obd 2 question

Hi all,
Wondering if anyone can help me , i would like to buy an OBD 11 ISO lead and get the software for my 96 850 T5.
It could be very useful to know what is going on underneath the bonnet , because the engine has been rebuilt and modified Volvo main dealers are giving me a load of crap ,saying that the car is throwing check engine lights because of the modifications made to the car, they really are being unhelpful trying to find the problem.Preferably i would like to purchase one in the uk as opposed to the states,i have seen a post on making one yourself but dont think i would be brave enough,i asked volvo where i could get one same answer ,Dont Know.



Many thanks

Paddy-Jason

[pyaap]

I think part of the problem you're gonna find is a lot of the software and OBDII scanners out there don't support all the Volvo software protocols. You'll be able to view / log very little live engine data, but if you're looking for something to read and erase fault codes, then there's quite a lot of stuff out there.

To be able to read everything from the car, you're gonna need VADIS software and a VCT2000 which is quite expensive I think; however, at dealer labour rates, if you need to do a lot of diagnostic work to the car, it may be worth considering. Do bear in mind that OBDII diagnostic kit is sometimes useless; I had a CEL on my car and the dealer could not draw any info on the fault and it took them over a week to actually strip things out and isolate the cause.

Thanks for your help will try a search on the internet for Vadis software and VCT2000.

Regards

Paddy -Jason

[cootuk]

I think you'll find the VCT2000 could cost a few thousand £ as it's really meant for dealers...can you find a friendlier dealer who is more amenable to having a play with the software on your car?
How often will you want to query the data?
What are you trying to find out?

Where abouts are you and maybe someone can suggest a more enthusiastic dealer/independant.

[pyaap]

Here in the UK, you'll pay well over a thousand £ for the VCT 2000 unit; we pay way over the odds for that just as we do pretty much everything else. Try and see if you can pick one up from the US. I've heard them going for around £400 over there, but I'm not sure if they're used units.

[Chris_Rogers]

Don't waste your time or money on this:

a EU '96 T5 (Motronic 4.3) is not OBDII compliant so no OBDII software will work.
a VCT 2000 will not work either it's for 1999> cars.
You need a Volvo scan tool to read live data from your car this is available from autodiagnos.com but will cost you £3000+.

But you can read/reset the codes using a simple LED and switch like this:

On '96/'97 850 cars with the 16 way 'OBDII' socket, and
maybe other models, some of the control modules use 'flash'
codes.
To retrieve the flash codes the following procedure can be
adopted:
Connect an LED, with the correct polarity, in series with a
1800 ohm resistor, between pin 16 (+) and pin X, where X is
the pin corresponding with the module to be read. Connect a
push to make switch between pin X and pins 4 or 5 (-).
The circuit can then be used in the same way as the pre '96
diagnostic sockets, situated in the engine compartment.

For:

Motronic 4.3 or Fenix 5.2, X = 3.

850 ECC , X = 6,

Timer Type 4, X = 9.

All models: Cruise Control, X = 13,

900 & S/V 90 ABS, X = 12 .

[Simon Linton]

I agree with all the above - a full diagnostic reader is what you need and you also need all the software info (which is available for independents on your age of car)

BUT you may find that it's NOT available to private individuals (unless you have a VAT number).

In any case the cost will be equal to the cost of a new car of that vintage, so I really wouldn't bother.

If you're in the Midlands area, I'd try Sheffield & Meredith in Leicester who have the diagnosis gear and are very helpful, if elsewhere ask here if members have a good service garage more local to you.

[cootuk]

I see the OP has a registered address on here in Dublin, so I guess it's over to our Irish readers for a helpful dealer. After all you'd only be taking an enthusiastic mechanics time to go through Vadis with you and let them have some fun deciphering what's been done to your car...I'd pay for the mechanics time. Just find a friendly dealer.

[Chris_Rogers]

>I agree with all the above - a full diagnostic reader is what
>you need and you also need all the software info (which is
>available for independents on your age of car)
>
>BUT you may find that it's NOT available to private
>individuals (unless you have a VAT number).
>
>In any case the cost will be equal to the cost of a new car
>of that vintage, so I really wouldn't bother.
>
>If you're in the Midlands area, I'd try Sheffield & Meredith
>in Leicester who have the diagnosis gear and are very helpful,
>if elsewhere ask here if members have a good service garage
>more local to you.

Nice to agree Simon!

To the original poster:
If you don't want to make your own and are a club member I made a LED/Switch reader for the club some time ago and passed it to the tools manager, John Hunt, so it should be available for hire from him.

Hi I have seen the complete kit today on ebay, they are bringing about £50