Panda 2012+ blue and me on Fiat Panda trekking 2013 twinair

[nobbygecko]

i have the dreaded flashing odometer which means my blue and me unit isn't working .. all thats fine as e mail threads say even if it is , its not too clever but would welcome any comments to see what the voice recognition and handsfree phone is worth the £160 quid to get the blue and me repaired/reconditioned.

the secondary affect of this is that it drains the battery and there are many threads on this within the site ... on my Panda Trekking 2013 theres the black cover on the floor under the front of the passenger seat and then once removed it shows a black and green connector. I guess one connector is power and one is signal but do i unplug them both or just what i think is the power one. The wires going to the plugs are red and black , which i assume to be power and then two white wires which i guess are signal/handshake.

Any tips..
to surmise. 1) is it worth getting it fixed for £170 quid - i can manage without the hands free but should stop the battery drain!

and 2) which connectors to pull out under the front passenger seat.

Other comments.. my missus has a 2014 panda auto twin air and i have the trekking twin air.. the higher stand and more rugged set up are great on the trekking but both are nippy enjoyable cars.. love em but they aren't cheap any more.

 

[tomdee]

I removed the bluandme from my panda, because of the battery drain, and I only remember undocking one plug.

 

[nobbygecko]

Here's a picture... green plug and black plug. Any one any idea which is the one to disconnect for the blue and me battery drain fix.

 

[tomdee]

I'm pretty sure that's not blueandme module. Plug is blue and wider.
Are you checking under the correct seat? Here in Portugal (LWD) the module is under drivers seat (right front).
Module should look like this:

 

[nobbygecko]

The module itself is I think in the passenger side rear door housing... guys from the company in Barnsley who do the repair said the connector clip was under the front passenger seat... I'm not removing the old unit just the power supply to it...

 

[tomdee]

I ended up removing my unit so I could open and look at it. Never put it back. But I suppose I could only unplug it in order to stop the battery drainage.

 

[nobbygecko]

I understand its a significant room to remove the whole unit hence unplugging the mains connection is an easier option.

 

[Sussex Panda]

The unit was under the driver's seat on my 2012 Panda. (I believe the same unit is in the rear side compartment in a 500 - but worth checking). The following might be helpful in making your decision...

No power to USB, odometer flashing... Dead Blue&Me module? | FIAT Panda (2012+)

I think I've encountered my first issue with the Panda. I use a Bluetooth to AUX adaptor for music streaming (Powered by the USB port down near the cupholders). Yesterday I noticed it wasn't working - on further investigation it seems like the port is only providing power for a few seconds...

www.fiatforum.com

There's many other threads on this if you want to search further on this great forum.
Hope helpful.

 

[Panda IIs]

The module itself is I think in the passenger side rear door housing... guys from the company in Barnsley who do the repair said the connector clip was under the front passenger seat... I'm not removing the old unit just the power supply to it...

Noo, the B&M module is under the driver's seat (RHD)

 

[nobbygecko]

I'll take a look.. that's fir all your comments.

 

[nobbygecko]

I removed the bluandme from my panda, because of the battery drain, and I only remember undocking one plug.

but i guess you have to take the drivers seat out to get to the black cover underneath to actually disconnect the plug.

 

[nobbygecko]

Noo, the B&M module is under the driver's seat (RHD)

yep it is thanks it was the guy from revtronics in bradford who said it was under the front passenger seat! but i guess you have to take the seat off as i can see the small cover directly under the front which has the two plugs but then behind that i think is the black cover for the Blueand me unit. so it looks like the four alan keys which hold the seat down have to come out and the drivers seat.. I broke my wrist a few months ago and still a little weak.

Confirmation that the seat has to come out plus any connectors hanging from the bottom of the seat unplugged to get access to the blue and me just to disconnect?

 

[tomdee]

There's no need to remove the seat, just slide it front and back as you need to remove bolts and clips on the front and in the back.

 

[Panda IIs]

There's no need to remove the seat, just slide it front and back as you need to remove bolts and clips on the front and in the back.

Yep, slide back the seat and pop out the plastic trim plugs:

Slide seat forwards and there's another trim panel (I think clips were missing on mine)

Remove the plastic trim and you find B&M unit. Held into a frame by 4 (10mm?) nuts. Connector is the big blue guy which is accessible once unit removed from frame.

Connector is the big blue boy secured by over centre latch that is lifted (rotated?) upwards.

I did this job maybe three years ago and may have forgotten some detail. The odometer will continue to flash unless unit is replaced. If the new unit is "virgin" or repaired then I believe a proxi-realignment is required to, essentially, give the new module an address that the body computer will recognise. I acquired a second-hand Alfa unit which was plug and play.

Good luck!

 

[nobbygecko]

Yep, slide back the seat and pop out the plastic trim plugs:

View attachment 425422
Slide seat forwards and there's another trim panel (I think clips were missing on mine)
View attachment 425423
Remove the plastic trim and you find B&M unit. Held into a frame by 4 (10mm?) nuts. Connector is the big blue guy which is accessible once unit removed from frame.
View attachment 425424
Connector is the big blue boy secured by over centre latch that is lifted (rotated?) upwards.
View attachment 425425

I did this job maybe three years ago and may have forgotten some detail. The odometer will continue to flash unless unit is replaced. If the new unit is "virgin" or repaired then I believe a proxi-realignment is required to, essentially, give the new module an address that the body computer will recognise. I acquired a second-hand Alfa unit which was plug and play.

Good luck!

thats excellent .. my next move is either to get it repaired from the place in Barnsley revtronic for approx 160 quid , which should then stop the battery drain ( which is the main issue ) or just unplug ... which will cost ne nowt being a true Yorkshire man .. in your experience what is the voice recognition and hands free stuff actually like.. any good ?

 

[Panda IIs]

thats excellent .. my next move is either to get it repaired from the place in Barnsley revtronic for approx 160 quid , which should then stop the battery drain ( which is the main issue ) or just unplug ... which will cost ne nowt being a true Yorkshire man .. in your experience what is the voice recognition and hands free stuff actually like.. any good ?

Yes battery drain is a pain and disconnection is the only solution to that. I resented the cost of repair (back then it was 250euro with only solution in Italy) but things have changed. I actually fitted the previous FIAT entertainment system (USB connection for Phone) that gives charging, music and GPS through the media button on he radio. This set up was 35GBP OEM on ebay. I subsequently added the secondhand B&M module just to "shut up" the Odometer! I haven't yet reconnected the B&M functionality since I don't miss it - which kind of answers your question? The flashing odo is probably not a great thing if you want to sell on.

This may sound a bit pious but it is only my view. My experience of the hands-free voice recognition stuff was that it was hit and miss (although a good Yorkshire accent maybe what's required!). It was good to be able to answer calls on the phone using the steering switches but there are data out there that suggest even hands free phone calls make for serious distractions from driving so, personally, I don't. Also I find other people's hands free phone calls quite amusing to overhear as a pedestrian (they often have the volume up high and I decided I didn't really want to be one of those p****s!).

So I guess I'm not the right person to ask!

 

[Dev01]

I am curious though, would you be able to simply remove the B&M module and fix the flashing odo withouth missing out on the steering wheel controls. I'd simply replace the original radio with an aftermarket unit and be on my way. Not sure if that's possible.

 

[Panda IIs]

I am curious though, would you be able to simply remove the B&M module and fix the flashing odo withouth missing out on the steering wheel controls. I'd simply replace the original radio with an aftermarket unit and be on my way. Not sure if that's possible.

To make it clear I am only speaking of my own experience; removal/disconnection of the Blue and Me module prevents current drain. I understand that the flashing odo is an indication of a CanBus error detected - here the dead or missing B&M module. I believe it is the body computer that triggers this error as it checks coms with all the modules it is expecting to see. With this in mind I would expect that you could effectively "delete" the B&M from the body control module (BCM) BUT I think this requires a rather deep-dive into the car's programming... I did try to get a FIAT specialist to have a go at this but they declined the opportunity!

With a failed or disconnected B&M unit (and the flashing odo) the steering wheel buttons still have some functionality and continue to control the radio etc. You just don't have the B&M functions. Indeed this is born out by the experiences on here (this forum) fitting after market head units although some state that a wiring harness adaptor is required sometimes.

So yes it seems you can go after market with bluetooth etc but will still get the flashing odo unless there is a working module present; this is my situation, a second hand B&M unit fitted to "silence" the odo but not connected to the head unit since I use (and prefer) the earlier entertainment system solution.

 

[jrkitching]

but will still get the flashing odo unless there is a working module present

I think you can get rid of the flashing odo issue by using a licenced copy of MES to delete the Blue&Me module.