Servotronic on a 335i

carabuser

Lieutenant
Oct 2, 2019
870
1
766
0
UK
Ride
Z4 35i & 335i
The Z4 comes with EPS only from the factory so it was already enabled. It's just the servotronic option that changes the steering assist map at low speeds to make the wheel lighter. To enable servotronic on my car I just edited the "variant coding" setting in the EPS module using ProTool.

I think the servotronic option for hydraulic steering racks works very differently to the EPS racks since your steering assist will be controlled by the JBBF module.
 

AzNdevil

Lieutenant
Staff member
Nov 4, 2016
566
269
0
Hong Kong
The Z4 comes with EPS only from the factory so it was already enabled. It's just the servotronic option that changes the steering assist map at low speeds to make the wheel lighter. To enable servotronic on my car I just edited the "variant coding" setting in the EPS module using ProTool.

I think the servotronic option for hydraulic steering racks works very differently to the EPS racks since your steering assist will be controlled by the JBBF module.

thanks, didnt realize you had z4.. anyways the jbbf compatibility is the same as a 1M and a 335is (post 2007/09 build date car)
maybe only these jbbfs have provision for driving the servotronics... there are some pinout differences compared to my jbbf from what i can see
 

Boony

New Member
May 10, 2019
3
5
0
Ride
E90 n54 335i
Bumping this awesome thread!

I just installed an M3 rack on my e90 335I 02/2007 build date. Everything seems legit no errors at all, will be getting an alignment Monday. Of course would like some more PS assist.

I currently bought whatever JBBFE3R I could find and will definitely be trying to get some ground work done to get this retrofit going before it comes in.

Just wanted to pop in to say hello as my first post here, and hopefully get some help if need be later on!
 
  • Like
Reactions: AzNdevil

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
thanks, didnt realize you had z4.. anyways the jbbf compatibility is the same as a 1M and a 335is (post 2007/09 build date car)
maybe only these jbbfs have provision for driving the servotronics... there are some pinout differences compared to my jbbf from what i can see
No major pinout difference that I’ve seen first hand. My first non-factory shipped JBE was a JBBF3 H3 and that did not have the provisions for servotronic. Though it did have the relays for my rear sunshade

I then swapped it out for an “M” stamped JBBF3 and all is well and worked immediately. Now i’m going to try nettodat coding the steering values. Maybe a JBBF3 H4 has the provisions? I know the KL (short for K-Line) is the same as an M stamped one but just runs on the “slower” bus.

In my opinion though, I love the super light steering at low speeds as it’s real agile and quick.

And just for extra info, I went from an 07 JBBF H1 to a 2014 JBBF3 M stamp off of an E84 X1. Just had to bring two wires from the obd connector into the X14271 connector. Though MHD now takes a whole minute longer to flash as expected.
 

Attachments

  • 65DA5084-C3F4-4A16-B932-06E97E8283DA.jpeg
    65DA5084-C3F4-4A16-B932-06E97E8283DA.jpeg
    403.9 KB · Views: 96
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: AzNdevil

AzNdevil

Lieutenant
Staff member
Nov 4, 2016
566
269
0
Hong Kong
No major pinout difference that I’ve seen first hand. My first non-factory shipped JBE was a JBBF3 H3 and that did not have the provisions for servotronic. Though it did have the relays for my rear sunshade

I then swapped it out for an “M” stamped JBBF3 and all is well and worked immediately. Now i’m going to try nettodat coding the steering values. Maybe a JBBF3 H4 has the provisions? I know the KL (short for K-Line) is the same as an M stamped one but just runs on the “slower” bus.

In my opinion though, I love the super light steering at low speeds as it’s real agile and quick.

And just for extra info, I went from an 07 JBBF H1 to a 2014 JBBF3 M stamp off of an E84 X1. Just had to bring two wires from the obd connector into the X14271 connector. Though MHD now takes a whole minute longer to flash as expected.

maybe i will come back to this when i run out of other intersting ideas for my car
currently in between a few other tests but thanks for confirming working combinations ;)
 

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
maybe i will come back to this when i run out of other intersting ideas for my car
currently in between a few other tests but thanks for confirming working combinations ;)
No problem. Just one step closer to getting all the M parts and features functional on my car. Do you by any chance know how to activate the "sport mode" automatics come with? Last time I tested it on my friends car, the gear shifter moved over to "S" activates the sport mode and utilizes the "Low" Torque Request maps and fuel cut duration. My car is manual though.

The Z4, which shares the same JBBF as our cars, though may be shipped with a different software ZB, grounds pin 18 on connector Z14271. I have the M3 shift surround with all of the buttons, so one of these days, i'll wire it in to the JBBF.

It's a shame the MSS60 control's basically all of the features of the CIC M-Drive

Screenshot (58).png
 

AzNdevil

Lieutenant
Staff member
Nov 4, 2016
566
269
0
Hong Kong
No problem. Just one step closer to getting all the M parts and features functional on my car. Do you by any chance know how to activate the "sport mode" automatics come with? Last time I tested it on my friends car, the gear shifter moved over to "S" activates the sport mode and utilizes the "Low" Torque Request maps and fuel cut duration. My car is manual though.

The Z4, which shares the same JBBF as our cars, though may be shipped with a different software ZB, grounds pin 18 on connector Z14271. I have the M3 shift surround with all of the buttons, so one of these days, i'll wire it in to the JBBF.

It's a shame the MSS60 control's basically all of the features of the CIC M-Drive

View attachment 47632

you should join this thread

i think its doable seeing the 1M is 6MT, runs MSD81 and still have M-Drive available
no ones 100% sure on how to activate it at thsi stage though...
 
  • Like
Reactions: KClemente

Bnks334

Lieutenant
Dec 1, 2016
524
340
0
New York
TLDR: There may be multiple versions of the Luk pump installed in our cars, some of the part numbers correspond to Luk pumps with 135 bar ratings, which is the same as the 1M Bosch pump rating. It may be possible your vehicle already has a power steering pump strong enough for Servotronic and Active Steering.

In diagnosing some power steering issues I started having, I am beginning to think the 1M power steering pump is actually the same as the Active Steering pumps, and there may be some cheap unbranded aftermarket versions of this pump floating around our favorite outlets.

A few things to notice, here is the 1M pump:
View attachment 14774
It comes in two part numbers:
32417845419 which was then superseded by reman part #32417848360 and is also called the Bosch KS01000729. Bosch KS00000759 also comes up when doing a search using external number, I figure this is the new unit.

This is information on the KS01000759 from the bosch-automotive-catalog.com
View attachment 14785

--------------

Now here we have the 135i Active Steering pump, notice any similarities? They are exactly the same, except there is another module for the electronic portion of the active steering solenoid:
View attachment 14775
Part number 32416779245 is found on all 1 and 3 series with Active Steering.

According to the Bosch site, this part number comes up as two different Bosh parts, the KS01000725
View attachment 14783

And the KS00000755
View attachment 14784

---------------

Now here is the 135i non-active steering pump, notice there is no bulge, and the casting is different around the fluid feed inlet:
View attachment 14776

This part number 32416779244 This is also the same part number which shows up on all the non-Active Steering 1 and 3 series.

I'm able to corroborate this so far, because photos of my power steering pump looks just like the diagrams:
View attachment 14777

This part number does not turn up in the Bosch catalog, and probably for good reason: It probably isn't made by Bosch. When I look this part up, I keep seeing references to Luk LF-30, which appears to be an E36 and E46 pump: 32416756582

When you look at the photo of my pump above, it does not say Luk like this one does:
View attachment 14786

Instead, what it says most likely is ixetic, which stands for ixetic GmbH, a Luk spinoff:
https://translate.google.com/transl...ps://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixetic&prev=search

Reports online state the LF-30 is a 120 bar pump:
View attachment 14787

However I have seen a 135 bar Luk part number: LH2114094 and BMW Part # 32416777321 which appears to be an E60 part:
View attachment 14788
View attachment 14789
(Speaking of which, maybe the E60 and E90/E82 parts could be interchanged for fitment reasons because of of these E60 pumps are wildy different in design)

And if you look VERY closely, on this Luk pump it says 135 bar, and without a doubt carries the Luk casting:
View attachment 14790

--------------

So going off this information, it appears the 1M power steering pump and the Active Steering vehicles actually share the same pump casting as they are both Bosch parts. When you think about it, this makes sense because Active Steering is supposed to also include servotronic-like capabilities, both of which requir a stronger pump.

The problem I'm presented with, is that I'm not so sure which pumps are getting installed in which cars. Some might be the 120 bar pump, and others might be the 135 bar pump. Next time someone has access to one, they should look for some stickers.

==========================

Now with that information in hand, if you wanted to try a bosch style casting pump anyway, I've found a variety of these Bosch style pumps in the aftermarket which use the same casting as the 1M/Active Steering pumps, its just a question of the internals being able to flow/pump the same amount or not:

View attachment 14779
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3241677924...-BMW-E91-E92-335i-135i-2007-2013/192541899007

Maybe you prefer Amazon?
View attachment 14780

https://www.amazon.com/NICECNC-2008-2013-2013-2013-2007-2013-32416779244/dp/B06WGSBPLM/

-----------------

In the end, you should probably just go look at the bottom of your power steering pump and see what pressure rating it is labeled. If it says 135 bar, I doubt there is any reason to change it out.

Also be careful when looking up these parts, as some of them appear reversed, possibly for RHD or different motors.

I just wanted to follow up on this... after attempting to get servotronic working, I am now looking for a more hardware related solution. I don't believe my servotronic is working correctly if at all. I will be taking look at everything again probably tomorrow to check for voltage and make sure all my connections and coding are good. It's been too long with overly heavily steering with the new wider wheels and tires up front. I need to get this figured out.

I purchased a second PS pump to take apart. I saw how E46 owners were modifying the pressure relief valve to boost assist. This seems like a mod people have been doing since the hot-rod days so I figured it should be possible on our pumps as well. As you may have seen on 1addicts, and I also found when I took it apart, our pumps do NOT seem to have the same complex pressure relief valve in the high pressure side as most pumps. They have a simple basic plunger with a small orifice.




There are no internals to it (no ball valve and spring). So, there is nothing to shim to get more assist. But what I did do before swapping in this new pump was I shimmed the large main spring. Not sure if it did anything at all but the steering does feel a bit lighter.


Maybe just placebo and my old pump also seemed to be failing. it was groaning like crazy and my ~3,000mile fluid was black with lots of metal gunk in the filter. The shimmed pump I put in doesn't groan at all at full lock. Seems to be more assisted but I would have to add even more shims to have a more dramatic impact to really tell a difference. I am skeptical any bypass was occurring at idle and low speeds anyway so I doubt it did much other than replace an old failing pump that was likely adding to the heavy feel.

So, that is what I am working on... figuring out a way to shim the relief valve... but what I wanted to update you with was what my pump was labeled as:
2011 135i
build date 10/2012
Part number 32416779244

From what I found on the casing it is this "ixetic" branded pump. Unfortunately brake clean ate away at the pressure rating a bit but I am fairly certain it says "135" on the label. Yes I agree that when you google LF30 you come up with 120bar; however, that appears to all be 36 and e46 generation pumps that come up. It is likely the LF30 pump we have has a differently tuned high pressure outlet. Again, I am fairly certain the pump I have is 135 bar. I can see the 1 and the 5 a bit it's just the middle number missing.

I think someone in this thread stated that their car had a 120bar pump but idk if that was because they physically checked or they just based that off your post. It is possible different chassis and different year n5x have different racks and different power steering pumps to match, but, my 2011 135i for sure has a 135bar pump. So, it seems like my time to boost the assist up a bit more might be wasted. 135bar is already pretty damn high. It's no wonder M3's boil PS fluid on track. I will take a look at servotronic again to hopefully get that working right. I am beginning to question if the M3's steering is actually any lighter than where I am at now. I'd really like to find a way to boost the 0-30mph range!

 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: doublespaces

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
@Bnks334 trust me, if you get your servotronic working, you will not want anymore assist from the pump.

I am using my stock very well worn (221k mile) power steering pump that had less assist than most other 335's I drove (stock rack at the time).

Now with servotronic on my M3 rack, steering is completely effortless at low to no speed, and high speed steering still kind of feels a bit over assisted.

I am going to work on nettodat coding the servotronic values to disable the assist above 50 mph.

What stamp and model is your JBBF? As far as I know, you need to have a JBBF III with an M stamp for guaranteed operation.
 

Bnks334

Lieutenant
Dec 1, 2016
524
340
0
New York
@Bnks334 trust me, if you get your servotronic working, you will not want anymore assist from the pump.

I am using my stock very well worn (221k mile) power steering pump that had less assist than most other 335's I drove (stock rack at the time).

Now with servotronic on my M3 rack, steering is completely effortless at low to no speed, and high speed steering still kind of feels a bit over assisted.

I am going to work on nettodat coding the servotronic values to disable the assist above 50 mph.

What stamp and model is your JBBF? As far as I know, you need to have a JBBF III with an M stamp for guaranteed operation.

the part number for my vin is

61359364819​


I will pull it out of the glovebox tomorrow and check to see if it has an "M" on it. From what I remember all of the coding parameters were there when I did the coding...
 

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
All JBBF III's will have the coding there but not necessarily the hardware to run the PWM. I should ask though, how hard is your steering at a standstill? Mine was severely underboosted until I wired in the servotronic. Now it's easier than a stock rack.
 

Bnks334

Lieutenant
Dec 1, 2016
524
340
0
New York
All JBBF III's will have the coding there but not necessarily the hardware to run the PWM. I should ask though, how hard is your steering at a standstill? Mine was severely underboosted until I wired in the servotronic. Now it's easier than a stock rack.

At a standstill it's stiff.

What am I missing? I thought your specific issue was that your car was 2007/d-can at that's why you needed to do some extra steps? I have not seen anyone else mention there would be anything else needed to make this work on newer cars that came with JBBF 3 modules. Any help would be appreciated! I plan to take it apart tomorrow and see what's up... re-check all my coding and everything as well.
 

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
At a standstill it's stiff.

What am I missing? I thought your specific issue was that your car was 2007/d-can at that's why you needed to do some extra steps? I have not seen anyone else mention there would be anything else needed to make this work on newer cars that came with JBBF 3 modules. Any help would be appreciated! I plan to take it apart tomorrow and see what's up... re-check all my coding and everything as well.

My extra steps listed were:

1) Source JBBF III M stamp
2) Retrofit it and connect pins 7 and 14 from OBD port onto the JBBF
3) Wire servotronic pwm (black/brown to pin 5, black/white to pin 6) to the plug in the back (x14270)
4) Code it in

Thing is with the JBBF's, even though its marked as a JBBF III, that doesn't strictly mean that it will have all the provisions to run the servotronic PWM circuit and more commonly, the rear window blind relay. Most H3 stamp JBBF's ship mainly on E91's and E93's as they have extra functions.

AFAIK, the M stamp JBBF is shipped on cars mainly with electric power steering and servotronic. Hence why the 1M, X1, Z4 all get the M stamp and only M stamp JBBF's.

You can think of the M stamp JBBF as the Master of them all. H for High, L for Low as BMW loves using High and Low, even dating back to the E34..

At a standstill it's stiff.
Yup, your JBBF is either not compatible, or the PWM wires were accidentally reversed* (*does it really matter though?)
 

AzNdevil

Lieutenant
Staff member
Nov 4, 2016
566
269
0
Hong Kong
AFAIK, the M stamp JBBF is shipped on cars mainly with electric power steering and servotronic. Hence why the 1M, X1, Z4 all get the M stamp and only M stamp JBBF's.

You can think of the M stamp JBBF as the Master of them all. H for High, L for Low as BMW loves using High and Low, even dating back to the E34..


Yup, your JBBF is either not compatible, or the PWM wires were accidentally reversed* (*does it really matter though?)

can you share a pic of your jbbf? i cant find the m stamp from pics i see on ebay...

if pwm wires are reversed it will actually be heavier than the way it should be...

thanks
 
  • Like
Reactions: Neg89

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
can you share a pic of your jbbf? i cant find the m stamp from pics i see on ebay...

if pwm wires are reversed it will actually be heavier than the way it should be...

thanks
Sure. The top JBBF is the one I am currently using. The middle is my original one and you can tell its an older version because the blue plug is on the other side. The bottom is the 2nd JBBF I tried which did not have the PWM circuit but I believe it had the rear sunshade relay.

Note: the top and bottom JBBF's are both JBBF III's with the servotronic coding available. But again, only the M stamp actually actuated the servotronic valve.

65DA5084-C3F4-4A16-B932-06E97E8283DA.jpeg
 

Bnks334

Lieutenant
Dec 1, 2016
524
340
0
New York
Sure. The top JBBF is the one I am currently using. The middle is my original one and you can tell its an older version because the blue plug is on the other side. The bottom is the 2nd JBBF I tried which did not have the PWM circuit but I believe it had the rear sunshade relay.

Note: the top and bottom JBBF's are both JBBF III's with the servotronic coding available. But again, only the M stamp actually actuated the servotronic valve.

View attachment 47710
Hmm this is interesting... quite a few people have said they've got this retrofitted and I doubt many, if any, of them have the "M" JBBF. @doublespaces ? Like azn said, how would you even specify the difference? They all have the same interchangeable part number. If these jbbfs don't have servotronic then why would they be flashed with a zusb that includes servotronic parameters and data? Also, @AzNdevil was able to get a pwm reading... so maybe I'm missing something but seems like he was getting signal on a non-m jbbf?

My JBBF3 is labeled L1:

I pulled the module and verified that I correctly pinned to 5 (brown/blk) and 6 (black/white). I also re-checked my coding. VO includes $216. In the JBBF, servotronic is set to active. In the KOMBI ,the three other variables are all set to active. That covers everything I think.

I dont remember if I ever "codes entire car" because that would reset all the custom coding I've done back to the $VO defaults... manually making the change in JBBF and KOMBI should be all that is needed unless something else is being set to active in some other modules that hasn't been defined by anyone yet?

The other thing I need to verify with you is the fuse... I dont think n54 and n55 are setup the same at all. I have seen quite a bit of variation even in the various n55s I've worked on...

On my 2011 n55 I put a 10amp fuse into #5. I also out a 30a fuse into #49. It was empty and my fuse chart shows that #5,49,75 are for steering. Figured I'd try popping in the 30a... that did not change anything.

Does your fuse chart look the same? Any chance you have the pin out for your car for fuse 5? Maybe its a different fuse on our cars or something? What does your fuse 5 power? Without access to newtis i can't go hunting for diagrams.

 
Last edited:

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
Read post #134, 2nd post in this page.

They all have the same interchangeable part number
While you're right, they are interchangeable, they are not interchangeable on the 1M. 1M JBBF's ship only with hardware zb# 9329800 and 9364819, which happen to be both M stamped.

The moment I plugged in my M stamp zb# 9329800, the servotronic worked immediately. I did not have to insert any fuses or anything as its a PWM circuit and adding a fuse is redundant for something that takes only milliamps to run and can be shut off by the microcontroller. Now electric power steering on the other hand will have fuses.

You can open up your current JBBF and you'll see empty smd traces. Post #64 shows in great detail the differences between many JBBF's
 

Bnks334

Lieutenant
Dec 1, 2016
524
340
0
New York
Read post #134, 2nd post in this page.


While you're right, they are interchangeable, they are not interchangeable on the 1M. 1M JBBF's ship only with hardware zb# 9329800 and 9364819, which happen to be both M stamped.

The moment I plugged in my M stamp zb# 9329800, the servotronic worked immediately. I did not have to insert any fuses or anything as its a PWM circuit and adding a fuse is redundant for something that takes only milliamps to run and can be shut off by the microcontroller. Now electric power steering on the other hand will have fuses.

You can open up your current JBBF and you'll see empty smd traces. Post #64 shows in great detail the differences between many JBBF's

ZB is just the software flashed to it... So if the part numbers are the same, and listed as interchangeable (yes even the 1M has the same part number and just says "JBBF 3" I should just be able to flash it in WINKFP with 9329800, right? I can give that a try tomorrow...
 

KClemente

Sergeant
Nov 26, 2019
284
147
0
Ride
E90 335i
ZB is just the software flashed to it... So if the part numbers are the same, and listed as interchangeable (yes even the 1M has the same part number and just says "JBBF 3" I should just be able to flash it in WINKFP with 9329800, right? I can give that a try tomorrow...
No, i'm talking about hardware zb aka part number, not software zb.

You can try to force flash a 1M software zb onto your JBBF but can't guarantee anything.
 

Bnks334

Lieutenant
Dec 1, 2016
524
340
0
New York
No, i'm talking about hardware zb aka part number, not software zb.

You can try to force flash a 1M software zb onto your JBBF but can't guarantee anything.


Yeah I re-read post #64 in that thread and I think you might be right... there does seem to be physical variations to the JBBF units between say an "L1" and an "M" variant. I was skeptical since all JBBF 3 have the same part number... and it shows interchangeable between 135i and 1M. However, the pictures show there are difference in the relays inside of the JBBF. So... pretty much everyone who said they got this working without the "M" variant was just feeling placebo???!!!


I guess I am on the hunt for a JBBF 3 stamped "M" now. Seems to be the smoking gun.