This isnt really a formal group purchase as such, but its an idea that might be of some interest to a broad number of folk looking to making at easy as possible to pull fault codes, reset the ECU, log data and such like. The 'group' aspect is that depending on numbers interested defines the size of order of some raw components that I need.
There is another aspect to this idea which will make it easier for me to real-time map an S2/RS2 - this is because the on-board diagnostic (OBD) plugs are not only in the engine bay, but only accessible when the fusebox cover is off and all the fiddling around to get good connections from there inside the car.
Seeing as I am inside the ECU, I figured its best to fabricate a slim/sneaky cable that exits the ECU on a connector that can easily and cheaply be adapted into something that can pull blink codes without a laptop or allow folk to plug VAGCOM/VCDS into from the comfort of the cabin.
Its not a complex job of course - and anyone who can look up the ECU pinout, the ISO-OBD pinout, is not afraid to drill a hole in their ECU and make some nice soldered cables could also do it.
There are essentially three parts to this overall idea - its one of my modular things...
Pt 1 - Internal ECU surgery to install the S2Central.net OBD plug adapter. This will present a cable that plugs into Pt2 or Pt3. I will do this bit for free with anyone I do custom real-time mapping. Cost otherwise is £25 plus return postage of ECU (currently approx £9 within the UK for insured, tracked, next-day delivery)
Pt 2 - Extends the Pt1 cable into a simple module that has buttons, LEDs and such to create a very simple blink code and output-test diagnostic interface... Handy for the glovebox I would say - even if you have already wired up a 'MIL' into your cluster to see if the ECU has raised any faults. This unit will let you see what the faults are. It will also verify that your ECU is getting 12V, that the internal holding relay is alive - very handy for those 'is my alarm/immo disabling my ECU' moments. Price on that is expected to be in £25 territory by the time it has heatshrunk joints, a sturdy box and the time required to drill it, fit and solder various bits. Plus simple instructions and a list of what the fault codes mean. Again - not rocket science... its more time than anything else.
Pt 3 - Extends the Pt1 cable into a normal 16-pin ISO cable that you can plug your favourite ISO serial or USB adapter into within the car to get your PC diagnostic software up and running with the minimum of fuss... No 2 x 2 cables or trying to run cables down from the fusebox through all that mess of spaghetti. I should be able to do this for £10 - depending on numbers.
Pt 3.X - This bit is an unoffical addition to Pt3 that offers a great USB cable and software for plug and play diagnostics on your S2/RS2 or whatever else from Audi & Co - very recent software <cough>. This will include a cable plus CD - price on that is influenced by numbers involved due to shipping charges if ordering them 1 at a time. Expect that to be in £40-50 range at the moment.
Please vote on your interest at this stage just so I can gauge where best to spend the effort on sourcing parts at a good price. I may end up just taking a punt on making 10-off each and seeing how they go... Photos of prototypes and such will be posted here in due course.
Edited to clarify that the Part 2 module will NOT be able to reset fault codes - that can only be done by unplugging the ECU or the 'MOTOR' fuses for a few seconds.
There is another aspect to this idea which will make it easier for me to real-time map an S2/RS2 - this is because the on-board diagnostic (OBD) plugs are not only in the engine bay, but only accessible when the fusebox cover is off and all the fiddling around to get good connections from there inside the car.
Seeing as I am inside the ECU, I figured its best to fabricate a slim/sneaky cable that exits the ECU on a connector that can easily and cheaply be adapted into something that can pull blink codes without a laptop or allow folk to plug VAGCOM/VCDS into from the comfort of the cabin.
Its not a complex job of course - and anyone who can look up the ECU pinout, the ISO-OBD pinout, is not afraid to drill a hole in their ECU and make some nice soldered cables could also do it.
There are essentially three parts to this overall idea - its one of my modular things...
Pt 1 - Internal ECU surgery to install the S2Central.net OBD plug adapter. This will present a cable that plugs into Pt2 or Pt3. I will do this bit for free with anyone I do custom real-time mapping. Cost otherwise is £25 plus return postage of ECU (currently approx £9 within the UK for insured, tracked, next-day delivery)
Pt 2 - Extends the Pt1 cable into a simple module that has buttons, LEDs and such to create a very simple blink code and output-test diagnostic interface... Handy for the glovebox I would say - even if you have already wired up a 'MIL' into your cluster to see if the ECU has raised any faults. This unit will let you see what the faults are. It will also verify that your ECU is getting 12V, that the internal holding relay is alive - very handy for those 'is my alarm/immo disabling my ECU' moments. Price on that is expected to be in £25 territory by the time it has heatshrunk joints, a sturdy box and the time required to drill it, fit and solder various bits. Plus simple instructions and a list of what the fault codes mean. Again - not rocket science... its more time than anything else.
Pt 3 - Extends the Pt1 cable into a normal 16-pin ISO cable that you can plug your favourite ISO serial or USB adapter into within the car to get your PC diagnostic software up and running with the minimum of fuss... No 2 x 2 cables or trying to run cables down from the fusebox through all that mess of spaghetti. I should be able to do this for £10 - depending on numbers.
Pt 3.X - This bit is an unoffical addition to Pt3 that offers a great USB cable and software for plug and play diagnostics on your S2/RS2 or whatever else from Audi & Co - very recent software <cough>. This will include a cable plus CD - price on that is influenced by numbers involved due to shipping charges if ordering them 1 at a time. Expect that to be in £40-50 range at the moment.
Please vote on your interest at this stage just so I can gauge where best to spend the effort on sourcing parts at a good price. I may end up just taking a punt on making 10-off each and seeing how they go... Photos of prototypes and such will be posted here in due course.
Edited to clarify that the Part 2 module will NOT be able to reset fault codes - that can only be done by unplugging the ECU or the 'MOTOR' fuses for a few seconds.
the software is called 'Torque', I use it on my van's OBD socket. However you do need to buy a bluetooth OBD dongle plug off Ebay to use with it. 
)
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