How to: Talk to your car!

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R

R2D2

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 23, 2004
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6,957
Car
C350
Having read a lot about car scanners I invested in an Elm 327 based USB car dianostic interface. It arrived yesterday complete with a CD of software (much of which was rubbish!). Having looked at the software I decided to start my learning curve by using Easyobd11 and I decided to download the lastest version (V2.3.1) from their website which is available for free!

Having copied the software to the desktop I plugged in the interface into a USB port and then windows ran "add New Hardware" and I pointed it to the software folder. Once it had installed the drivers, I needed to go to device manager where listed under "ports" was "Com and LPT". I could then see that in my case the interface had been allocated Com3.

I then went to the car and plugged the interface into the OBD port (On Board Diagnostics!) and launched EasyOBD; it straight away found com3 without me needing to point it there! It also set the baud rate automatically which saved some experimentation:)

I then run the different test screen shots of which will follow. you will gather that my car has no fault codes :D:D

Photo 1 is the interfave plugged in under my dashboard. Photo 2 is the other end of the cable plugged into my laptop, and photo 3 shows the first page of Easy OBD with all green indicators (Good!).
 
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Photos of live data. (I'm driving slowly so that my son can do the screen captures!)
 
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Even more photos. the third one is a different piece of software called Scantool.net.1.13.

Doing this stuff and clearing faults or identifying faults is a lot easier than you would think. By the way my interface cost 12 quid!
 
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If anyone is near Medway and wants to join in the experiment then I might be able to read your codes as well.

Just for reference here are examples of some fault codes.
 
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Excellent stuff!

Where did you you manage to find it for twelve quid?




Well, someone had to ask.
 
Can I just ask a question?

How do you know the live data you are readning is correct?
 
BlackC55 said:
Can I just ask a question?

How do you know the live data you are readning is correct?
Click to expand...

Well some readings I can bring up on my dash board like temperature and speed and they are identical to the readouts (and why wouldn't they be) and I'd trust the other reading to give me an indication of when I need to get help or visit a garage. I'm not saying this replaces the need for garages, if anything one is more likely to pick up faults sooner and seek help!
 
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R2D2 said:
Well some readings I can bring up on my dash board like temperature and speed and they are identical to the readouts (and why wouldn't they be) and I'd trust the other reading to give me an indication of when I need to get help or visit a garage. I'm saying this replaces the need for garages, if anything one is more likely to pick up faults sooner and seek help!
Click to expand...


The problem with these fault code readers/diagnostic machines is that there is no way of you to know if the data is correct or not. Say if a lambda sensor is playing up what do you expect to see? :dk:

Many many of these readers do not pick up all of the fault codes either which is very handy!:wallbash:

What I am getting at is that if you don't have the experiance with diagnostic machines they are almost pointless. Ok it is fun to have a play and see how stuff works but that is about as far as it goes.

For under £20 its a fun peice of kit. Just don't take it too seriously:thumb::p
 
A shame this only works for OBDII although very good indeed, any link to a specific seller ?
 
BlackC55 said:
The problem with these fault code readers/diagnostic machines is that there is no way of you to know if the data is correct or not. Say if a lambda sensor is playing up what do you expect to see? :dk:

Many many of these readers do not pick up all of the fault codes either which is very handy!:wallbash:

What I am getting at is that if you don't have the experiance with diagnostic machines they are almost pointless. Ok it is fun to have a play and see how stuff works but that is about as far as it goes.

For under £20 its a fun peice of kit. Just don't take it too seriously:thumb::p
Click to expand...

All true, however, last week my sister in laws engine light came on. A code reader told her it was the throttle position sensor. Bought a new part from MB, bolted it on, cleared the fault and voila! Yes fun but helpful fun:)
 
gurpz said:
A shame this only works for OBDII although very good indeed, any link to a specific seller ?
Click to expand...
added above but the second CD supplied is rubbish and my antivirus didn't like it, so I'd stick to the driver CD only.HTH
 
R2D2 said:
All true, however, last week my sister in laws engine light came on. A code reader told her it was the throttle position sensor. Bought a new part from MB, bolted it on, cleared the fault and voila! Yes fun but helpful fun:)
Click to expand...

You were very lucky then. :D

Not all fault codes mean that that item is faulty. You have to think a bit sideways.

Just be careful thats all.:thumb:
 
Personally, I would fit a small tft screen in place of the map-holder/cd-holder in the W202 and hook it up to a laptop under the seat... Hook that up to a ODB reader and a GPS antenna, and voila, one of the most advanced in-car sensor units ;)

Now I just need to find a 7" touchscreen...

M.
 
I have a similar unit and use digimoto software, I originally got it when I was setting up my old Jeep for LPG so I could monitor the O2 sensors while tuning the system. A nice feature on the digimoto software is that you can real time graph the various sensors, capture the data and compare results afterwards.

Also has a neat little qtr mile timer and BHP calculator, not very accurate but good fun to play with when you're bored ;)

Not used it in a while now the Jeep's gone but it's a handy little tool to have in the bag :cool:

Mike
 
MJH said:
I have a similar unit and use digimoto software, I originally got it when I was setting up my old Jeep for LPG so I could monitor the O2 sensors while tuning the system. A nice feature on the digimoto software is that you can real time graph the various sensors, capture the data and compare results afterwards.

Also has a neat little qtr mile timer and BHP calculator, not very accurate but good fun to play with when you're bored ;)

Not used it in a while now the Jeep's gone but it's a handy little tool to have in the bag :cool:

Mike
Click to expand...

I'd noticed that some of the OBD could do BHP readings, I was just hoping not to have to buy more software....
 
R2D2 said:
not to have to buy more software....
Click to expand...

I didn't :D google is your friend ;)

Unfortunately I can't find the setup for it else I'd email you a copy to play with.
 
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