VDASH Pt 2. is coming....

I have been getting a lot of messages from people asking about VDASH Pt. 2.

I apologize for the delay, currently in the process of starting a new job after graduation. As such, I dont have much time recently to get time to make the second part of the write up. An issue I have is that I do not have much space to do work due to my current living in an appt. complex. (No outlet to connect to trickle charger).

I actually have a big modification coming soon that I hope will help get me back into writing on this blog.

Stay tuned - Jack

VDASH Pt. 1 - A new tool for a modern Volvo hacker

Owning a 2012 P3 S60 means that there are a lot of features that were added to later models, or removed from the car for the US market. Some of these features include remote start, remote window controls, and even automatic headlights. Luckily there is a tool to add these features in, and it is called VDASH. VDASH is a program that connects through a Volvo DiCE system to crack the CEM and modify options on the car. The program is ‘payment” based, and requires a few hundred dollars to unlock all of the options you will want to add. For reference, remote start, TFT digital dash modifications, and auto headlights costs around $40 in options from VDASH, a far departure from the hundreds of dollars a dealer would charge just to add remote start.

For my car, I was able to add in remote start, window key controls, and auto headlights (with the addition of the appropriate parts, but I will get into that later).

Part 1 - Installation and Setup

Before we begin, you are going to need the following equipment:

• Windows PC, preferably with a decent CPU

• Volvo DICE Tool, these can be found on AliExpress for around $80, and can be helpful for DIY projects such as this as well, as diagnostics with Volvo VIDA.

• Battery Tender (capable of over 7A)

• VDash Software, download from D5T5

  • I have made a copy of the VDASH folders available as a downloadable ZIP

Once you have installed the program, you will be asked to make an account. Unless you are a shop, you are best served with the free account not the subscription. Connecting to your car is as easy as plugging into the OBD2 port with your DICE connector, and plugging its USB connector into your laptop. If everything is ready to go the program will be able to read data from your car and it will show up on the bottom of the screen.

If you are planning to crack the CEM, connect your battery charger beforehand! This process can take a while, and it will automatically stop reading your CEM if the battery charge falls too low. Since I was using an outdoor plug, I made sure to also buy an extension cord with a 3 female end. This way I could have my battery charger and laptop plugged in for the process.

I used a Black & Decker car battery charger that had a peak charge of 15A, with the ability to do 40A. It had a nice screen that showed the battery percentage, as well as charge rates.

Part 2 - Running VDASH & Cracking the CEM

Once you have connected your PC to your car, it should be fairly obvious in the VDASH program that it is working. You will get multiple different readouts from the vehicle. From here you can go to the lower right corner to the button that says Decrypt CEM. This process can take a while, and can be affected by your CPU speeds. (So your old dual core HP may not be the best choice!) You will also need a stable connection from the PC to the internet, as your progress is saved online, and data is transmitted to the VDASH developers. I highly recommend you start this process at night, as your car will not be drive-able while the program is working. You can stop the process at any time, and pick up where you left off. I left my DiCE unit hanging in a location that I could see the lights blinking. If you see that none are blinking during the brute force crack, then the process has either stalled for some reason, or it is done. For my personal car, I actually used my desktop computer which allowed me to finish in around 6 hours.

This is the screen you should get when the car is connected. (Where mine says CEM: Configuration change supported will show an UNLOCK CEM button, for those cars that are not unlocked yet).

My desktop has a i7 5820k (6 cores), which allowed me to brute force this decryption much faster.

Once the process is complete, we can now go into VDASH and begin to configure car settings. I will be covering all of my mods in part 2 of this write up. I will be covering things such as auto headlight installation for 2011 and 2012 cars, as well as adding remote start and global window controls. I will also be showing many of the other features available in the app that I did not add to my car, or are not applicable for my S60. Stay tuned!

2013+ Shifter Retrofit Project Pt. 2 - Reconstruction and Installation

This is the second part of replacing the shifter, if you have not seen part 1 yet, I highly recommend starting there!

Installation of the new parts is like the teardown but in reverse. One thing to note is that you can not attach the knob and boot before attaching them to the shaft of the shifter! The design of the clips is made to that it retains the knob and boot when it is attached. During installation, place the boot on the shaft (do not clip it in until the end, especially the lower clips at the base of the boot) and then attach the knob and move it down into position. Make sure you have the knob trigger pressed in when pushing down, and test to make sure the movement is working. From there, press the top of the boot into place, this requires a good bit of force, as once these clips attach, the whole upper assembly is locked in.

From here, move the wire into the provided zip tie loop and move it around the base and plug it in. I made the mistake of clipping in the boot base clips and had to carefully undo them to move the wire into the correct location. Once the cable is in place, press down on the corners of the boot to lock it into place.

Now we will begin the process of installing the shifter into the car!

For this, I used p.ricos guide on the Swedespeed forums.

Thread: https://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?505041-2013-Illuminated-Shifter-Assembly-Retrofit-into-2011-2012-S60-s

As a secondary resource, I also had handy a copy of the PDF from Vida which shows techs the process of removal.

The process is actually very easy, and may seem daunting. The tools you will need are minimal, and the hardest part is just shimmying many of the parts in and out of position. Personally this job took me around an hour and a half, and I had one other person help me.

Mid-removal of the old shifter.

Following the guide makes the process a breeze, and always make sure to test everything before re-assembly! There is a small connector on the side that if not plugged in will not trigger the brake release. Overall I am very happy with this upgrade, and the new shifter looks and feels great. Its even quieter than the old one which is a plus! My next project will most likely be my venture into the world of using V.DASH so stay tuned! I will leave the comments open on this post, so feel free to ask questions here of in the respective SwedeSpeed forum post.