Recommended scanner

[techforay]

Hi all
I am very new to BMW. I just purchased a 2010 650i. I am having some issues with the heater. Will not blow warm air. I was at one time but now it isnt for some reason. I have investagated and know how to check the heater control module. I was also told to get a BMW specific scanner. Can someone recommend a good scanner that would work for most things I would need it for.

[Opie55]

It kind of depends on how sophisticated you want to get. I personally use Bimmerlink. It is an app you download to your phone and use through a bluetooth dongle that plugs into your OBDII port. Bimmerlink does lots of stuff, including reading and clearing codes in all modules. And it live monitors dozens of parameters. Like current battery charging voltage, state of battery charge, any fluid temp sensor, boost pressure, etc. But it has its limits. Although it can read all modules, it cannot, for example, code a new module. So any new part you install that requires initializing or coding will require something other Bimmerlink. Many people download ISTA - you can read about it by running a few searches - but it has a steep learning curve. There is another similar program, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

[SWFLf10]

As mentioned above, ISTA is the software BMW uses so it’s very powerful, but takes a bit to get used to. And requires a laptop to run it.

A standalone option would be a Foxwell scanner with the BMW code reading ability included. I keep one with me so I can use it on the side of the road in an emergency.

[techforay]

Thank you for your help

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by techforay

Hi all
I am very new to BMW. I just purchased a 2010 650i. I am having some issues with the heater. Will not blow warm air. I was at one time but now it isnt for some reason.

It won’t blow warm air from which vents? If it is the dash vents….are you familiar with BMWs stratified air control? If not, check the dial near or incorporated into the dash’s center vent. Check if the dial is turned all the way into the blue area (cool). If it is, move the dial(s) to the neutral or red (warm) area and see if this gives you what you want.

If you are not familiar with BMWs and their stratified air dial system…you may not even have an issue if that dial is turned to the opposite of what you want. This dial allows the driver/passengers to “TEMPER” the air warmer/cooler without having to change the temp set on the IHKA (AC/Heat control panel). It works great for if you are sitting in the sun or shade…you can adjust the temp from the dash vents to either blow cooler air or warmer air at you but the set temp on the control panel will remain the same. The driver doesn’t have to changer the temp of the entire cabin for one or more persons that feel uncomfortable. They can temper the air that is blowing on them only.

Below is a description of the stratified air system from the e38 era…it works the same on the e6? Six series, too. And below that is a video of an e70 X5 owner explaining the stratification dial of the dash’s center vent:

[techforay]

Thank you for your response. I don’t get warm air out of any of the vents or out of the defroster vent near the windshield. I think I found what you’re talking about, on my car it’s part of the iDrive system if I hit the button for auto, then a blue red dial comes up on my screen, and I can adjust that by turning the iDrive dial from warm to cold, but that has made no difference in the temperature coming out of any of the vents.

[techforay]

Well, I found out that part of this was operator error. I didn’t realize that you had to push the button in on the manual settings to get the light come on before you could change the temperature. I also didn’t know about the blue red dial that sets auto. So I am getting heat now. However, when the car is idling, the air becomes cool but when I keep the idle up to around 1000 RPM, it gets warm is that a specific issue that I need to take care of or just a characteristic of the car