[san~man]

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
I first saw Brad@EAS post this Flash2Pass (F2P) system in the sponsor's area about 3 weeks ago and thought it was an innovative and convenient product, so I thought I'd give it a try. I previously had my Raynor garage door remote sitting in the ashtray area, but it was rather (1) ugly, and (2) cumbersome since the ashtray door wouldn't close easily.



Sure, you could always use the provided clip that the manufacturer attaches to the remote, but it leaves an indentation over time and can be easily stolen (should someone break into your car).

PRICING:
The basic package was $79.95 (1 receiver and 1 transmitter) and shipping via FedEx to me was $14.95. You can also purchase multiple transmitters on the flash2pass.com website if you want to enable multiple vehicles.


TOOL LIST:
1. Flat head and/or phillips screwdriver.
2. Black electric tape and/or black wire loom (for cosmetic appearance).
3. Black wire ties
4. Double sided foam tape (for mounting, optional)
5. Soldering iron (helpful, but not necessary)



PARTS LIST:
The package arrived in about 3 days (thanks again Brad!) and here's the parts list:

1. Receiver (F2P photo):


This receiver either (1) replaces your existing wall button/receiver, or (2) "piggybacks" your current receiver in case you have more than one vehicle with existing garage door remotes and you only purchase one F2P transmitter. I chose #2, since I didn't realize that the customer could purchase more than one transmitter. I may decide to buy another transmitter later to install into my second vehicle, or I may not. At least the end user has the choice.

2. Transmitter (F2P photo):


The transmitter is installed in your engine bay and is tapped into your factory headlight wiring harness by 2 convenient taps that are included with the product. There's 2 wires that lead out of the transmitter, 1 going to the high beam wire and the other going to the ground. Either wire can go to high beam or ground as they're non-polarized.

3. Wire tap connectors (2 pcs) and screws (no photo)


INSTALLATION STEPS:

1. Locate the headlight wiring harness in the engine bay. It's attached to the upper left side of the driver's side headlight, and clips in. Use your thumb and index finger to squeeze the clip, and the headlight molex connector will pop out.

Here's a photo of the passenger side headlight, but the driver side is exactly the same:




2. Remove the back cover that hides the wires of the headlight connector molex.





3. Looking at this diagram, you can use it to locate the (a) highbeam wire which is #6 on the connector and (b) the ground wire which is #4 on the connector. This diagram isn't totally correct as far as what pin numbers are open, but the highbeam wire number and the ground wire number are correct.

**Edit: I have been told this diagram isn't correct for an e92, so be sure to check the wiring with a test light if you don't have an accurate diagram handy**


* I don't know who's diagram this is so I can't give that person credit for it *



4. Tap the high beam wire (white w/green stripe) and the ground wire (thick brown, but there are 2 so make sure you have the correct pin number) using the supplied blue wire taps. They're very easy to use and practically foolproof. Make sure you place the tap far enough away from the molex connector so the back cover can be replaced. Also, you can now install the wires from the transmitter into the top part of the taps. Either wire from the transmitter can go to the high beam wire or the ground wire. This part of the wiring is also non-polarized so it doesn't matter which wire you choose to use.






5. Replace the cover and then reinstall the headlight molex onto the headlight.





6. Mount the transmitter in the engine compartment. I chose to use two sided foam tape, and mounted the tranmitter to the part of the shock tower bracing.



That's it for the engine bay, simple huh?



7. Wiring the receiver is also just as simple. Again, the receiver is non-polarized, so it doesn't matter which wire currently attached to your existing receiver goes to which screw. Here's the back of the F2P receiver:


As you can see in the pic, I just used some regular 18ga wire I had laying around the house. I soldered the ends so it would be easier to lock down under the screw.



8. In my particular case, I "piggybacked" the F2P receiver with my existing garage door receiver. All I did was simply tie in the two lines I connected to the F2P receiver to the existing receiver. Again, non-polarized wires so it makes no difference which wire from the F2P receiver goes to which connector on the existing receiver.




9. I mounted the F2P receiver above my existing receiver, and I was finished.





CONCLUSION:
I tested out the system, and it worked flawlessly the first time. Two quick flicks of the high beam stalk will open/close your garage door, and you can get rid of your ugly existing garage door remote.

Thanks to Brad@EAS and EAS for bringing a great product to the market.

PM me or post any questions.

[doba_s]

wow ... good info ... thanks for sharing

[montreal red]

awesome... i may do it myself.

[san~man]

Originally Posted by montreal jet black

awesome... i may do it myself.

Do it, with this DIY you'd be done in 5 minutes lol.

[Mattscott]

glad the wiring diagram worked for you. It's a pretty cool thing too.

[san~man]

Originally Posted by Mattscott

glad the wiring diagram worked for you. It's a pretty cool thing too.

Ya, it's accurate where it has to be (pins #4 and #6), but not where it doesn't.

[Mattscott]

Originally Posted by san~man

Ya, it's accurate where it has to be (pins #4 and #6), but not where it doesn't.

weird it was completely accurate on my car.

[san~man]

Originally Posted by Mattscott

weird it was completely accurate on my car.

On my car, you can see the pins that were supposed to be "empty" on the wiring diagram have an actual wire present.



In the pic, you can see that #6 is the high beam wire, while #'s 7 and 8 are empty. Pin #'s 9-12 have wires in the slots, but #'s 9-11 are supposed to be empty according to the diagram. Not that it matters, but on my year vehicle (08'), they changed something.

[tom @ eas]

Great review - glad you are happy with your new F2P

[MMAJNKE]

Awesome write up!!!

[san~man]

Here's a follow up of the system:

After almost 2 weeks, the system is still working flawlessly. The only thing I wish the system could improve upon is the operating range. I'm sure that if I mounted the transmitter behind the front bumper cover that the range would increase dramatically, but it's basically just a nit-pick of the design and it's only perceivable "flaw" if you will. One doesn't necessarily "need" to have the abililty to flash the garage door open from a block away, but it would be nice. Again, I'm sure if I move the transmitter out of the engine bay the range would increase by at least 2 fold.

Other than that, I'm completely satisfied.

[enforcerman]

Where did you buy this from? The flash2pass.com website is not there.

[yzfman]

Originally Posted by enforcerman

Where did you buy this from? The flash2pass.com website is not there.

x2

[tom @ eas]

The F2P kits can be found directly on our site.

[enforcerman]

Just ordered the kit. It was shipped the same day I ordered it. Nice and fast. Can't wait to install the kit.

[enforcerman]

Installed the kit. Very easy and works like a charm. Only thing i did different was mount the transmitter on top of my passengers side headlight with double sided tape and run the wires under the steel crossmember. On my car (2007 328i, 01/07 production) the wires were a little different. Brown was still the ground, but the other wire was white w/ a blue stripe. Transmitter distance is about 1/2 a house less than my hand held transmitter, but still plenty far enough to open the garage door before I get to my house. All in all, very satisfied.

[ontopofm]

i tapped onto those 2 wires but it doesnt work when i flicked on the high beam, did you guys tap wire #5 and #6 together or just #6 alone? i've tried both #2 and #4 for ground but neither works for me.

[ontopofm]

Update: for E92 guys, the high beam is wire #5. I got it to work this morning after putting it off for months.

[mkPOTO]

as soon as i get my 3 i am goign to do this, great write up

[CRS]

Great write up.

For the LCI E90s, the ground wire is still the brown one and the highbeam is the white with blue strips.

Overall, a 10mins job which includes everything.

[Alexandro]

Sorry for the little thread resurrection and slightly off-topic question.

Did you remove the headlamp wiring cover in the passenger headlight?

Passenger (without cover):


Driver (with cover):


My CPO car came without the cover on the passenger side, and I wonder if it's missing or if it's by design.


By the way, the tutorial was very good. Myself, I use one keychain sized garage door opener (smaller than the keyfob), which I still keep in the ashtray.

[san~man]

I think I took the cover off for the photo