OBDII codes

[ajkalian]

I was planning on getting a PC based scan tool and figured that I should get up to speed on what all the OBD II codes were, and what they meant. I never thought it was going to be as complicated as it turned out to be. I couldn't find one site that had everything. So I picked up a little here, a little there, and compiled them all into some documents that I could refer to.

I couldn't find a way to post the HTML pages on PhotoBucket, so I just copied them to my personal web space. Hopefully there won't be too much traffic generated to cause the BandWidth Police at my ISP send me nastygrams.

and here is some of the web sites that I used to gather the information:

http://www.nology.com/OBD2FaultCodes.htm
http://www.obd-codes.com/
http://www.alflash.com.ua/o2calif.htm
http://www.aa1car.com/trouble-codes/index.htm
http://www.engine-light-help.com/


P.S. As it turns out I did get that PC based scanner, and will be posting a review on it after I get a bit more acquainted with it. I got the Bluetooth version so I can sit at my computer in my house and monitor my car parked in the garage without any wires attached. And I don't need a laptop to do it either. Just using my desktop computer. Pretty slick, but it is not without some problems. More on this later.

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by pgmomni

I have a scangaugeII and while its useful what I really need is a PC based OdbII program that gives live data

Years ago I got a autotap but always had problems with its serial interface and laptop BS.

What is it that you bought? How is it working?

Can you monitor the A/F and o2 sensors in real time and view them like a oscillator in sine wave format?

tks

Pete

I'll give you the short answer, and if you want the long version, I can add it later.

I bought the OBDLink from ScanTool.net. Here's the link to the site and the product. http://www.scantool.net/obdlink.html I also got the Bluetooth version because I didn't want to be stuck in the car all the time. The Bluetooth dongle that they have works fine, once you get it set up, but I will warn you, it is no walk in the park. Once setup it does work as advertised and you can connect to your car while it is in the garage while you are sitting in your house because the Bluetooth adapter they have is good for 300 feet. I didn't pace it off, but it's much better than the normal 30 feet you get with regular Bluetooth.

The OBDLink works as advertised, no problems hooking it up, or reading codes.

The biggest problem I had was with the Software. The reason that I chose the ELM interface is that it's open source, and I figured that I could get lots of packages to work with it. While that is true, I came to find out that most all of the software packages are pretty lame. They send you a CD with several programs on it, and the one they supply for free, ScanTool Net for Windows is just comical. You can't save any of the output, you can't print any of the output, and when you click the "Freeze Frame", or "Tests" tab, you get a message that those functions "aren't implemented in this version", and I come to find out that they aren't implemented in any version. And if that weren't bad enough, the interface has a SpongeBob SquarePants look to it.

The rest of the programs on the CD are crippled beyond being able to see what they do, or don't do, so I didn't spend a lot of time with any of them. One program, however did stand out. Even though the version that they shipped on the CD was the registered version, and it asked you for a software key, which of course you don't have.

But you can go to the web site http://www.wgsoft.de/index.php?optio...mid=75&lang=en and download the Demo version ScanMaster ELM 2.0, install and run it. The functions that aren't available in the Demo version are just greyed out, or you get a message to that effect. But it is by far the best software package of the lot. And I looked at over 10 different software packages before I bought ScanMaster.

There is a forum at ScanTool.net for ScanMaster that is monitored by the author of the program, Wladimir Gurskij, and he is very prompt to answer any questions you may have. A big plus.

As to your question whether you can monitor the Sensors in real time and the answer is yes. There is a live data mode graph but it is not an oscillator type graph. You can monitor the just the data, and watch it numerically change or use the graph.

The best thing for you to do, is to download the Demo program of ScanMaster and check it out. One of the nicest parts of the program is the ability to print out a report. It has everything that is in the program while you are scanning your car. Here's one I took of a rental car, a 2010 Camry 4cyl LE that I got while mine was being fixed. It will give you an idea of the detail that the ScanMaster ELM goes into.

One last thing. There are lots of ELM scanners on eBay. They say they will work with any ELM software, but don't believe them. There's lots of messages on the forums from people that bought them from eBay, got the ScanTool.net software, and are complaining because it doesn't work. So if you are thinking of getting a chinese cheepie from eBay, fergetaboutit.

Hope this helps

[2004]

thank you for all of your hard work, ajkalian

[peshwa]

You da man AJKalian...thanks a bunch for such an informative post. Any more updates on your OBD scanning software? One member IIRC fenixus is using scanmaster ELM software.

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by 2004

thank you for all of your hard work, ajkalian

You da man AJKalian...thanks a bunch for such an informative post. Any more updates on your OBD scanning software? One member IIRC fenixus is using scanmaster ELM software.

Your welcome guys, enjoyed putting it together. I noticed one of the links to the report was foobar, but it's fixed now.

Peshwa, there's been some upgrades over at ScanTool.net. They got rid of the software that they used to ship with the OBDLink connector and partnered with TouchScan to come up with an OEM version and they called it OBDWiz. I kid you not. Unfortunately they didn't offer an upgrade path to anyone that purchased the Scantool package prior to the name change.

I would have at least liked to try an uncrippled version of TouchScan, but that ain't gonna happen.

ScanMaster ELM has upgraded the software to and they have a nifty Dashboard interface. It's pretty slick. Although I don't have any hard evidence, there seems to be some friction between the ScanTool.net people and the author of Scanmaster ELM. He was quite active on the Forum, but hasn't posted any messages since January of this year. I sent him a note on his own web site about any upgrades, and he replied promptly with a link to download it. I sent him back my impressions and log file for him to take a look at, but I haven't heard back from him. It's been over a month since I sent the message.

Other than that, not too much to report. My car is running fine, no codes every time I scan it, so it's pretty boring, if you want to know the truth. I'm almost hoping for a CEL to come on, so I would have something to do. So far I feel like the Maytag Repair Man.


.

[peshwa]

Thanks a lot for the update...So finally which tool do you recommend?

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by peshwa

Thanks a lot for the update...So finally which tool do you recommend?

For my money, the ScanTool.net OBDLink with the Bluetooth version is the way to go. AFAIK it's the only one that offers Bluetooth Wireless connectivity. It's so convenient to sit at your desktop computer in the comfort of your house and scan your car parked in the garage, or in the driveway. No need to wrestle with the laptop inside the car. When I use the laptop in the garage, I just put it on the bench, or what's really nice, is if I'm doing some adjustments, I can wrench on the engine, and put the laptop where I can see the adjustments in real time. It works great.

If you don't care about or don't want to pay for the Bluetooth version then you can get the regular OBDLink version from ScanTool.net. It works fine. Another product that you might consider is AutoTap. They have a very comprehensive product lineup. It's a bit more expensive, and they don't offer any Bluetooth version yet, so you will be tethered to the car with their version. They have a great FAQ section on their website. Unfortunately, only AutoTap software works with AutoTap products, so you are stuck with their software for better or worse.

If you want to go el-cheapo-deluxe then you can buy a generic ELM based scanner on eBay. Some software products don't work with the ELM clones, some do. IIRC, Fenixus has one of these and uses ScanMaster ELMScan with it and it works fine. Maybe he can add to the discussion.

As far as other software goes, it's a crap shoot. AutoTap has some problems, maybe some other people that use it can chime in. ScanTool.net now bundles TouchScan with their product, and Touchscan looks to be capable, but I don't know how much the OEM version is crippled, if at all.

My favorite, and the one I use, is ScanMaster ELMScan. It has a nice interface, and with the new Dashboard, it's pretty nifty. The report that you can create is by far and away the best of any scan software I've seen. The link is posted above. Although I do wish ScanMaster had a way to save your settings from one session to the next. But that's about the only gripe I have with the product.

All of these products fall in the under $70.00 range and with the hardware interface depending on the version you can expect to spend maybe $200, maybe half that if you go el-cheapo-deluxe. The $200 is comparable to what you would have to pay for a high end dedicated non-pc based scanner like the ones you see at Autozone, Actron etc.

Keep in mind that all of these PC based software, and hardware are only entry level products. The "real" ones that dealers and mechanics use costs thousands of dollars. You won't be able to access the $06 Super Secret manufacture dedicated codes. Nor will you be able to change anything. All of these product are read-only. But for the DIY mechanic, they are a great way to get lots of information that was, up to now, hidden from us.

If nothing else, you will know what codes are stored, and the overall health of your car. So when you take it to a mechanic, and they give you the Ram-a-Lam about this and that, you can just show them the printout, and ask them which parameter they are referring to.


.

[peshwa]

Hi Al
I wish to look at a 2004 Mazda6 i OBD codes and I guess I need following:
-A hardware piece (an ELM interface compatible cable ) to connect to the car's DLC
-A CAN-OBDII interface connector (I read Mazda's dont have the regular OBD connectors)
-A ELM compatible software ( ScanMaster ELMScan??)
I found this

Amazon

Amazon

on Amazon for ~ $40.00. Will it work for the OBDII connector cable part?
The OBDLink is fairly expensive it seems http://www.scantool.net/obdlink.html at ~ 102 dollars!!
Which one do you guys recommend. Help me!

[ajkalian]

Originally Posted by peshwa

Hi Al
I wish to look at a 2004 Mazda6 i OBD codes and I guess I need following:
-A hardware piece (an ELM interface compatible cable ) to connect to the car's DLC
-A CAN-OBDII interface connector (I read Mazda's dont have the regular OBD connectors)
-A ELM compatible software ( ScanMaster ELMScan??)
I found this http://www.amazon.com/ElmScan-Compact-Scan-Tool-423001/dp/B002PYBZJO/ref=sr_1_2?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1296102769&sr= 1-2 on Amazon for ~ $40.00. Will it work for the OBDII connector cable part?
The OBDLink is fairly expensive it seems http://www.scantool.net/obdlink.html at ~ 102 dollars!!
Which one do you guys recommend. Help me!

Peshwa:
Get the one from Amazon. It's the latest and greatest from ScanTool and comes with OBDWiz software( Great name, eh). Anyway, it's the USB cabled version so you will be stuck in the car. The OBDLink is the fancy smanchy one that has bluetooth.

But for $40.00 you can't go wrong. BTW, the OBDWiz software is an OEM version of TouchScan. Very capable, but I don't know how dumbed down the OEM software is compared to the complete version. It has to be better than the Sponge Bob Square Pants version of ScanTool Net that used to come with their products.

I don't know where you read about Mazda's having some weird port. All cars after 1996 have the same OBDII DLC, so you shouldn't have any problems with it connecting to the Mazda...he says confidently, but admitting never scanning any Mazda.

Get it, and let us know how it goes.

Al.

[coffee-3000]

Hi Guys. I recently got theTouchScan OBD Software from ScanTool.net.
It's only $25 ( without the ELM Interface ). I already had the ELM327 Interface ( the cable with the little box on it ). It's great. I'll post some pictures this weekend.

And ajkalian is correct. There isn't any free software out there that's any good.

Here is the photo of the ELM327 Interface that works with the software.

[LynchburgCSI]

^ Oh hey. That's pretty cool. Oh wait... OBDI, Ken. 3VZ-FE.

[peshwa]

Thanks I didnt know Scantool sold a cheapo ELM327 USB OBD connector. I burned twice the money then on the more sophisticated ELMScan 5 ... I purchased the ELMScan5 USB from Amazon with their free spongebob-square pants OBDWiz...planning on trying it out tonight.