1995 OBD 1 malfunctioning Topic is solved

tysauce1986 · Post by **tysauce1986** » 14 Apr 2019, 07:03

Hello MVS community. About 3 months ago I inherited a 1995 850 glt wagon 5spd NA. Needless to say I've got the bug! I'm having an issue with the obd1. The terminal lights up when I press the button and there is power (about 10v) to all the sockets. When I try to retrieve codes it does not work. My brother, whom I inherited the car from, said something about wires being disconnected somewhere but he wasn't sure. The check engine light is on and I'm not sure what to do. It's like it's not communicating with the computer. I've read about replacing the unit. But I'm not even sure where to get a known good one. Am I doing something wrong? Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance!!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 14 Apr 2019, 13:18

The jumper wire (flywire) with the plug that you insert into the port(s) is a known weak spot. I have repaired them before by shortening the flywire and soldering it back onto the contact plate below the button and I have also replaced the wire completely on another one. I think I used a standard crimp on "Bulllet" connector from the electrical aisle at Home Depot to make the plug and then some old 22 gauge stranded wire I had laying around.

In either case, you need to disassemble the socket assembly which is actually quite easy. The entire assembly fits on a connector and then the case can be opened by prying it gently away from its locking tabs. I think there are four tabs so I used toothpicks to keep them open while I went onto the next tab.

You do need to be a bit careful when taking it apart or the spring under the button will go sailing on you as the shell comes off.

...Lee

tysauce1986 · Post by **tysauce1986** » 14 Apr 2019, 15:43

I pulled the OBD 1 unit out and it looks like the fly wire has already been shortened and or soldered to the "Bullet". When I was pulling the box I noticed there is a single green/red stripe wire at the front. It doesn't appear to be connected to anything. There was plenty of corrosion in the in the exposed connector. could this have anything to do with my problem?

tysauce1986 · Post by **tysauce1986** » 02 Jun 2019, 11:15

Ozark Lee wrote: ↑14 Apr 2019, 13:18 The jumper wire (flywire) with the plug that you insert into the port(s) is a known weak spot. I have repaired them before by shortening the flywire and soldering it back onto the contact plate below the button and I have also replaced the wire completely on another one. I think I used a standard crimp on "Bulllet" connector from the electrical aisle at Home Depot to make the plug and then some old 22 gauge stranded wire I had laying around.

In either case, you need to disassemble the socket assembly which is actually quite easy. The entire assembly fits on a connector and then the case can be opened by prying it gently away from its locking tabs. I think there are four tabs so I used toothpicks to keep them open while I went onto the next tab.

You do need to be a bit careful when taking it apart or the spring under the button will go sailing on you as the shell comes off.

...Lee

Thanks for your help @OzarkLee even though it was months ago. I was slamming my head against the wall trying to figure this out and it wasn't until i tested the fly wire for continuity that i was like holy hell, Lee was right. I repaired the wire exactly as you said and it worked!! Thanks a million!
Tyler

Post by **wheelsup** » 02 Jun 2019, 13:20

FYI my '95 850 also has an OBD II port on it. It's located in front of the shifter below the change drawer that simply lifts off. You can buy a WiFi or Bluetooth OBD2 adapter to pull codes from your phone. I have an iPhone so bought the WiFi one and use the app "car scanner" which was free. The adapter was $20 or so. Makes pulling/clearing codes a LOT faster but I do believe there are some specific codes the OBDI is better at getting to.

tysauce1986 · Post by **tysauce1986** » 05 Jun 2019, 19:29

wheelsup wrote: ↑02 Jun 2019, 13:20 FYI my '95 850 also has an OBD II port on it. It's located in front of the shifter below the change drawer that simply lifts off. You can buy a WiFi or Bluetooth OBD2 adapter to pull codes from your phone. I have an iPhone so bought the WiFi one and use the app "car scanner" which was free. The adapter was $20 or so. Makes pulling/clearing codes a LOT faster but I do believe there are some specific codes the OBDI is better at getting to.

I assume you are suggesting that I might have an obd 2 port like you do. Instead of just telling me you have one in addition to the obd 1. I wish i had that set up but i do not.