Colorblend

Hello revered Subarists! I tried posting before but it seems I messed it up somehow because my post is gone. I am in need of a little assistance regarding code readers.

I had some issues with both a 2001 Impreza and a 1999 Legacy and felt it was time to get a code reader so one can do some investigation at home instead of just asking people. So here I am now, asking for help..... I tried reading up on the technicalities of code readers and all the protocols and such but it got overwhelming so I just ordered one for 100 bucks, a bit hit-and-miss.

This one is called Dibotech OBD-2 scanner. I've seen ones online that look identical called VAG so I guess it is a common chinese product sold with different labels on it. I hooked it up to the 2001 Impreza and it connected without issue and displayed the "old" code. It deleted the code no problem and displayed all kinds of data.

Buut: When I tried hooking it up to my trusty ol' Legacy it lit up, chewed through the different protocols for a while but could not connect, I tried a few times, checked the connector and cables and so on. Google told me to check all the fuses and they are all good. I read that on some Subarus the cigarette fuse needs to be good for the OBDII port to work. Regarding that, I did kill the lighter outlet years ago when I ran the living hell out of a 12V compressor with it and it has not worked since but the fuse is good with voltage on both sides, as are all other fuses. But since the scanner lights up it obviously has power so that should not even be an issue I guess?

Is there any reason for this particular scanner not to work on my old Legacy? The supported protocols in the device info reads like this:

ISO15765-4 (CAN)

ISO14230-4 (KWP2000)

ISO9141-2

SAE J1850 PWM (41.6 kbaud)

SAE J1850 VPW (10.4 kbaud)



ISO 15765-4 CAN (11 bit ID, 500 kbaud)

ISO 15765-4 CAN (29 bit ID, 500 kbaud)

ISO 15765-4 CAN (11 bit ID, 250 kbaud)

ISO 15765-4 CAN (29 bit ID, 250 kbaud)

ISO 14230-4 KWP (5 baud init, 10.4 kbaud)

ISO 14230-4 KWP (fast init, 10.4 kbaud)

ISO 9141-2 (5 baud init, 10.4 kbaud)

The pin placement on the car's connection port is 4,5,7,11,12,13 and 16 and this does not look like anything I've seen on google either....
I plan on getting another scanner but I don't know what to look for other than simply going up in price and just hope that it works better....

1509joe

iTrader: (2)

You need SSM you'll only get limited connectivity from most other readers.

Don Clark

UK/European Subarus did not conform with EOBD (subset of OBDII) until MY01 (2001) hence the reason the Impreza works and the Legacy doesn't.

Only solution is as per @1509joe Subaru Select Monitor (SSM)

Colorblend

Straight answer and backed up by information! Thanks a lot, I will order an SSM and keep the other one I think, gadgets are fun. Being able to do stuff yourself is also fun.

Colorblend

I just ordered an OBDkey as I read somewhere that they are reliable compared to all the Chinese ones and if I can save a buck on repairs it will pay itself. After some more googling on the pin placements I figured my Legacy must be running Subaru select monitor 2 so I will download FreeSSM once I get it and start working. Looking forward to playing with yet another gadget.

Colorblend

Sooo some time has passed and here I am, back and seeking guidance again....

Last year I got my obdkey and of course it could not connect to my SSM2 car with the software that came with it and freessm would not work either. After a TON of hacking around and fiddling with parameters I did manage to connect to the car using freessm with the obdkey as the medium so to speak. It’s bluetooth so it is com protocols and all that. I had error codes for an oxygen sensor and one more sensor so recently I finally replaced the oxygen sensor, and it ran much better! Still not perfect though, and lately it has gotten much worse again. I need to get on the ecu again to get new info but my dumb *** never wrote down the various steps I took to finally connect. And now I am out of ideas, I simply can’t connect. I changed around the Bluetooth drivers and lowered the connection speed on the COM ports among other things. Last time around com4 worked after plenty of work. But in freessm com4 is the only port available. And when I try to connect it just goes “testing interface... please wait!” And stays there forever until I force close the program. I have no idea how I made it work the last time but I remember it was still hit and miss, one attempt might work and the next time it didn’t.

Anyone has experience with problems regarding freessm and Bluetooth? As of tonight, this car does not even start anymore....

EDIT: Tried uninstalling freessm and downloading it again and now neither the obdkey software or freessm can communicate with the reader. It feels like it should be some port settings as it comes and goes like this. Reset them to original settings but no difference.

Don Clark

https://www.rs25.com/forums/f72/t165...stigation.html

Colorblend

Thanks! Will check that out.

Straight away I see SSM2 seem to prefer a 4800 baud rate while my COM ports operate at 9600 bauds and I only decreased the speed of the buffer. That will get itself some fiddling first thing tomorrow.

It is just my old Legacy and yeah, I could take it to a repair shop but I find this stuff fun in some strange masochistic way.... You want to find a way to get inside that computer.