Diagnostics

[Norfolk Jim]

Currently I am driving a Volvo but soon to return to Saab and my question is can only TechII read things on the Saab??

With the Volvo the VIDA software is readily available and to link it to car you use a DICE connector. Genuine ones are £1250 with software but you can get the Chiese clones for about 150 quid which work fine. Is there anything that can be used to diagnose faults on Saab apart from TechII??

Just wondering??

[ScarbSaab]

The majority of things show up with a generic OBD-II reader (I have a Bluetooth OBD reader with Torque on my phone and can clear EML). One or two other things showed up using the clone Op-Com I have but as it was on a '98 car the OBD reader didn't work anyway, they might have been visible using OBD on the '04.

[sgould]

The Tech2 clones are available from China.  About £350 delivered.  P&P is high.

I'm getting tempted…

Places like these

http://www.carsets.co.uk/wholesale/gm-tech2-gm-diagnostic-scanner-b-version.html

http://www.dhgate.com/product/gm-tech-2-scanner-full-kit-with-candi-tis/149265378.html

[Norfolk Jim]

Wow..............................................

[sgould]

There's been a lot of discussion about buying a Tech 2 here

[Audax]

I'm still suspicious of these clone Tech-II, having used one that was total garbage that would have trouble connecting and when compared to a real genuine one worked it wasn't reliable enough to risk flashing vehicle firmware (I also heard from other specialists that they'd ended up with clones and sent them back). I note that nobody says if you get security access with them (maybe you do via cracked software? in which case do I really want to install software that came from China on a PC?) and that there's lots of discussion over the capabilities that these units offer when a genuine Tech-II will talk to a C900 (late models), GM900, 9000, 9-3, 9-5 and new 9-3 with the right adaptors and software. I'd like to use one of these clones before spending any money on one, even then £350 is lots of Tech-II sessions for setting the few options you need and just using OBD-2 for powertrain faults.

There is another option available with the op-com but I've never seen or used one so don't know what it does! but I do know it gives you access to more than an OBD-2 reader.

[ScarbSaab]

There is another option available with the op-com but I've never seen or used one so don't know what it does! but I do know it gives you access to more than an OBD-2 reader.

The reason I bought the Op-Com was for diagnosing (and hopefully clearing) the airbag warning on my '98 9-5 which was not OBD-II compliant. It was mixed results - yes I narrowed the fault down to the driver's seat airbag but I didn't solve the problem before I sold the car.

I also tried it on the '04 to see if I could calibrate the headlamps, but from reading up that option was only available on a later version of the software. (I suspect the software is a cracked version, which I hadn't thought when I bought it as it has the proper Op-Com labels on the interface.)

If you don't need to read data from the earlier 9-5s and 9-3s or from other GM cars, I don't think a clone Op-Com offers much real value over an OBD-II reader. Like Audax, I was concerned about installing software from China on my usual PC, however I had an old non-wifi laptop with Windows 2000 that I put it on. If anyone's really interested in the options, I could video the display sometime.

[Audax]

Does anyone know how to get a genuine op-com? 

Of course purchasing a second hand laptop just to run the software on is another £80-£100 of any equipment too.

[sgould]

Both Tech2 and OpCom have been superseded by, I think it's called, MDI.

This is another step along the road to killing DIY diagnosis and repairs.  It connects to the car and diagnoses faults but there is no built-in database.  It's all done with an internet link to the manufacturers server.

Access to the server is by subscription only.  £1000 per year.  This is on top of the cost of the equipment and the cost of some compulsory training.

Modern cars are now fully dependent on manufacturers and their dealers.  You cannot even reline the brakes without access to the system.

[Audax]

I've got the software for MDI style connections with Saab... there are ways of getting codes and you can use it offline. For Saab I believe (and have obviously never tested this!) that it only performs very basic functions on old 9-5 and most NG9-3 via a Tech-II emulation mode that basically doesn't work properly, you have to have an 2010 onwards NG9-5 or 2011 on 9-3 to get full functionality with the MDI and you can still use Tech-II with the 9-3 anyway. As far as I know the NG9-5 is Tech-3/MDI only.

[ScarbSaab]

Does anyone know how to get a genuine op-com? 

Of course purchasing a second hand laptop just to run the software on is another £80-£100 of any equipment too.

I believe these are the original authors: http://www.vezerdiagnosztika.hu
I also came across this reference: http://www.vezerdiagnosztika.hu/OP-COM-ChangeLog.pdf

The www.op-com.hu site doesn't look as professional as I remember it (going back a couple of years), but I notice they have introduced a 'Basic' version...only not covering Saab!

I'm a bit concerned that there's no longer any information on the Pro packages. They may have removed Saab from the supported list.

The laptop I used is an ex-work one, now about 15 years old. Cost me nothing as our MD wanted the shelf space back. I got a decent 4 year old Dell from a friend that only cost me a replacement DC power socket and plug (plus time) to restore it to full health and I've used it for two or three years now.

The thing to do is hunt round for someone wanting rid of an older machine. One of your friends is likely to have an old laptop with a duff battery (just run it on mains) - get the word out that you'll take the junk off their hands. As you've done favours for them in the past, they end up giving you the old kit when they buy new.

[Audax]

The thing to do is hunt round for someone wanting rid of an older machine. One of your friends is likely to have an old laptop with a duff battery (just run it on mains) - get the word out that you'll take the junk off their hands. As you've done favours for them in the past, they end up giving you the old kit when they buy new.

Not my mates,  having worked in IT for a long time I tell people I don't want to know as they expect me to fix their problems for free so they know not to talk to me about computers 

To be honest If I was getting something I'd want a halfway decent Thinkpad to do this with and I wouldn't want to run it on mains given that you can't take the laptop with you when working on a problem if you want mains unless you have an inverter but if you're reprogramming an ECU from the laptop that might be a bad idea when you flatten the car battery

[ScarbSaab]

Not my mates,  having worked in IT for a long time I tell people I don't want to know as they expect me to fix their problems for free so they know not to talk to me about computers 

There's the odd sponger who quickly ends up being fobbed off and ignored, but the majority of those I help show their appreciation in one way or another. Yes, it can be a pain at times, but I get a lot of satisfaction from sorting out problems, and now I am currently without income they are really showing their friendship.

To be honest If I was getting something I'd want a halfway decent Thinkpad to do this with and I wouldn't want to run it on mains given that you can't take the laptop with you when working on a problem if you want mains unless you have an inverter but if you're reprogramming an ECU from the laptop that might be a bad idea when you flatten the car battery

Do you normally want to reprogram ECUs on the road?  Yes, I do have an inverter but for most purposes an extension out to the car suffices. Most duff batteries will give a few minutes run time so I treat them as inbuilt UPS. I know what you mean though (I miss my poor dead Thinkpad) but on the other hand an older battered laptop is usually sufficient for DIY diagnostics and you won't care so much if it gets dropped, soaked or run over.

[Norfolk Jim]

I would cry if my 2 grand laptop got run over............................................I do have an old Gateway laptop that I stripped and put XP Pro on and MS Office 2010. That had an amazing battery on it and even at some 10 years old lasts 7 hours when fully charged. My son uses that for music etc................... My laptop lives mainly on my desk for doing this stuff and being portable CAD machine but best laptop I've ever bought is a Lenovo 15.4" for my younger son for Uni. Its made by IBM, cost me £386 and is now 5 years old and never had a single problem and battery still lasts on average 4 hours after being dragged and thrown around at Uni - cover a bit rough but...................

[Audax]

Do you normally want to reprogram ECUs on the road?  Yes, I do have an inverter but for most purposes an extension out to the car suffices. Most duff batteries will give a few minutes run time so I treat them as inbuilt UPS.

The car is over 30 meters from the house, it's a real pain (although I did buy an extension lead for the electric impact wrench) and I guess I just prefer to be able to just get and do stuff without mucking about given that I used to do this for a living I can get a car programmed very quickly, very often the setup for a job would be quicker than running the extension lead