Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Kevin Wood on 31 January 2008, 19:48:25
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Well, I got fed up with having to borrow the "Golden Laptop" from work every time I need to use my cheapo Tech 2 (quite often with a 3.2!) so I thought I'd investigate another possibility.
Got myself one of these, which arrived today: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250208955409
What turned up was actually slightly different to the picture, and had a USB rather than serial interface but it's a very nicely made unit. For the price, I'm impressed.
The first thing to say is that these only work on OBDII vehicles, so 2.2/2.6/3.2. However, they aren't specific to Vauxhall and should work with most OBDII and CAN vehicles. Without paying for more software they will only read the engine ECU too. However, since that is what normally gives grief I decided it would be useful.
Got it out of the box, installed the software on a laptop and set out to discover the reason for my emissions light being on (as if I didn't know!). It worked absolutely first time, reported things in english and is clearly much more stable and less fussy than a cheapo tech 2. P0420 and P0430 were showing (usual cat efficiency problem on a 3.2). The codes could be cleared no problem.
The supplied free software (scantool.net) http://www.scantool.net/ can do basic code reading and clearing from the engine ECU and also reports live data including all main parameters likely to be of interest.
I will probably investigate a few more software packages available in due course but, in my opinion, this is a good alternative to a cheapo Tech 2 for anyone who has a later Omega, for similar money. It took a lot less messing about to get it working!
Kevin
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sounds good kevin !! :y
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KW - I have a rather naff Dell that is yours if you want it. Needs new HDD (nicked it for another Dell for a mate).
CPi PII around 350Mhz as a guess, 128Mb RAM, no HDD.
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P0420 and P0430 were showing (usual cat efficiency problem on a 3.2). The codes could be cleared no problem.
Reminds me, must get some of that Cataclean!
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Would it be any good for my Traktor?
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And this worked with the USB connection straight out of the box?
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KW - I have a rather naff Dell that is yours if you want it. Needs new HDD (nicked it for another Dell for a mate).
CPi PII around 350Mhz as a guess, 128Mb RAM, no HDD.
Thanks very much for the offer. Is that powerful enough for a cheapo Tech 2? I have tried it on a circa 300 MHz machine with real serial port and it didn't play - perhaps for other reasons though. Will bear in mind. I have a couple of laptop HDDs kicking around... ::)
I also have it in mind to try a PCMCIA serial card containing a real 16550 UART with the cheapo too.
One of the other reasons for getting this lead was to get to live fuel trim data for when I LPG it, and I can see that along with throttle position, load, rpm, speed, lambda voltagesx4, temperatures, etc.
I've also spotted this:
http://www.enginecheck.co.uk/vauxcheck/
Which appears to access some other VX ECUs via an ELM interface. Only does code reading at the moment but fills in some of the cheapo functionality. I'm not about to rush out and buy it but I will keep an eye on it in case it's developed further.
I think P0430 and P0440 should be renamed: "Owner thought about buying cataclean and then thought no, f**k it"
Kevin
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Would it be any good for my Traktor?
No, only work on OBDII/CAN equipped vehicles. These are generally post 2K Vauxhalls with drive by wire throttles.
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Would it be any good for my Traktor?
No. Unfortunately they only supported the OBDII standards on later vehicles. :(
And this worked with the USB connection straight out of the box?
Yep. From discovering it on my doorstep to reading codes in 10 minutes, at a guess.
Because the time critical processing is farmed out to a chip in the interface the connection to the PC is much less critical.
Kevin
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I also have it in mind to try a PCMCIA serial card containing a real 16550 UART with the cheapo too.
Still don't think they will work as the IRQ of a PCMCIA card isn't the same as a genuine serial interface but willing to be proven wrong!
I think P0430 and P0440 should be renamed: "Owner thought about buying cataclean and then thought no, f**k it"
I think there is a jumper in the ecu that the dealer fits after it's first service - enables the logic rule 'If miles equal greater than 100 since last code reset then enable Emissions Lamp'
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The OpelScanner I have is equipped with a USB connector and works fine. I think it's just the cheapo techII's that have a big problem.
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Would it be any good for my Traktor?
No. Unfortunately they only supported the OBDII standards on later vehicles. :(
And this worked with the USB connection straight out of the box?
Yep. From discovering it on my doorstep to reading codes in 10 minutes, at a guess.
Because the time critical processing is farmed out to a chip in the interface the connection to the PC is much less critical.
Kevin
That sounds like real progress on the code reader front then.
From what I can gather you ordered one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250208955409
(http://i11.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/9f/cc/d0a0_2.JPG)
And they sent you one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250211239648&ih=015&category=30921
(http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a0/56/638d_2.JPG)
The USB one is advertised for £22 plus £6 postage. Have I got it right?
Martin
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what would min spec of laptop to work one of these ?? and would it work on 98 mv6 ?? :-/
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what would min spec of laptop to work one of these ?? and would it work on 98 mv6 ?? :-/
Unlikely. Only 3.2 / 2.6 / 2.2
Resets don't need a fantastic laptop but live data needs something reasonable.
I run OpelScanner on a Centrino with 1.5Gb RAM and it's OK. Live data / graphs seem to work OK. Have yet to try it on my work laptop which is much more up to date.
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Would it be any good for my Traktor?
No. Unfortunately they only supported the OBDII standards on later vehicles. :(
And this worked with the USB connection straight out of the box?
Yep. From discovering it on my doorstep to reading codes in 10 minutes, at a guess.
Because the time critical processing is farmed out to a chip in the interface the connection to the PC is much less critical.
Kevin
That sounds like real progress on the code reader front then.
From what I can gather you ordered one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250208955409
(http://i11.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/9f/cc/d0a0_2.JPG)
And they sent you one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250211239648&ih=015&category=30921
(http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a0/56/638d_2.JPG)
The USB one is advertised for £22 plus £6 postage. Have I got it right?
Martin
What actually turned up looks identical to this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110217069895
.. and I paid 29.95 + 6.00
The second link you posted is based on the ELM323 not the ELM327. I think the ELM 323 doesn't do CAN. I went for the 327 because it will cover the maximum number of cars, and figured I might as well. A 323 would likely work OK on the Omega but I figured for a few quid extra...
Unfortunately it will only work on 2.2/2.6/3.2 (I have seen reference to it working on 2.0 Vauxhalls as well, so maybe... :-/) It won't work on a 2.5 / 3.0 though. :(
Kevin
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The ports used are normally very slow compared to CPUs
Even a PIII is too much adequate theoritically..(if there are not additional too many extra softwares running on the background and disturbing the CPU )
Problem is how the ports are configured from bios and they are working healthy or not..
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Would it be any good for my Traktor?
No. Unfortunately they only supported the OBDII standards on later vehicles. :(
And this worked with the USB connection straight out of the box?
Yep. From discovering it on my doorstep to reading codes in 10 minutes, at a guess.
Because the time critical processing is farmed out to a chip in the interface the connection to the PC is much less critical.
Kevin
That sounds like real progress on the code reader front then.
From what I can gather you ordered one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250208955409
(http://i11.ebayimg.com/02/i/000/9f/cc/d0a0_2.JPG)
And they sent you one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250211239648&ih=015&category=30921
(http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/a0/56/638d_2.JPG)
The USB one is advertised for £22 plus £6 postage. Have I got it right?
Martin
What actually turned up looks identical to this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110217069895
.. and I paid 29.95 + 6.00
The second link you posted is based on the ELM323 not the ELM327. I think the ELM 323 doesn't do CAN. I went for the 327 because it will cover the maximum number of cars, and figured I might as well. A 323 would likely work OK on the Omega but I figured for a few quid extra...
Unfortunately it will only work on 2.2/2.6/3.2 (I have seen reference to it working on 2.0 Vauxhalls as well, so maybe... :-/) It won't work on a 2.5 / 3.0 though. :(
Kevin
Sounds like you got an extra special bargain there then Kevin. :y
Even for £39.99 + P&P it's a bit of a bargain. Once used and it's paid for itself versus getting codes read at Vx garage. May just order one tomorrow to see for myself. :)
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There are cheaper ones on E-bay, but shipped from the far east. :-/
Decided to go for one at least in the same continent. It took 4 days to arrive. :y
Kevin
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Just to clarify a few points:
ELM32x chips do all the communication timings on chip, so the connection between ELM and PC is not important.
Dumb leads, usually simple MAX232 based, are using the CPU to controls timings, hence USB2Serial troublesome. Generally, even modest spec real com ports can work quite well. Cheapo Tech2 lead and earlier Vag-Com leads fall in this category. My normal 650Mhz diags laptop deals with Vag-com effortlessly.
Cheap and freeware ELM based software all seem to be OBDII only, which means 2.2/2.6/3.2 petrols (not sure about 2.2DTi). 2.0/2.5/3.0 petrols and 2.0/2.5 diesels are NOT OBDII.
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KW - I have a rather naff Dell that is yours if you want it. Needs new HDD (nicked it for another Dell for a mate).
CPi PII around 350Mhz as a guess, 128Mb RAM, no HDD.
Thanks very much for the offer. Is that powerful enough for a cheapo Tech 2? I have tried it on a circa 300 MHz machine with real serial port and it didn't play - perhaps for other reasons though. Will bear in mind. I have a couple of laptop HDDs kicking around... ::)
No idea, never tried it tbh. Might be one of those that may work under Win95 etc, but possible not NT based? If I can find a HDD, I will give vagcom a go (I dont have a cheapo tech2 to test)
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The OpelScanner I have is equipped with a USB connector and works fine. I think it's just the cheapo techII's that have a big problem.
From the brief look I had, looked like a decent bit of kit. More expensive, but more capable. Could do with a bit more functionaility at that price though.
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KW - I have a rather naff Dell that is yours if you want it. Needs new HDD (nicked it for another Dell for a mate).
CPi PII around 350Mhz as a guess, 128Mb RAM, no HDD.
Thanks very much for the offer. Is that powerful enough for a cheapo Tech 2? I have tried it on a circa 300 MHz machine with real serial port and it didn't play - perhaps for other reasons though. Will bear in mind. I have a couple of laptop HDDs kicking around... ::)
No idea, never tried it tbh. Might be one of those that may work under Win95 etc, but possible not NT based? If I can find a HDD, I will give vagcom a go (I dont have a cheapo tech2 to test)
Tunnie has my cheapo Tech 2 AFAIK, so if you fancy having a play... If not, don't worry. I'll have a dig around for a hard drive and get it ready for next time we meet up if you like?
BTW: I think you meant 3.0 won't work with ELM. 3.2 certainly will. ;)
Kevin
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KW - I have a rather naff Dell that is yours if you want it. Needs new HDD (nicked it for another Dell for a mate).
CPi PII around 350Mhz as a guess, 128Mb RAM, no HDD.
Thanks very much for the offer. Is that powerful enough for a cheapo Tech 2? I have tried it on a circa 300 MHz machine with real serial port and it didn't play - perhaps for other reasons though. Will bear in mind. I have a couple of laptop HDDs kicking around... ::)
No idea, never tried it tbh. Might be one of those that may work under Win95 etc, but possible not NT based? If I can find a HDD, I will give vagcom a go (I dont have a cheapo tech2 to test)
Tunnie has my cheapo Tech 2 AFAIK, so if you fancy having a play... If not, don't worry. I'll have a dig around for a hard drive and get it ready for next time we meet up if you like?
BTW: I think you meant 3.0 won't work with ELM. 3.2 certainly will. ;)
Kevin
i shall steal from him if thats ok then, and see if i can find a laptop hdd
typo fixed in other post :)
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Feel free. :y
Kevin
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I'll be interested to hear how you get on with it. That's the one I got when my car had the problem with the ECU. I found it hard to get useful software then, maybe things have improved now.
Ken
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The OpelScanner I have is equipped with a USB connector and works fine. I think it's just the cheapo techII's that have a big problem.
From the brief look I had, looked like a decent bit of kit. More expensive, but more capable. Could do with a bit more functionaility at that price though.
I agree.....in my eyes if it was 100 quid less then they would be flying off the shelves and the makers would probably being making more cash.....
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The OpelScanner I have is equipped with a USB connector and works fine. I think it's just the cheapo techII's that have a big problem.
From the brief look I had, looked like a decent bit of kit. More expensive, but more capable. Could do with a bit more functionaility at that price though.
Does the same things as the "My Naff Code Reader" that costs £497.00 plus vat
I wish it was £100.00 less though.
Waiting to the CAN version soon to be launched. I do do get software update for free, with more functions.