buy volvo vida dice

thomas larsen · Post by **thomas larsen** » 26 Aug 2016, 05:42

I am out to look after a volvo vida dice, and have looked on ebay, and there is a lot for salg, are there someone in here that have bourght out of ebay, that will share experince???

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 31 Aug 2016, 20:03

I too will need to buy a Dice device sometime in the near future. Although I have not really seen anyone endorsed here, there seems to be a following of a particular eBay seller over on Swedespeed so I would check over there. Sorry, but I just don't have the time to do the checking and post back here. Once you find the reputable source, do us all a favor and post back!

ericy · Post by **ericy** » 16 Sep 2016, 16:51

I just got one myself, and it happened to work but I have only done limited testing, so I am not ready to recommend. My sense from what I have read is that virtually all of them come from China, and it can seem like a crap shoot. Some of the eBay sellers will purchase in bulk and test each unit before sending it out. I have this recollection that there is a fellow in Vilnius (digital-life-354797) that does this, and if you are in the EU that might make sense to look at that one.

Some of the cheapest ones apparently don't have the full chipset on the circuit board inside. Some of the better ones should have the full chipset, and they claim that you can use VIDA to udpate the firmware should you feel the need.

I guess I should try and open mine up and see what it was I actually got. Something to do this weekend.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 17 Sep 2016, 09:13

ericy- please do! I am definitely in for one of these. If you find yours is fully loaded (as they say), I'd like to know the seller!
In the meantime, I lent my scan tool (hand held) that reads both OBD-II and CAN to someone and he has disappeared several months ago so I've gone without anything so to just fill in for awhile, I bought one of those $20 wifi gadgets on Amazon that will pair with my iPhone. It has good ratings- will do quite a bit but our cars being Volvo's, I know it won't do all I need it to do.

ericy · Post by **ericy** » 17 Sep 2016, 15:50

MadeInJapan wrote:ericy- please do! I am definitely in for one of these. If you find yours is fully loaded (as they say), I'd like to know the seller!

I bought mine from eBay from a seller named "easybuying168". The items ship from Staten Island. It took 5 days after ordering for me to receive the unit.

It came with a DVD with the ViDA softare, but I already had ViDA so I didn't attempt to use it. There is a video with install instructions, and while it is in Chinese, you can follow along. Basically you unzip a 7-part file and then install. You would need to find a 3rd party unrar utility before you get started. I may yet use this - the ViDA I already had was only 2014B, and the video suggests that the DVD includes 2014D.

When connected, it uses the USB Device driver "SETEK AB DiCE".

VIDA recognizes as "DiCE-206751".

Click DiCE Update Button: All 4 colored LEDs start to flash as the system queries the status. A dialog comes up:

When USB is unplugged, bluetooth light starts blinking, but my phone doesn't see any new bluetooth devices. When I reconnect the USB cable, the bluetooth light stops blinking, but since the phone can't see anything I have my doubts that the bluetooth module is present on this unit. I am not sure how much I care, but I am trying to be thorough here. Or it could be that the phone filters out things it can't understand, or maybe there is some configuration step I need to make before bluetooth works.

Normally when one uses this device, one needs to plug it into the car for it to get 12V power. The DiCE unit does have a 12V plug on one end, that can apparently be used to power the unit. It did not come with a cable that I could use to test this.

Did some more exhaustive tests - query status of some trivial sensors such as whether the driver door is open or not, and it worked as expected.

Under "DICE CONFIGURATION", I can select "DICE UPDATE". This brings up the firmware update dialog - it shows hardware version 1.4.3, bootloader version 5.0, and current firmware version 5.6.2. The latest firmware is apparently the same version, so I didn't attempt to update.

There is a diagnostics tool - it looks like this (note the engine was off - normally the voltage would be a bit higher):

I opened the thing up and took a photo of the circuit board. Here is what it looks like (sorry about the poor light):

The main processor had a sticker over it, so I couldn't read out any kind of identifying information. I suppose in retrospect I could have peeled off the sticker - I didn't think of it until now (well after I had reassembled the unit).

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 18 Sep 2016, 08:36

Thanks for the update! Let us know if you run into any snafu's using it. I am not ready to spend the money on one yet, but if your seller is a good one, I want to keep him in mind when it is time to bite the bullet. In the meantime, I bought a simple bluetooth unit off of Amazon that was about $20. It was highly praised by a mechanic who has worked on later model Volvo's so I think I can at least read and reset engine codes if I have a need for that.

Post by **doublebug** » 18 Sep 2016, 12:57

Looks good.

mf70 · Post by **mf70** » 12 Dec 2016, 13:41

Nice write up! Note for the future: that voltage reading can be a helpful diagnostic point, especially after 30 minutes of sitting. That's how I realized my battery was weak. I wouldn't worry about VIDA version, as long as it's newer than your car. They don't change the old stuff much.