Thanks. I found a write up.

Actually, still looking. But yeah.

 

Thanks for your input Elco. I had thought of putting in a GT-R headunit- same exact pinouts and harnesses as the G37- but the cheapest off eBay is about $1000. I don't need the extras that bad. I've not been able to find any GT-R HDD images anywhere. There aren't even any Clarion spec sheets to be found.

Of all the Nissan/Infiniti models that use the same Navi headunit (p/n 25915-3LZ0C) why it's so difficult to modify is beyond me. I'll just keep tinkering with my project HDD for now. Besides, I now have a flickering gauge cluster to atrack!

Thanks for the VI info- I'll look into ordering one. Much cheaper than the $2200 one from Nissan Techmate!

 

VI (Consult 3) have full support for G37.
VI2 (Consult3+) add only a better interface and in some cases, faster communications.
Considering the price difference, the VI2 don't worth the money when you can get a clone VI that work's just fine for ~200 USD

About the flickering gauge cluster, the cluster is iluminated by LED's. If there is only a bad contact on some connector, you are lucky. The LED's are powered by a constant current controller located on the cluster PCB. That one won't be easy to fix...

When replacing the gauge cluster, a VI comes handy again to make the new cluster work on the car.

 

I'm going to look and see if I can fix it but more than likely I'll just take it to the dealer and have them replace the cluster. I could do it but getting the odometer calibrated wouldn't be easy.

Tremendous thanks for your input.

 

For anyone interested on APP.BIN unpacked, check out the link with the HDD images.
I just uploaded the unpacked APP.bin.
I used binwalk to unpack it.
Many interesting things inside...


Sometimes, Linux is just too good to be true

 

Looks like I have a lot of downloading to do...

If only the AV system I ordered from ebay would get here... I'm ready to get started!

Elco, is there any particular version of the VAS5054A that you would recommend? I've seen several forums where apparently the VI from C3 will work on C3+ by changing some code. Still trying to figure that out for certain.

 

Subscribed to this thread. I sure would like to see my TPMS Readings and be able to put all my music on the Hard Drive with CD Quality.... I can't wait to see what you guys can do!

 

Yes. the VI can work with C3+ but with lots of connection problems, can't detect if the engine is ON or OFF, etc...

VI work best with C3 software.
VAS5054A (full chip) will work with C3+ also with some limitations.

VI with C3 software is the most reliable combination but it won't support new cars. However, it support all functions for G37.

 

Today i got my hands on a Zheino IDE SSD.
This SSD model is the only one that work on BMW CIC system according to this thread: DIY Upgrade Navigation CIC Hard Drive to SSD Solid State Drive - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums

So i tested the SSD on US unit and EU unit.

The results: the EU unit work's just fine with Zheino SSD, KingSpec SSD, Toshiba HDD, Hitachi HDD.
It didn't work with Western Digital HDD.

The US unit don't work with any SSD containing the US software.
Also not work with EU unit original HDD, containing the EU software.
It work with other Toshiba and Hitachi HDD containing the US image.

I also tried to edit the APP.BIN replacing the TOSHIBA HDD name with specific SSD name for the US unit. The result: the unit was in constant boot loop.

There is something on the unit firmware that prevent it to work with other drives than Toshiba and Hitachi.

Will be interesting to test a Toshiba mSATA SSD like THIS ONE with a IDE to mSATA adapter like THIS ONE

but... i spent enough money on this experiments...

 

Thanks for your efforts Elco! I am still trying to load the OS on a virtual box system. I am not sure how to tackle it to boot the OS. I have A qnx.iso I was going to see if I could mount it from in there. I really just want to boot the image and control it on a vm rather than in my car, next step would be to get it onto a hard drive that works with the US version. Wondering if it has to do with trim on the ssd drives that the US version does not like. Will the EU version boot on a US media center?

 

The OS boot and kernel are stored on the AV unit ROM, not on the HDD.
The HDD contain only the app that provide the standard unit UI.
The unit will boot without HDD and will work in safe mode with only few functions enabled and a basic UI.

Without the correct kernel and library, will be hard to run the app from HDD.

 

Ahh okay, gotcha. If we could only get the firmware dumped from memory 😔. I bet if we had some diagnostic tool they used to flash the firmware we could get it but I'd need to purchase an AV unit to find a way.

 

I wonder if we can do something akin to the twilight princess hack on the nintendo wii when it came out located here...Twilight Hack - WiiBrew Doing something similar and dumping the Rom on the AV unit. loading an exploit on the HDD and hopefully read the Rom. just throwing ideas out there hehe.

 

The AV system I ordered off eBay should arrive early next week so then I will have my guinea pig to test.

Also, I have a few emails out trying to source either a used GT-R HDD or some image files. A new, replacement HDD from Clarion is around $112 but I'm not sure if that is preloaded with software or just a blank HDD. Just throwing that out there.

EDIT: Just had a email exchange with one of the guys on the GTR forum. The AV unit itself is a direct swap for 2010+ G37's, however, driver MFD does not read all of the sensors and you would need the entire switch assembly to even access the MFD (GTR has a FUNCTION button, G's do not).

Still, when there's a will.....

 

Sounds like a project for sure. If we could get our hands on a GTR AV unit we could at least enable all the sensors we want and modify them to query the equivalent bus IDs on the G. Oil temp and such would be sweet