ISTA Install Help

[121gwats]

I'm kind of a putz when it comes to PCs (Mac guy) and I've never done any car programming before. I've searched for a while on precise directions for an i3 and haven't found a lot. I've found plenty for other models of BMWs. Anyone willing to help me out? I'm sure I'll have follow up Qs.

- Do I need an ICOM?
-Which version of ISTA do I need for a battery reset? It looks like there are many versions.
-Can it run on Windows 8?
-If I get a laptop below min spec will it work? Im buying a PC just to do this, so it'll most likely be a used old crappy PC.
-Hard drive space is around 200gb, correct? Can I use an external?

I did a search on this forum, couldn't find what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

 

[MagicCarpet]

Hi,
I had the same sort of trouble getting accurate and useful to BMWi info
You might want to start with E-sys - instructions here https://www.bmwblog.com/2014/10/11/coding-tutorial-bmw-i3-electric-car/
The general BMW sites dont seem to be helpful but software for F30 seems close enough to work with i3
https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=175
http://www.bmwcoding.com/forum.php

From what I read you wont need ICOM for ISTA

I got an ethernet to OBD2 cable from Ebay and ran E-sys with tokenmaster within a VMware VM on a Dell 780 PC
The VM is to do with keeping the date from expiring when you start a new session as the token was set that way there is a lot of BS about this

I think you can setup the battery in E-Sys; I have nervously done the radio coding to enable AM, turned off the seat belt warnings
The amount of settings available for lighting - DRL and halo lights - is too much for me to follow it goes for 4 pages
This is where the generic cheat sheets are hopeless on the i3

My last job is to get the maps NAVI to work here - none of the experts on the other forums have been able to state exactly what is required (other than blindly add money)

 

[alohart]

I, too, am a Mac-only guy who is investigating running ISTA+ to get information about the state of the battery pack of our i3. I started by downloading the Beginner's Guide to ISTA+ as described here. This describes how to download and install ISTA+ as well as suggesting PC hardware requirements.

This YouTube video might be a good resource for installing ISTA+.

-Which version of ISTA do I need for a battery reset?

I have read that ISTA+ 4.10 supports reinitializing the BMS to temporarily increase the battery pack's usable capacity. I have downloaded ISTA+ 4.10 from the Mega.nz Website after installing the MEGAsync app on my MacBook.

Unfortunately, I can't provide any information about running ISTA+ because I haven't bought an old Windows laptop or the required OBD to Ethernet cable.

 

[121gwats]

I made some progress this week. I bought a '17 Gateway with a 2.2ghz single core Pentium, 4gb ram, 500gb hard drive for $60. Not bad I thought, though its a tad slow with a single core.

I paid $8 for an ebay download since it was a single click, self automated installation process only to find out its the latest version of ISTA+ which doesn't have battery initialization. Oh well..

Found a 4.10 version of ISTA+ which has battery init. at: https://www.car-auto-repair.com/bmw-rheingold-ista-4-03-21-free-download-win7win8win10/?fbclid=IwAR21bj5dpgQZSbIDe3WbFT5vMev1pZ6QkJyyZZU8NPIE86mi22uw-Nu7bBA

Installed easily, should have started here. The program seems to work, though its titled "ISTAGUI".

Any instructions to do the battery from here? I'll go back and read the instruction links posted. I hope I dont brick my car this weekend, my wife will be pissed :?

EDIT: @MagicCarpet I just clicked on your links and those are not related to ISTA. Not sure what that program does, but it seems very close to what the iphone app does that requires zero coding or risk. If you just want to change minor settings check out Bimmercode. This app seems idiot-proof.

 

[vreihen]

Unfortunately, I can't provide any information about running ISTA+ because I haven't bought an old Windows laptop or the required OBD to Ethernet cable.

There are diiriections out ooon thhe web for how too iinstall a Windows duaal-boot partiitiooin oon a Macbook. Yoou can ddownloadd Winddows foor free, andd itt will work for 30 days without a license andd nag you to buy oone after that, IIRC.

As you can see above, I'm a happy Macbook Pro owner with thhe flaky scissor keyboard keys.....

 

[121gwats]

I have 3 Macs I could have used.. I tried to install Bootcamp, but when OSX asked me to install Windows it required a disc to be inserted in a DVD drive. This stumped me for a couple of days, and I googled workarounds that involved coding with Terminal. I tried it, hit some road blocks, and decided that buying a cheap laptop would be easier and cheaper than buying a copy of Windows.

The local pawn shop had a 3 year old laptop for $60, bingo! Not to sound like a Mac snob, but HFS I hate Windows! I haven't used it in 20 years but nothing has really changed. The mouse scrolling is choppy and unpredictable, Windows 8 went through great efforts to hide all the settings, and a million little hassles. Absolute garbage. Upgraded to 10, its a little better. My 12 year old MPB with a SSD dances circles around this POS.

Just finished the battery re-initialization on my '14 60ah i3. In 32 degree weather the Batt Kappa went from 14kwh to 18.4 and range went from 49 miles to 74. Cant wait to see the actual range when the weather is warm! The battery was charged to 100% before using ISTA, and after ISTA it chugged another .6 kwh (while reading 100%). The range increase isn't just in the GOM, its real world. I just drove 35 miles going 65mph with the heater on the whole way and I'm only at half tank. I'm not sure how this witchcraft works, but I'm wondering if it opens up some of the battery buffer to give you 18.x kwh again. No idea, but I'm not asking questions.

If you have battery degradation you must try this!

*I was told to unplug the car during the test and 15 min reset of car, then plug in after*


DOWNLOAD ISTA+ 4.10 (later versions dont have battery initialization)
https://www.car-auto-repair.com/bmw-rheingold-ista-4-03-21-free-download-win7win8win10/


BATTERY RE-INITIALIZATION PROCESS IN ISTA+ v4.10 (Need to Google-translate)
https://www.drive2.ru/l/539792040590835944/?m=539808533265253023&page=0&fbclid=IwAR0ReNpHb2Vl04iMKojb8ophGq_5jcAXy28cNKMKBW19sIO5ygIFlEUs7Qo#a539808533265253023

Interesting conversations about battery initialization (need to translate)
https://www.goingelectric.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=21752&start=940&fbclid=IwAR385E8wzzLkHfqSWxrUXZ1wgX8G_DEhS9GCoX5O7CiHFOlyy74n1y_CqrI

Before

After

 

[alohart]

There are diiriections out ooon thhe web for how too iinstall a Windows duaal-boot partiitiooin oon a Macbook. Yoou can ddownloadd Winddows foor free, andd itt will work for 30 days without a license andd nag you to buy oone after that, IIRC.

As you can see above, I'm a happy Macbook Pro owner with thhe flaky scissor keyboard keys.....

I have only a MacBook with the crappy scissor keyboard and no Ethernet port. I do have a powered USB hub with an Ethernet port, so I could plug in the required OBD to Ethernet cable. A problem might be telling Windows about the Ethernet port on the powered hub. I know nothing about Windows device drivers and have no interest in learning.

It's got ~145 GB of free space on its SSD for a Boot Camp partition. Any idea how much space a minimal Windows installation requires? The compressed uninstalled ISTA+ requires over 14 GB of disk space, so the installed version would require considerably more space.

My feeling is that buying an inexpensive used Windows laptop would be the most likely approach to succeed and would require only the installation of ISTA+. Of course, I could run into unforeseen problems with a used Windows laptop.

 

[alohart]

I'm not sure how this witchcraft works, but I'm wondering if it opens up some of the battery buffer to give you 18.x kwh again.

This is almost certainly what is happening. From what I've read, it seems that the unusable low charge level buffer is being reduced in size rather than the high charge level buffer. If so, and depending on how much battery cell degradation has occurred, the voltage of the lowest capacity cell could drop below the level allowed by the BMS before the displayed charge level reaches ~2% where propulsive power normally begins being reduced. This could leave one stranded.

I would like to know your experience driving at very low displayed charge levels.

If you have battery degradation you must try this!

I question whether the reduction in usable battery pack capacity is totally due to battery cell degradation or whether some or most of this reduction is due to the BMS gradually increasing the size of one or both unusable capacity buffers, maybe to decrease the cell degradation rate enough to minimize the number of battery capacity warranty claims.

The Batt. Kapa. max values and actual range values of our 2014 BEV having been driven only 10k miles under ideal EV conditions have dropped ~15%. The Idaho National Laboratory measured an average of ~7% loss of battery pack capacity on 4 2014 i3 BEV's after only ~15 months and ~12 k miles of driving, so the capacity loss on our i3 seems high unless degradation over time is a major factor. This makes me wonder whether the BMS is responsible for a significant portion of our range loss rather than actual battery cell degradation.

 

[vreihen]

It's got ~145 GB of free space on its SSD for a Boot Camp partition. Any idea how much space a minimal Windows installation requires? The compressed uninstalled ISTA+ requires over 14 GB of disk space, so the installed version would require considerably more space.

I have installed the server versions of Windows on 40 GB of disk with plenty of breathing room. Windows might automatically install the drivers for the USB-connected ethernet port when it sees it.

In the long run having a junker Windows computer may be the best bet. I keep an old Win7 notebook from work on my bench, and use it to program network switches, flash updates into my 3D printers and other electronics, and program amateur radios for myself and other licensed hams.....

 

[121gwats]

I like having a junk PC just to download programs like ISTA off the web, where I wouldn't want to chance using my work Macbook Pro getting viruses on sketchy servers. My single core 2.2 ghz Pentium with 4gb of RAM and 500 gb of 5400RPM storage worked fine. It was only 3 years old somehow (and Macs have been using quad cores for what, 6-7 years?

I plan on driving the i3 a lot tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted about how the battery does on the bottom end. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much seeing as how I went from 49 miles yesterday to 82 miles this morning... in 34 degree weather! In the fall I drove the car home from the dealership in 70 degrees and I got 74 miles in EcoPro+ going 55mph the whole way. We'll see!

 

[symonray]

Speaking from personal experience of performing the battery reinitialization on my i3 Rex about 10 months ago, I agree with Alohart that the process most likely frees up some of the buffer capacity that the BMS had removed from the usable battery capacity. Based on the reports of others and my own personal experience, the usable capacity initially goes back to the original "as new" usable capacity amount specs (approximately 18.8kwh of the 22kwh i3 battery) immediately after the reinitialization process is completed but then slowly shrinks over time until the battery capacity is back to where it was just prior to performing the battery reinitialization. That is why many of the owners who have performed the battery reinitialization end up doing it again every 12 months or so. That reality makes me think the reinitialization has more to do with adjusting the battery buffers than addressing actual battery degradation.

 

[121gwats]

Speaking from personal experience of performing the battery reinitialization on my i3 Rex about 10 months ago, I agree with Alohart that the process most likely frees up some of the buffer capacity that the BMS had removed from the usable battery capacity. Based on the reports of others and my own personal experience, the usable capacity initially goes back to the original "as new" usable capacity amount specs (approximately 18.8kwh of the 22kwh i3 battery) immediately after the reinitialization process is completed but then slowly shrinks over time until the battery capacity is back to where it was just prior to performing the battery reinitialization. That is why many of the owners who have performed the battery reinitialization end up doing it again every 12 months or so. That reality makes me think the reinitialization has more to do with adjusting the battery buffers than addressing actual battery degradation.

From your experience and other's, do many owners get stranded from the bottom end range being overestimated? It makes sense that the buffer is being opened up, but I wonder if some is opened up on the top end as well.

Before performing battery reset, it was charged to 100%. I left it plugged in to the charger the whole process. After ISTA battery reset, it gulped another .6 kwh. Thats not a lot, but it is for already being 100%. My charger never tops off if you unplug and replug, so this is very unusual.

 

[johnnyz383]

Hey there...ok..hopefully someone reads this post. I just bought an i3 and after BMW did the latest update, seems the car was losing battery capacity just sitting..and when turning it on and off 4 times, each time the capacity went down.5 of a percent. I have lots of experience in making battery packs so know something of how these work, so when I downloaded electrified app and used it, I had access the the actual battery voltages, including the highest and lowest cells in the pack.I monitored this as I was driving and closely coorelated the percentage the BMW was giving vs the voltage. What I found out was fairly startling...NOTHING wrong with the pack, in fact when the BMW reported 20% the battery voltage was only 360 volts or 3.73 volts per cell at 96 kms going 90 KPH steady. I also saw that DESPITE the battery voltage not moving at all, I lost 5 percent throughout a period of about 4 hours simply turning the car on, moving it 2 feet and turning it off a couple of times. !!! So, I am going to see about resetting the BMS as it appears the BMW is reducing artificially the pack capacity in line with time regardless of how the pack is doing in real life. This is just absurd.Also, when fully charged the voltage per cell was 4.1, so only charging a prismatic cell to 4.1 and only discharging to 3.75 volts would at least increase the usuable cycle life by 30% before experiencing the same degradation as charging to 4.25 volts and discharging down to 3.4 volts.The 96 ah pack is 7000 cycle capable and so in all probability the 60ah has at least a 2500 life cycle. SInce my car has 72000 kms and the rex has 5100 kms of run time, you can extrapolate 66900/90 (assuming 90 kms per charge) is 743 cycles..so that would mean you have only cycled 30% of the available cycles, but since BMW denies you at least 15%, and if you add 30% to 2500 you get 3200 cycles. ..and based on my observations and doing some math this battery has very little degredation..but not according to KAPPA and the BMS.

 

[MagicCarpet]

Interesting, I'm about to put my i3 on a top up AC charge session as I mostly DC rapid charge which stops at 95% and I should occasionally do the full 100% to allow BMS balance to occur. Havent done this for a while as normally dont do long trips - just recharging from low-ish to near full in one session rather than continually putting small charges in


Besides, for now DC rapid charge is free, may as well use it and Japan i3 have the larger Chademo connector at the rear and the AC socket hidden in the frunk, making home charging slightly less convenient.


Rex runs the mtce cycle roughly every 60 days, please advise how you know your Rex has run 5100 km?
I dont know where to look for this data. I assume my Rex has done 6 mtce cycles per year plus the few times I used it or around 2 hours per year.

On the ISTA subject, I'm having another attempt at downloading this, thanks Alohart for the new link - see the posts in regional threads

 

[johnnyz383]

Hey there...When I got the dealer to to a diagnosis, I wanted to know how much time the rex has been run (the computer keeps a log time of this), and thats what they told me, however they wouldnt tell me anything else as they said they dont share error codes or anything like that with customers. Such ********. Really bad experience with this dealership so far. I run the rex when I need it to extend the battery charge ( I have coded the car to allow me to turn it on when the battery is below 75%). So many rumors and not enough facts. The little rex can be run as often as you like with no ill effects. The generator is actually an electric motor attached to the driveshaft of the gas motor and when activated starts the engine and then polarity is reversed and the motor acts as a generator. This will never wear out, and at only 5100 kms the motor has PLENTY of life left. Also, running the rex will prolong the life of the main battery pack.

 

[MagicCarpet]

Thanks for the info about Rex runtime, I'm guessing the dealer used ISTA to read it out - I havent quite got there yet.

Finally downloaded Aloharts 4.10 link to ISTA+
The diagnostic part opens and runs however I'm not certain of this ISTA+ being inluding the ISTA-P files and I dont see any ability to select programming.
The downloads I attempted 2 years ago were in one smaller file about 15 GB and on larger of about 50GB - the one I was never able to download. Those old links no longer work so cannot trace back to see what they were.

After carefully re-reading the instructions there is a section which states ISTA+ will work with i3 and Mini etc. without requiring ICOM interface, just Enet adaptor but in the same article a heading states that to do programming on i3 / mini Enet wont work and ICOM is required.

So a lot of confusion whether ISTA+ is truly both parts (ISTA-D and ISTA-P) or the GUI is ISTA+ but only does programming if all the -P files are present in the downloads.

I cannot help much at the moment because I cannot see what ISTA-P can do and even if I could, I may need the ICOM interface to actually use it.

 

[johnnyz383]

The other thing I noticed and confirmed was when using the electrified app, the BMS is artificially deflating the percentage without any doubt, as I can see now the voltages and state of balance (and in my case its within a 10th of a volt from highest to lowest), and when charging to less than 100%, lets say 95%, and hardly doing anything, the percentage will drop on the car during the course of the day WITHOUT the battery voltage dropping at all. In fact there is no direct correlation between the percentage reported by the car and the ACTUAL battery voltage untill about 50% then it becomes more linear.

I suspect that by resetting the BMS you would get what the battery's real available energy is, but I do not know how to do this, and if I did if it would be safe to do so.