Secret engineering mode menu. What do the settings mean?

[kekici]

Any luck on mg zs ev 2023 ?

 

[mikewelsh]

The ZS EV Gen 1 in Thailand has iSmart and a completely different software build supporting Thai and English labels. However, changing the the region to Thai and selecting English language will do nothing to enable iSmart as iSmart requires additional "Hardware module" for the GSM functionality. You can go back 2½ years plus on UK forums before first orders shipped to UK and find teardown photos with the head Unit out showing the separate GSM module attached to the back of the Thai Head Unit which aren't fitted to the European models.

So, is this 'Hardware Module' available as a retrofit to enable iSmart on a 2021 ZS?

 

[BarryH]

So, is this 'Hardware Module' available as a retrofit to enable iSmart on a 2021 ZS?

No apparently not.

The module would need the Thai software running on the Infotainment Head Unit to talk to the GSM iSmart hardware. So I guess it depends on what you want from the iSmart functionality for a work-around.

There have been quite a few people go down the route of installing the OVMS unit that's Open Vehicles Monitoring System ( go to Open Vehicle Monitoring System | Open Vehicles ). The ZS is a supported vehicle but it is an Open Source kind of thing and is not a fully polished commercial project. There is hardware to install and you could check out if it is what you need to install the free app (both iPhone and Android versions).

Features include:
Live monitoring of vehicle metrics like state of charge, temperatures, tyre pressures and diagnostic fault conditions. We work hard to provide as detailed information about the internals of a vehicle as possible.

It alerts you, via PUSH notifications to your smartphone, to critical conditions and events like a charge abort, battery cell failure or potential theft.

Control depending on the vehicle integration we allow you to take control over the charge process, climate control and more. Scripting capabilities, including interfacing to external charge control systems.

A built-in Web App user interface and remote control via native cellphone Apps available for Android and iOS. OVMS integrates into home/process automation systems via MQTT and provides data logging to SD card and to a server.

But it's not for everyone. I wanted just to have just tracking for when I went on holiday abroad so I had already an OBD2 plug-in dongle which I had used on my previous car and that worked well for me. It was an inexpensive purchase on Amazon and included a SIM card and a year's data and server account to see the location and speed on a map all for £40-£50. When it expired I bought a GPS GSM Tracker model which I wired into the car behind the glove box with a piggy-back fuse doubler to take always on power without cutting any wires. I attached the little black box with cable ties. On the plus side, it wasn't obvious that anything was fitted, the power drain was tiny and if I had wanted there was a relay which you could use to switch off the car remotely as a security measure ( I didn't bother). But on the negative side, it wasn't easy to identify a suitable permanent live fuse, I could only get the location ping to work but not the tracking feature to work. This meant that I would call the number for the SIM card, the device would answer and then drop the call then return the Google Maps coordinates (and if the car was in motion the speed) all as an SMS Text message with an embedded Google maps thumbnail of the location. Oh and although this device was only £15 it needed a SIM card. I found the best deal was £30 for a 12-month pre-pay from "1p Mobile" on EE. Check them out The SIM card is essentially free and the £30 is a credit from which you'll be charged 1p for a text, 1p for a 1-minute call time and 1p for 1 Meg of data until the £30 credit is used. It's brilliant for an application like this or a backup phone.

I hope this helps

 

[BlackDog]

Has anyone found a way to get to the engineering (secret) level (menu) on the 2023 mg zs ev facelift ??
there got to be a way.......