wowzers!!! if only this worked for cars in 94/95 when they had “hybrid” data ports. Id be down to buy one if there was a link, not because I need one, but to help this guy out and say thank you for the effort.

Posted at 3:05 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by jimmythecow

yeah i’d buy one of these for $15. wondering how you get from db9 to the obdii port though; he doesn’t mention it at all.

Posted at 3:24 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Brendan Shanks

maybe I missed it but is there source code for the PIC firmware? I’ve been debating making something like this for a while… specifically something to work with my 1995 Nissan 240sx… I know lots of people in my local car club that would love to have one of these I’d love to whip up a batch to sell to the other members at cost since these things are usually so expensive.

Another benefit to having the source is you could wire up a character LCD and a few buttons to make yourself a built in diagnostics tool.

I’ve got no use for OBDII stuff. Only my truck is new enough to have it but I couldn’t care less about running diagnostics on that.

Posted at 3:36 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by twistedsymphony

The 9pin to OBDII cables are readily available cheaply on Ebay, that’s where I got mine, or can be built yourself.

For $15 I’ll scrap making my own, and get one of these for my car computer. My effort can be better spent making new software, not duplicating the wheel.

Posted at 3:49 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by PosiCat

nice, give us more OBDII hacks!

Posted at 4:21 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by undacova

Sweet. I already emailed him about selling the Multi-adapter board. This could be some fun.

Posted at 4:27 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by jake

Awesome work,

how hard was implementing a virtual com port – serial bridge with a usb capable pic?

Posted at 4:32 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by emperor_dane

i’ve contacted him as well about his multiadapter board. i am quite interested in this project, i just dont have the time to make a pcb right now, hopefully he has them available for $6 still.

Posted at 4:40 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by goliath

@ Brendan Shanks
He tells you on the site (now at least) which pins on the OBD2 connector go into the serial port. You could hak together your own cable or direct wire the system if you want to.

Hardest thing will be the OBD2 connectors as i dont know where to get those.

Posted at 4:41 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by hal hockersmith

Obd2 connectors and cables can easily be had from:

http://www.obd2cables.com/products/

Posted at 4:54 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Norms

OBD2 cables can be purchased from http://www.obd2cables.com/products/. They have the OBD2 plug to loose wires.

Posted at 5:10 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by g_man

ODBII Connectors
—————-
http://www.mouser.com/search/Refine.aspx?Ne=1447464+254016+688693+2355233&N=1323038+4294735587+2355233&GetRecs=1&Ns=P_SField&Msb=0&RefType=Header

Posted at 5:10 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Nate

OMG, I was looking for something like this two weeks ago. I guess I did not look hard enough. Oh well, the $200 OBD2 scanner I got was still cheaper then a $400 repair bill at the service station.

Posted at 5:33 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Amos

I would be curious if something like this could be used on a Ducati motorcycle. I have been meaning to figure out what type of interface it uses. The one I found for sale was very very expensive.

Posted at 5:49 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Cliff

I just can’t image the costing of the product. He
is willing to charge so little :O I take my hats off
for his willingness :) I haven’t try it yet but looks
promising. BTW he is a WxWidget user :D

Posted at 6:33 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by john

The text and the schem say he uses a MC33290 IC for com with the OCD bus. yet the board dosent show any 8 pin DIP on it. unless its SMD on the reverse side. im confused. ill look at the gerber later.

Posted at 6:52 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Chupa

ISO 15765 has a network layer!?

Posted at 7:20 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by TJhooker

@ chupa

they are surface mount on the bottom layer. look to the right of the 4 FETs, you will see them right next to each other.

Posted at 7:40 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by jake

Nice! Wonder where your car’s OBD2 port is? See this database for finding all vehicle models OBD2 port locations, which pictures. http://www.fixexpert.com/wiki/OBD-2+Location

Posted at 7:52 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by FixExpert Repair Blogs

Does anyone know of a place to build your own VAG-COM type device for us European car owners:

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/dtc-comparison.html

I also did email too for a OBDII board from the guy hopefully he comes through and has enough.

Posted at 8:14 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Daniel Johnson

I think some of you are misunderstanding.

All that this device does is converts from one transport protocol to another (basically, rs232 to usb).

You still need the software on the PC to be able to access the diagnostic system of the car.

It would be a much, much, larger project if you tried to make it a standalone reader. Don’t get me wrong, it can be done, and would be a fun project, but this particular one isn’t it, but is a good start if thats what you’re looking for. And I’m not trying to bash the project either, it is very cool, but some people have a misconception.

Posted at 9:11 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Nate

Very nice. I was going to build one of my own around the chips found here:

http://elmelectronics.com/

but this solutions looks to be a little less expensive.

Posted at 10:04 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by tony

I’ve had a hand held unit for a while that I paid $250 for. It handles OBD II and some older protocols.

These are life savers for cars with ECM’s, especially road side.

Posted at 11:14 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by TJhooker

@ jake

i looked at the gerber files now and i see it. i just assumed it was DIP before, hence the confusion.

Posted at 11:21 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Chupa

Awesome project. I built an oldschool RS232-OBDII interface from schematics for the open-OBDII project on sourceforge but this is way snazzier.
Digikey carries a version of the Freescale chip and the PIC: MCZ33290EFR2CT-ND $1.65
PIC18F2455-I/SO-ND $8 (DIP)

What a superb project.

Posted at 11:23 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by smellsofbikes

This is great. Most solutions have been serial and like the post states, USB options have been pricey.

I’ve been using the cable from http://obddiagnostics.com/ for a number of years now.

The gentleman that makes this cable also sells the parts and documentation to build your own based on his design.

What’s more is this cable is the basis for most open source projects involving OBD. Head on over to source forge and search for obdII.

Thank you for the great find. Also thanks to the hacker for helping people gain control over their cars.

Posted at 11:26 pm on Nov 7th, 2007 by Stephen

@emperor_dane:
using the pic 18f4550 or 18f2550 (40 or 28 pin) to implement a virtual com port is extremely easy. Microchip has sample code on their website that does just that.

@jake:
i only see one fet on the schematic, and like chupa don’t see any mc33290 ic. i’m not looking at the gerbers though…

what i want to know though, is where he can get $6 pcbs with blue soldermask and silkscreening at what i’m assuming is prototype quantities. i can get pcbs for $6 bucks but its without soldermask or silkscreen…

Posted at 12:34 am on Nov 8th, 2007 by Jim

Where the source code?
I like to be able add features.

Posted at 12:37 am on Nov 8th, 2007 by Spaceball1

This hardware interface only works with a subset of the available OBD-2 protocols. It does not work with J1850 PWW, J1850 VPW and CAN (controller area networks). The CAN interface is now standard on all 2007 vehicles. So before you invest time and effort in this device, make sure that your vehicle has an ISO-9141-2 or KWP2000 interface, otherwise, you’re out of luck.

Posted at 9:17 am on Nov 8th, 2007 by Doctari

I believe there’s free software out there to interface to these ELM style devices…

Posted at 9:32 am on Nov 8th, 2007 by tdweekly

I cannot find any good software for Linux… Anybody got a good source for this?

Posted at 12:07 pm on Nov 8th, 2007 by Alexander

http://www.obddiag.net/multiadapter.html

Isn’t this better since it covers 4 common protocols?

If I wanted to do it myself. whats the cheapest option to get the PCB made with the provided data? Thanks

Posted at 7:42 pm on Nov 9th, 2007 by tb0lt

If this device works like ELM323 (the author says that it is compatible) would it be then possible to use it with another PIC or Atmel that would request&read data and display it on a LCD display? Is it possible to connect two microcontrollers via it’s USB?!

Posted at 7:54 am on Nov 10th, 2007 by joun

Go here: http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/software-software-development/75172-any-open-source-obdii-apps-out-there.html
the last post contains two more links to the same forum , they have some things implemented in VB.

Posted at 8:50 am on Nov 11th, 2007 by Jake

I just tested this on my Nissan Altima. Works like a charm!

Posted at 2:13 am on Nov 29th, 2007 by boltun

Sofware is free on internet, with search, What I need is something that will write to the obd, so I can do a liottle programming.

Posted at 4:23 pm on Jan 27th, 2008 by Vern

Cliff, The ducati uses a Cann network. ODB II is not supported on it. You can get a rig from dashpro that will not only allow you to read the data from the unit but err write new data say like odometer etc..

Posted at 3:19 pm on May 12th, 2009 by A-Ride_4_ever