Fake Car

A pretend BMW for E-Sys. Start it on your PC, and E-Sys finds it and works with it like a real car: read and write the vehicle order, code modules, flash software, enter FSC codes, read faults. Then break it on purpose and practise fixing it.

Use it to learn E-Sys, try a coding tool before it touches a real car, or record a video without a car and without showing a real VIN.

Download the latest version · Free · Windows 10 and 11 · 11 car models · by esysmax

Quick start

1. Download FakeCar-<version>.zip from Releases and unzip it anywhere.
2. Start FakeCar.exe, pick a car, press Start. The first start of a car builds it from your PSdZData (a minute or two, once).
   • You need E-Sys 22.06 or newer (its own Java 11 is used to build the cars). Older E-Sys versions are not supported: the builder stops with a message that says so.
3. In E-Sys, click Open Connection and either
   • pick the Fake Car by its VIN under Connection via VIN, or
   • choose Connection via gateway URL, enter tcp://127.0.0.1:6801, pick the target the Fake Car window shows for the running car (for example F020_26_07_530 for the F30), and tick Read parameters from VCM. A target of another series connects too, but E-Sys's TAL calculation then stops with a PSdZ error ("DetailInfo must not be null").
4. Work as you would with a real car. The window shows when E-Sys is connected.

Everything you change stays for next time. Tick Start fresh to go back to the car as it left the factory.

Practise fixing a car

Click Practice in the window to make the picked car misbehave on purpose, the way real cars do.

Problem	What E-Sys sees
Erase a module's coding data	The module shows CAFD_FFFFFFFF, as after a flash or with a new module.
A module does not answer	That module is silent, as if unplugged.
Coding fails on a module	Coding writes to that module are refused.
The connection drops during coding	The connection breaks once, at the third coding write.
Low battery	The engine computer reports 11.4 V.

Save points keep the car as it is (everything coded, flashed or written) so you can go back to it later, for example before a risky change or for a second take of a video. Start fresh still goes back to the car as it left the factory.

A running car starts again by itself with your changes when you close the Practice window. Problems are kept in problems.txt, save points in savepoints, both in the car's folder.

Fix CAFD_FFFFFFFF in E-Sys

Erase the instrument cluster's coding data in Practice, connect, and open Expert Mode > Coding. These pictures are from E-Sys 25.10 with the F10.

1. Read the vehicle order, then Read (ECU) under SVT Actual. The cluster shows CAFD_FFFFFFFF_255_255_255: it has no coding data.

2. Click the module's line, KOMBI [0x60], not the CAFD line. Press Detect CAF for SWE under SVT Target. E-Sys lists the CAFD that fits the cluster's software at each I-step: pick one and press OK.

3. With KOMBI [0x60] still selected, press Code. E-Sys codes the cluster with that CAFD.

4. Read (ECU) again: the cluster has its CAFD back.

Runs next to the clock

Close the window and the car keeps running. Click the Fake Car icon next to the clock to open the window, or right-click it for the menu. Starting FakeCar.exe again brings the open window to the front.

The icon's menu while a car runs	Options: each choice works as soon as you tick it

Option	What it does
Keep the car running when I close the window	On by default. Off: closing the window switches the car off.
Start the last car when Fake Car opens	The car you used last starts by itself.
Start Fake Car with Windows	Fake Car starts next to the clock, without the window, with the last car on.
Tell me when a tester connects	A short note next to the clock while the window is closed. The window always shows it.
Let other PCs on the network connect	On by default. Off: only E-Sys on this PC finds and connects to the car (by its VIN or with the gateway URL tcp://127.0.0.1:6801); other PCs are turned away.
PSdZData folder	The PSdZData the cars are built from. Automatic: the one E-Sys uses. Choose another, older or newer: the cars are built again from it on their next start.
E-Sys folder	The E-Sys the builder runs with. Automatic: the newest found.

Options are kept in %APPDATA%\FakeCar\options.txt, so a newer Fake Car keeps them.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11 (nothing else to install)
• E-Sys with PSdZData for the car's series: F010 (F10), F020 (F30, F80), F025 (F15), F056 (MINI F56), S15A (G30, F90), S18A (G20, G05, G80)
• Any PSdZData version, old or new: when yours does not have a car's I-steps, the car gets the closest ones it has, and the window shows that target.

What you can do with it

In E-Sys	Fake Car
Vehicle search, connect by VIN or gateway URL	Yes
Read FA, FP, I-steps, VIN	Yes
Write FA, FP and I-steps to the VCM	Yes, kept for next time
Read SVT, KIS and TAL calculation	Yes
Read coding, code modules	Yes, kept for next time
Flash software	Yes, the module reports the new version
FSC codes (store, read, check, cancel)	Head unit and instrument cluster, F-series cars (G-series use SFA, which needs BMW's backend)
Read and clear fault memory	Yes
Mileage kept in the modules (for used-car checks)	Every module, the body module backup and the cluster's two totals
Module reset	Yes
Service reset (CBS) and battery registration with EDIABAS service tools	Instrument cluster, engine computer and brake module answer; resets are kept for next time

Tested with E-Sys 25.10: connecting, reading and writing FA, FP and I-steps, SVT, coding, and FSC actions (status, VIN, SID on the head unit). TAL calculation works on F- and G-series cars (F30 practice car: the cluster is planned for flashing; G80: up to date, nothing to flash). The CAFD_FFFFFFFF practice was fixed in E-Sys 25.10 with Detect CAF for SWE and Code. Running a full flash (Execute) is not tested yet. ISTA finds cars the same way over the network, but it is not tested yet either.

Car models

Model	Folder	Modules
BMW F10 550i xDrive M Sport (US, 2015)	cars\F10_550i_xDrive_US	35
BMW F30 340i M Sport (US, 2017)	cars\F30_340i_US	23
BMW F30 340i with old cluster software, for flash practice	cars\F30_340i_US_flashtest	23
BMW F80 M3 (US, 2017)	cars\F80_M3_US	24
BMW F90 M5 CS (US, 2021)	cars\F90_M5_CS_US	29
BMW G80 M3 Competition xDrive (US, 2022)	cars\G80_M3_Competition_US	26
BMW G20 330i (US, 2020)	cars\G20_330i_US	23
BMW G05 X5 xDrive40i (US, 2020)	cars\G05_X5_40i_US	27
BMW G30 540i (US, 2019)	cars\G30_540i_US	22
BMW F15 X5 xDrive35i (US, 2016)	cars\F15_X5_35i_US	26
MINI F56 Cooper S (US, 2018)	cars\F56_Cooper_S_US	16

Every VIN is made up.

Each car is built on your own PC from your own PSdZData, the way the factory puts a car together: the modules its order gets, the software E-Sys's own KIS calculation wants on them at the current I-step, and the factory coding of every module for that order. So E-Sys reads what a real car with that order would answer, and a car that is up to date has nothing to flash.

Flash a module

Use the F30 340i with old cluster software: its instrument cluster still has the software it was built with. Connect with the target the Fake Car window shows (F020_26_07_530 for this car).

1. Comfort Mode > TAL-Calculating.
2. Vehicle Order: Read. SVT Actual: Read (ECU) without smart actuators.
3. SVT Target: tick Complete Flash, set I-Step (shipm.) to the car's ISTEP_SHIPMENT from car.txt (F020-17-07-503 for the F30), then Calculate.
4. TAL: TAL calculation, Save, then Execute.

Write FA and FP

1. Expert Mode > VCM, tab Master, Read under FA/FP.
2. Tab File: Save the FA to a file, then Load that file (change the order in between if you like).
3. In the FA tree, right-click the FA and choose Activate FA. E-Sys works out the FP.
4. Tab Master, Write under FA/FP.

Add a car

Click Add a car. Pick the Series (F30, G80, X5...) and the Model from the list your PSdZData has, with its engine, drive, market and the years it was made. Pick when it was Built (only dates that car was really made are offered) and press Add car. Fake Car makes it with base equipment and a made-up VIN and builds it straight away. Choose... next to PSdZData picks other PSdZData, old or new.

Building shows how far it is, so you can see it working. Starting PSdZ is the slow part, mostly the first time.

For a car with all its options, click Use a vehicle order saved in E-Sys in the same window. Save your car's vehicle order in E-Sys first (Expert Mode > VCM, Read, then Save the FA) and pick that file. Fake Car makes a new car from it with a made-up VIN and takes the I-steps from your PSdZData.

Your own car model by hand

Copy a car folder and change two files:

• FA.xml: the vehicle order. typeKey (type key), series (development series, for example F030 for an F30), timeCriteria (MMYY), the SA codes.
• car.txt: name, a made-up VIN with a valid check digit, mileage (KM), battery, and optionally FAMILY (the PSdZData family to look in, F020 for an F30). The I-steps (ISTEP_SHIPMENT, ISTEP_LAST, ISTEP_CURRENT) are optional: without them the builder takes them from your PSdZData and writes them in.

faults.txt lists the faults it has stored (module address, fault code, status, count, km).

To practise spotting a rolled-back car, add KM_CLUSTER=30000 to car.txt: the instrument cluster shows 30,000 km while the other modules keep the real KM.

To have something to flash, add OUTDATED=60 (module addresses, comma separated) to car.txt: those modules keep the software they were built with.

Start it in FakeCar.exe; it is built on the first start. To build by hand:

builder\build-car.cmd cars\F30_340i_US C:\EC-Apps\E-Sys C:\Data

Without the window

FakeCar.exe --car cars\F30_340i_US [--bind 127.0.0.1] [--fresh] [--log fakecar.log]
FakeCar.exe --background
FakeCar.exe --stop

--background starts Fake Car next to the clock with the last car on, as Start with Windows does. --stop switches off and closes any Fake Car.

Every request and answer is written to fakecar.log in the car's folder.

Good to know

• Fake Car checks GitHub for a newer version when it starts and shows a link if there is one. Nothing is downloaded by itself. About shows the version.

• One tester at a time, like the real central gateway.

• Windows may ask about network access the first time. Other PCs only reach the car if you allow it and Let other PCs on the network connect is on; E-Sys on the same PC always finds it.

• Windows may warn about an app from the internet on the first start: More info, then Run anyway.

• No BMW data is in this repository. The car data is made on your PC from the PSdZData you already have.

Build from source

• Fake Car: .NET 10 SDK, dotnet build src\FakeCar -c Release -o build
• Tests: dotnet test tests\FakeCar.Tests
• Builder: JDK 11 or newer, compiled against E-Sys's lib\PsdZ\psdz-api.jar:

javac --release 11 -cp "C:\EC-Apps\E-Sys\lib\PsdZ\*" -d classes builder\CarBuilder.java
jar cf builder\CarBuilder.jar -C classes .

Licence

Free to use and to share unchanged. Changed versions may not be shared, and the "by esysmax" credit must stay. See LICENSE. Versions 1.0.0 to 1.2.0 were released under MIT.

Not made by or connected with BMW AG. BMW, E-Sys and ISTA are names of their owners.