Code reader help please

[DannyB81]

Hi new to forum and Volvo ownership, found this site via Google whilst searching for my first thing to sort on my new car.

I'm wanting to purchase the icarsoft diagnostic scannner but before I do is there a way to test my port?

The reason I ask is I have a 1998 2.0 10v S70 and I 'think' it should respond to the normal elm327 eBay scanner , I own a cheap Bluetooth one I use with torque and other apps and a cheap hand held unit but neither will communicate with the ecu. There's power from the port to power the devices but won't connect I'm hoping its because there incompatible and a descent volvo specific one will work? I don't want to buy a icarsoft one if I have a dud obd2 port.

[JDS60R]

No,
Buy a Vadis cable set up and enjoy all the benefits.

Old set ups (pre 99)use the cheap discs and scanner $14 or so from ebay

[DannyB81]

I'm getting confused now lol

I thought Vadis was for the newer cars and my 98 would need vol-fcr?

I've read of plenty of people with the 98 s70 using cheap scanners but I have tried a few combinations of elm 327 devices and apps. I do want to go the software route but I'm concerned I have a problem with my obd port although it has power.

Also just realised this would have been better in the diagnostics section :oops

[polskamafia mjl]

Also just realised this would have been better in the diagnostics section :oops

Ehh, not really. This forum gets the most traffic so for your particular car I would say you've come to the right place.

If your concern is whether your OBDII socket is working take it a dealer and have them try to pull codes. That way you'll know for sure.

[DannyB81]

Cheers,

Yeh dealer option might be the easiest the just a case of finding the best diag siftware

[esl_97_850_T5]

+1 on have the dealer check the OBDII port. But if you don't want to visit the dealer...

1. Most likely, your OBDII port is OK.

2. Most likely, both your ELM327 Bluetooth device w/ Torque and your handheld scanner by itself are not reading codes because: a) you have a UK car which (presumably) does not have OBDII capability (other than an auto transmission possibly responding to the one single OBDII PID 0100 that informs there is 1 transmission PID), *and* b) your ECM has not been reprogrammed to behave like the '98 USA S70 which *do* respond to standard "legally mandated in the USA since 1996" OBDII requests.

3. Most likely, your handheld scanner is going to be useless with your '98 S70 unless you get the ECM reflashed with USA-style OBDII capability or you just buy an as-equivalent-as-possible USA ECM off of eBay (or something similar).

4. If your '98 S70 has a Motronic 4.4 ECM or MSA 15.7 ECM, then you have several options to read ECM codes (which yield much the same info as OBDII DTC codes). Most of those options can also read the codes for: COMBI, SRS, ABS, auto tranny, power seats, Immobilizer, ECC, VGLA, etc.

5. Whether your existing ELM327 Bluetooth device -- with some appropriate software -- will work (to communicate with your '98 S70 ECM and other ECUs) depends on whether it is KWPD3B0 capable. Since you have an Android device (which runs Torque), download the free "Elm Basic" Android app from Google Play, issue the ATZ command, experiment with issuing ATL1 and ATL0 and with issuing ATE1 and ATE0, then issue ATSP 3, then issue ATDP, then issue ATI, then issue ATIIA 51.

If the ATI responds with something like the followiing (where the version # might be different than v1.5):

>ATI
ELM327 v1.5

and if the ATIIA 51 responds as follows:

>ATIIA 51
OK

then you most likely have a KWPD3B0-capable ELM327 device.

But if your ATIIA 51 responds exactly the same as the ATI command (ie, with something like "ELM327 v1.5"), then you definitely do *not* have a KWPD3B0-capable ELM327 device, since there is no ATIIA capability to inform the ELM327 which physical ECU # to use when starting the 5-baud ISO 9141-2 style Slow Init sequence.

6. If your ELM327 device is KWPD3B0-capable, then you can use the software:

6a. volvo850diag v0.8beta46 (or later) / Realterm / IE 8 (or higher) on WinXP/Win7/Win8.1 (and probably Win10), in conjunction with the online http://jonesrh.info/volvo850/kwpd3b0_interpreter.html.

6b. XantheFIN's "Volvo 850 OBD-II" Android app. It's still under development, does not connect as reliably as volvo850diag, but has some features that volvo850diag does not have. As of 2016-05-07, the most useful version I have tested is v0.5d. XantheFIN's app also contains an in-built ELM327 terminal emulator. Consequently, I now recommend it over all Android based ELM327 terminal emulators (ELMBasic by ??, "ELM 327 Terminal" by OBD Scantech, "Elm327 OBD Terminal" by Qbek), since it has easy-to-use functions for: "Scan" (most ECUs), "Clear DTCs" (for most all ECUs -- it includes clearing the CEL/MIL as well as the DTCs for SRS, ABS, etc), "SERVICE" light reset, SERVICE interval reprogramming, COMBI "Gauge Test", "Live Data", etc, in addition to its ELM327 terminal emulation capability. Even though I am the author of volvo850diag, I still find XantheFIN's app more useful for certain operations -- even though it is still a "work in progress".

7. But the most popular diagnostic approaches for the '96-'98 850/S70/V70/XC70 (as best I can tell) do *not* involve ELM327, but instead involve:

7a. Handheld Autel MS700 series and MS800 series.

7b. VAG/COM KKL cable in conjunction with Windows and:

7b1. Vol-FCR (not the Demo, but a Full version), along with an appropriate VAG/COM KKL cable for the particular version of Vol-FCR Full that you use.

7b2. Brick-Diag Free v0.0.6.6, along with a VAG/COM KKL cable

7c. iCarSoft.

7d. AutoDiagnose Multi-Tester Pro (or other VST equivalent) -- for those with deep pockets.

8. I've never evaluated the iCarSoft software myself other than to review some documentation. I've done forgotten what I discovered about it.

- IIRC, seems like some people have used iCarSoft successfully to read at least some (but not all) of the KWPD3B0-conversant ECUs.

- Does iCarSoft use an ELM327 device? If yes, then you *MUST* make sure it is KWPD3B0-capable as described above in item 5. In other words, "ATIIA 51", "ATIIA 7A", "ATIIA 11", "ATIIA 58", or "ATIIA 01" must all respond with "OK".

- Or does iCarSoft use a VAG/COM KKL like device to communicate -- either via KWPD3B0 (like Vol-FCR and Brick-Diag Free v0.0.6.6 do), or via KWP71 (like I think MotronicSuite does), or via some other protocol?

9. If you go the iCarSoft route, please let us know -- in great detail -- what you find out. A tutorial, good pictures, total costs, advantages/disadvantages, etc. would be nice.

esl_97_850_T5

[DannyB81]

+1 on have the dealer check the OBDII port. But if you don't want to visit the dealer...

1. Most likely, your OBDII port is OK.

2. Most likely, both your ELM327 Bluetooth device w/ Torque and your handheld scanner by itself are not reading codes because: a) you have a UK car which (presumably) does not have OBDII capability (other than an auto transmission possibly responding to the one single OBDII PID 0100 that informs there is 1 transmission PID), *and* b) your ECM has not been reprogrammed to behave like the '98 USA S70 which *do* respond to standard "legally (ELMBasic by ??, "ELM 327 Terminal" by OBD Scantech, "Elm327 OBD Terminal" by Qbek), since it has easy-to-use functions for: "Scan" (most ECUs), "Clear DTCs" (for most all ropr

Firstly thanks for such a detailed reply! I have ordered a cable and downloaded the vol-fcr demo, If this works I will get the full version. Interesting point about it being a UK car, I just read posts about successful connection but never considered the UK cars were different.

I will try the commands on the elm as well just out of interest but will be a few days as I have the thing in bits at the moment fitting a new pcv valve.