From what I have read on the Facebook forums. I believe it will you plug an play. However with at being said. You will need to find a chrono gauge with same mileage. As it is store in the center cluster. Other issue will be a vin mismatch between the DME an the center gauge.

Now if you go from a standard big speedo the chrono like I did. Now that’s a whole different animal. But it can be done.

 

as I stated above, if he plugs the Chrono Pac in, it will turn lights on in the dash that cannot be turned off. Chrono must be re-written to match the Nav system options. I tried to put Chrono in my R52....lots of the options on my car stopped working. VIN & mileage will be different and difficult to change. You cannot swap a Chrono for the Nav system and expect everything to work properly, I tried it on my 06 R52....doesn't work

Bryan

 

Did you use ncs expert to change the option to chrono instead of sat nav?

 

Umm, I wouldn't put a lot of stock in FB as a reliable source.

There's lots of knowledge in this forum from people who have done it (including Brian above). I've been watching this topic in multiple threads over the last couple of years, and I can pretty confidently state that no one has shared that they have done it successfully "plug-n-play." I've seen a few folks who have accomplished it, but only after a LOT of editing software/data.

 

So is this something that maybe the dealer can do? I’m not into all this computer stuff. Or …..🥴 I really would like to have the gauges to see what’s happening.

 

I doubt a dealer would tackle that job.

 

You might find a dealer who says they can do it, or is willing to try, but I'd suggest exercising extreme caution.

In theory they have the software to do the work. However, I'd bet that they don't have the knowledge. They will charge you an exorbitant hourly rate while they try to figure it out. Most folks who have attempted this install can get it to work, but have problems killing all the trouble lights. I suspect a dealer will have the same issue, and spend multiple hours trying to figure it out, only to call you after you've racked up a $1000 labor bill to tell you that it can't be done. They're probably going to require you to buy all new parts, rather than install the used parts you bring them. If they do accept the used parts and then fail killing the codes, they'll likely blame the owner provided parts. Regardless of the outcome, they're going to bill you for their time as if they were successful.

 

What is to gain by replacing the Nav with a chrono pack? You have the dual gauges already and if it’s the non-accurate oil and temp gauges, buy a Scan Gauge to monitor them.

 

1) It's a big piece of real estate on the dash that is not serving much useful purpose with factory Nav.
2) The Chrono pak looks 100x nicer and more in tune with the overall dash aesthetic than the Nav
3) While the gauges are not the most accurate, they're functional and for a DD or even weekend toy, they provide some value.

 

This is what I’m looking for.

 

Well I have posted before. I went from big speedo the chrono an twin gauges. My R50 is a 04 prefacelift. When I started looking into what I needed to do to get it to work was a little journey. As we all know the issue when changing to chrono are the lights an mileage.
When I got my gauges I had a little mad scientist do some work on them. It is not so much the DME. It the chrono center gauge. It needed to be programmed with my miles I wanted an vin change. When I got it back. I used ncs expert an change the option from center speedo to chrono. After that everything worked except the water temp. My DME was not setup or able to read coolant temp. So I had a post facelift DME programmed with my vin. Setup in unlock mode. So there was no issue with the EWS causing a no start.
After this was done. Chrono has worked perfect.
Cost wise I was out
60 for chrono gauges
125 for used DME
Shipping over seas an back 80 dollars
80 for programming.

 

So what you did is not actually "Plug & Play" like the OP was asking.....you actually had to do coding and such to get the lights turned off and everything working as it is supposed to. He's looking to just plug the Chrono Pac in and have it work like it should...but it won't

Bryan

 

Still looking for thoughts on swapping out EVERYTHING from a donor car of the same year, 2006.....

From an MCS to an MCS....

Speed/Tach Cluster, The center Chrono-Cluster, The DME (aka ECU), BC1, EWS, and key-fobs?

Are all of the wiring harnesses the same in all the cars of the same year and approx mfg dates..

This would seem to me to be able to work, and run just as it did in the parts donor car.... or am I missing something??

I truly don't care if the VIN in the electronics matches the physical VIN physically stamped in the car as this would be a non registered, non plated, track-only car where I am the owner of both the complete donor and recipient cars.

 

I think that will work, but your ECU will have the wrong VIN encoded into it. For licensing and/or smog tests in some states, that could prove...problematic.

 

if you plan on swapping "everything" over to your car from a donor car, you must make sure that every option on your car matches every option on the donor car in order for the options that are on your car will still work as they were programed at the factory. For example: If your car has rear parking distance sensors and the donor car does not, your sensors will not work when you change everything over. Also, your steering angle sensor will set a code in the car which cannot be erased because of the VIN difference. There's also a number of other items that will be needed to re-code to turn off the misc lights in the dash that will be turned on because of the swap

Also, the engine ECU cannot be put into another car because they are VIN specific

Bryan

 

A used ECU can be used if it is reprogrammed with your car specs an coded for what ever you are wanting to modify.
Example
My R50 is a 07/04 pre facelift
DME that is in it now is from a late model 05 post facelift. Which I had programmed an coded to allow me to use my post facelift Chrono gauges.


My old center speedo



New Center gauges

 

Yes, I know, you keep saying that it needs to be reprogramed....maybe you need to understand the meaning of "plug and play' here in the thread...they are asking if swapping gauges and items from car to car will work without any additional steps taken, such as your "reprogramming" statement.....in a word, no, it cannot

And the ECU does not hold the coding for the car options....all of that is in the large center cluster, whether it be the Nav system or the Chrono Pak

Bryan

 

Bryan.... thank you for the reply and for the good exchange of information here.... it is what I love about this forum and about sharing all of this information.

Its nice to "drill down" into this topic and and get more info from the knowledgeable folks like you and others on this thread.

Are saying that the the steering angle sensor has a chip, or similar, that holds VIN information?
If thats the case.... it may be a good thing... as the DSC has a fault and I believe it is the steering sensor...
I'll pull that from the donor as well... and fix an existing problem to boot.
Probably put in an upgrade kit while I have it out.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/113538959838

Good directions on Steering sensor R&R...



The spec on both cars is nearly identical... only difference is donor is a sunroof car and has the rear fog light/switches... the recipient car has the harness plug for the rear fog light, so that will be cool to have that working with the transplant of the full toggle switch panel.

I'm hoping the omission of the sunroof will not trigger a warning ... It shouldn't as I've had it unplugged on another 2006 mini for a couple weeks while I retrofitted anthracite HL in that car and still drove it ... but that can be easily coded out I'm sure if it were to be an issue)....

I am leaning towards trying this out.... It may or may not work... but we'll see.

It looks like the wiring harnesses for all 2006 hardtop MCS's are the same across the board. There are some other "sub harnesses" for certain options...like PDS, rear-fog, front-fog, heated-seats, HK stereo, sunroof etc, etc, etc...but those all plug into the same main harness.... I was unaware that there were chips in these components that house the VIN information in them. (I've use a plug/play used-replacement HK amplifier and HU in my car from AllMag with zero issues or coding needed when mine went bad)

Always love to learn and am thankful for threads and people posting in them... like this one here.

Happy 2022!.... MOTOR ON !





.

 

You can use ncs expert to code out the sunroof an rear fog light.

 

If order brand new Chrono cluster from Mini to replace nav unit do I still need to program through dealer or will it be plug and play?

 

will still need to be programed with all the bells & whistles and options that your car already has

 

Great thread .... lots of info...!

.

 

Hello everyone,

Just finished this very detailed thread, i'm impressed with all the details sofar !

I'm (re)building an R53 just for trackday use and have just bought a 'rolling chassis', ie a car without engine, ecu and gearbox.
I also want to install the center chrono unit (I allready have it) and dont care about matching mileage or VIN or whatever but it has to be kept road legal :-)
For driving (accurate) oil pressure and temps I want to use the CANbus based option (someone on youtube had it displayed) with external sensors.
Since my 'car' didnt come with the ECU what do you guys recommend to buy to drive the lights on the chrono ? post-facelift ECU ?
I have all the toolies like K+DCAN cable, INPA, ISTA etc to play around if needed.
Regards,

Paul

 

for track use the chrono oil pressure and temps are useless as they are not real they are fake calculated values done in the ECU code. Facelift and chrono pack cars do NOT have extra sensors for these values. For track use buy real gauges & sensors

 

Thats why I reffered at using external sensors and applying the data to the chrono by using the CANbus