How do I get OBDII software working?

Question

I have an ODBII USB cable for vehicle diagnostics, unfortunately I haven't been able to get it working on Ubuntu 12.04. The closest I've come is using the VAG-COM software with wine, using the ln -s /dev/ttyUSB0 ~/.wine/dosdevices/com1 trick and running stty -F /dev/ttyUSB0 speed 9600 repeatedly. It will connect and show the vehicle is OBDII, but none of the useful features seem to be working. I tried:

• Scantool - says it's connecting to the /dev/device in terminal, but doesn't.
• obdgpslogger - times out all the time.
• pyobd - This seems to be the most up-to-date source I could find, I had to adjust the code a bit to work (see here for changes). Still, in obd_io.py interpret_result function, it says it's looking for 4 space separated numbers, where the usb-serial is receiving bogus code "0100" instead?

• freediag - I tried compiling, sh ./configure ran fine. I had to change some executable bit to make it start to compile, but now running make gives error:

  diag_general.c:52: undefined reference to diag_l0_config' diag_general.c:55: undefined reference todiag_l2_config' collect2: ld returned 1 exit status ...

  and fails.

The device shows up in lsusb as:

ID 0403:6001 Future Technology Devices International, Ltd FT232 USB-Serial (UART) IC

Is the problem that these native tools don't expect a USB serial, or a serial of this type? Or are these apps too old to recognize OBD2 of this vehicle?

Solution

Reference Data 1.This cable can not work if your car uses a protocol ssystem like VPW,PWM or Can-bus

This is a direct copy/paste from the Amazon page for the cable you link to. It may be that the cable just doesn't work with your device, though I would think the programs should see a non-working cable attached.

Have you also tried Freediag?

Comments

[NoBugs]

I don't know of any vehicles with CAN/VPW/etc, mine is OBDII (the cable has "OBDII" embedded into the car end). I tried Freediag, but it wouldn't compile. See updated info in question.

[dobey]

OK. So, OBD-II isn't a protocol, itself. There are multiple protocols which fall under the OBD-II standard. If your vehicle is a US vehicle newer than 2008, it's almost certainly using CAN. If it's older, it may or may not be using it. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… for some more info. What year/make/model is the vehicle you're attempting to use it with?

[NoBugs]

Good find! I didn't know there were different protocols. The diagnostics connector has 6 wires connected, three are together.

[NoBugs]

Pins 1, 6, 10, 12, 13, and 14 have wires going from the diagnostics port. This page doesn't list the protocol: auterraweb.com/obdiipinout.html Furthermore, the manual makes no mention of OBD.

[dobey]

Those pins are on the cable side, or in your vehicle? What year/make/model is the car?

[NoBugs]

The cable has all pins, but only 1,6,10,12,13,14 are on the diagnostic port. I looked up the model and on one forum they say it uses Nissan Consult, which is a proprietary system, not OBD :(

[dobey]

I think you might be reading the pins backward on the obd port on the car. Is it a pre-2000 Nissan? Does the port on the car have only 14 pins? The Nissan Consult connector is 14 pins and shaped differently than the OBD-II connector, so you shouldn't even be able to plug them together.

[NoBugs]

Pre-2000 and it has exact same connector as OBDII, but those pins don't match any specification I've found. See mp3car.com/engine-management-obd-ii-engine-diagnostics-etc/…

[dobey]

If it's actually Consult, then you'll need something like this, instead: plmsdevelopments.com/consult_if.shtml

[Nmath]

It would be best if you would explain how to apply your solution.