade ran into an issue where WinKFP crashed at Prog Program after 100%. However, after this, I was able to go into WinKFP configuration and select force program in comfort mode. Then flash 8639128 in comfort mode and the downgrade then was complete once that finished.

[vmhelper00]

[mar778c]

Waiting to hear this as well. My car was zapped in December. So, I definitely want to get this resolved.

[hz_diesel]

Nate did my car two days ago. I was down in the dumps for two weeks trying to figure out what to do.

+1

[nate16]

Sorry guys, I promise this is coming today!

[houtan]

Thanks for the info.

Do you have to move the items manually to the develop folder?

Reason why I ask is When I flashed the ppk I just used the settings in the alpina flash diy and everything worked. Is that because I am using a newer version of winkfp?

[nate16]

Originally Posted by houtan

Thanks for the info.

Do you have to move the items manually to the develop folder?

Reason why I ask is When I flashed the ppk I just used the settings in the alpina flash diy and everything worked. Is that because I am using a newer version of winkfp?

Yes, In order to use expert mode, you need to manually move the program and data files to the develop folder. If you follow the directions it should explain itself. This is only useful if you need to downgrade, for any other purpose, comfort mode should work just fine!

-Nate

[houtan]

Thanks Nate. I understand the instructions, they are written well. I did use comfort mode when I flashed the ppk, but I was on 98g0b already. Will comfort mode work to flash back from 98g1b to 98g0b?

[nate16]

Originally Posted by houtan

Thanks Nate. I understand the instructions, they are written well. I did use comfort mode when I flashed the ppk, but I was on 98g0b already. Will comfort mode work to flash back from 98g1b to 98g0b?

No it will not. If you flashed a PPK that was revision 98g1b zsub 8666666 I think, you will need to use expert mode to flash back to a 98g0b ppk. You can try comfort mode first but it will most likely error out.

[Levanime]

where do you check which ECU is it (MEVD) and if it is 98G1B or 98G0B?

[wildcatcrazy]

Originally Posted by Levanime

where do you check which ECU is it (MEVD) and if it is 98G1B or 98G0B?

3 ways, go realoem.com and enter last 7 of vin and browse to Engine Electronics.

Use INPA to see which ZB you currently have, then enter that number in WinKFP using comfort mode (note the ECU family it selects.

If your car has a N55 and is 02/2012 or older, then you have a MEVD17.

[Levanime]

thanks,

and how do u know if it is upgraded to 98G1B or not?

[hz_diesel]

Originally Posted by Levanime

thanks,

and how do u know if it is upgraded to 98G1B or not?

Your cobb will tell you that it doesn't recognize the car. If you don't have a cobb then its nothing to worry about. You also plug in the cable and check the zsub

[808AWD325xi]

Originally Posted by nate16

I have just successfully downgraded a car that was i-level 2016 updated at BMW. The DME was updated to 98g1b so the user could not marry their COBB AP. I will be posting instructions shortly on how to downgrade 98G1B to 98G0B including PPK for users that need to revert to older firmware! This was performed on a MEVD172 ECU N55 e92. Tools needed are, my VM of coding tools or a BMW Standard tools setup with SP-Daten v55 or one that contains zsub 8639128 and of course a K+DCAN cable!

I know this has been a grey area of knowledge as of recently in the BMW community. Good new is, it is possible, and instructions are to come shortly!

-Nate

Thanks for confirming the procedure.

With the exception of step 32, this is just a rehash of the document I posted to the PPK thread on N54tech:
http://file.maron.edoblog.net/9d5b2405.pdf

Originally Posted by Levanime

thanks,

and how do u know if it is upgraded to 98G1B or not?

The simplest way is to display the UIF (User Information Field) data for all installed modules with INPA...E90 -> Select E90 -> Functional Jobs -> <F3> User information field:


Take note of the ZB number for the DME. Each ZB number is comprised of a program data set file (*.0pa) and a data data set file (*.0da). You can determine which data sets correspond to which ZB numbers by entries in the [ECU Family].DAT file.

For example, here is an excerpt from the MEVD17.DAT file:

$ PS10INIT N00000000000000000000000020000000000000 D
$ VERSIONKFCONF: kfconf10.dat
;Zusbauvorschrift vom 26.02.2013 15:27
;SG-TYP: MEVD17
;ZB-NR  TYP-NR  HW-NR  IX SW-NR     AM          PIN S CS
8615778,7586143,8618483,A,8615777DA,0FFFFFFFFFD,000,1 F

We see that ZB number 8615778 is comprised of program data set 8618483A.0pa and data data set B8615777.0da. Open the .0da file and examine the data reference (ZL_REFERENZ).

Here is an excerpt from the B8615777.0da file:

;==========================================
;Austausch-Datei
;==========================================
;
;;ZL_System:        MEVD17.2
;;ZL_Projekt:       N55 BN2000
;;ZL_REFERENZ:      008798098G0BQFP2S
;
;==========================================
;Freigabe     B M W  A G  Muenchen
;==========================================
;
;;K_Stand:          
;;K_File-Name:      B8615777.0da

The secret decoder ring for the data reference is as follows:

ECU identifier: 008
Project: 79809
Program version: 8G0B
Data version: QFP2S

This is the data reference from ZB number 8664428:

;==========================================
;Austausch-Datei
;==========================================
;
;;ZL_System:        MEVD17.2
;;ZL_Projekt:       N55 BN2000
;;ZL_REFERENZ:      008798098G1BQFP6S
;
;==========================================
;Freigabe     B M W  A G  Muenchen
;==========================================
;
;;K_Stand:          
;;K_File-Name:      B8664427.0da

The program and data versions differ, 8G0B vs. 8G1B and QFP2S vs. QFP6S respectively.

[nate16]

Yup 808AWD325xi I used some of the knowledge you posted over there to complete the downgrade! Just wanted to make it more targeted to the specific issue people were experiencing with the 9g0b and 9g1b revisions. I will update the OP to give you credit for much of the knowledge! I'm sorry I didn't in the first place, I wrote it super quickly!

-Nate

[Levanime]

thank you very much!

[suspecte90]

I live in CT ..Can someone dO this for me either in person or remotely? I'm willing to pay..please pm me if u can.

[COBB Tuning]

The new 98g1b ROM is now supported: http://www.cobbtuning.com/bmw-n55-ne...now-available/

Kyle@COBB

[sd306]

Originally Posted by COBB Tuning

The new 98g1b ROM is now supported: http://www.cobbtuning.com/bmw-n55-ne...now-available/

Kyle@COBB

Thank you!!!!

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

This needs a bump! This is so helpful for users who want to flash a known zb nbr of the PPK, but their current an nbr is higher. Thank you!!!

[sd306]

Originally Posted by Welcome to NBA Jam

This needs a bump! This is so helpful for users who want to flash a known zb nbr of the PPK, but their current an nbr is higher. Thank you!!!

I attempted and had issues. I had to have Joe@TopGearSolutions downgrade for me. I did alpina and many other things myself. Maybe I just had the wrong tools or sp daten.