Volvo VIDA J2534 Cable vs DICE?

[Davidib]

Thanks Rick, I was going to try the Mongoose clones but it does seem there's no difference between those and the VCI cables you're talking about, so I'm going to order a couple and see how it goes.

Before you buy make sure there is a second CAN Bus on pins #3 & 11 ( Vendor Options )
Volvo uses this for Low Speed CAN. Toyota does not have anything on these pins.

Mine is a Mongoose V158. Mongoose is showing a CAN 2 on pins #3 & 11 for JRL. I would think V159 & V160 will still work. Mongoose never officially supported Volvo. People just figured out the JRL and Volvo where the same. JRL does have a second CAN on 3 & 11 just like Volvo.

It is looking more like Toyota VCI will not work. But then again the Mini-VCI maybe a generic board that has a second CAN on 3 & 11. We will not know for sure until somebody gives it a try.

There is another inexpensive J2534 interface on AliExpress called Openport 2.0 . It is a clone of Tactrix Openport 2.0 or it maybe the same device. Could be the only difference is Tactrix puts their name on it and marks them up to $169.00. These are $30.00. The JLR software support is SSD V158. Same as my Mongoose clone. Maybe I should buy a bunch of them stick my initials on them. Then charge you all $270.00 more for my initials.

Let us know how they work. The supply of DiCE clones is drying up and the price of a Genuine DiCE is too high to justify for DIY.

I cannot find a pinout for the OBD 2 plug but under their supported protocols, both the mini VCI and the mongoose clone talk about CAN. The mini VCI talks about CAN 2.0B and the mongoose clone only says CAN BUS but states 3 of them plus the medium speed CAN. Is that enough info or should I ask for an actual pinout of the plug?

Mini VCI supported protocols:

K-Line ISO 9141
KWP 2000 ISO 14230-4
SAE J1850 PWM
SAE J1850 VPW
CAN 2.0B ISO 11898
CAN ISO 15765-4

Mini VCI 1

Mini VCI 2

Mongoose clone (V160 JLR PRO) supported protocols:

K-Line ISO 9141
KWP 2000
ISO 14230-4
SAE J1850 PWM
SAE J1850 VPW
CAN 2.0B ISO 11898
CAN ISO 15765-4

Bus protocols

1. J1850PWM / SCP
2. ISO9141 / KWP2000
3. ROSCO
4. Medium Speed CAN
5. CAN Bus (capable of ISO 15765, GMLAN, and ISO14229)

Mongoose 1

Mongoose 2

I'm really trying to get to the bottom of this, I asked around on my Volvo page on instagram and nobody has a definitive answer on what J2534 cable would work and what wouldn't work. Does one seem better than the other?


I did find the original mongoose pin assignment and I do see the extra ones that JLR requires, I'm going to do a bit more research and both of the ones I found on aliexpress and get back to you.

Mongoose pinout

[RickHaleParker]

nobody has a definitive answer on what J2534 cable would work and what wouldn't work.

Mongoose V158 and Openport 2.0 looks good on paper. On paper Mini-VCI looks like it is missing the Volvo low speed can.

I gave you a definitive answer on the Mongoose V158. The only reason we a definitive answer on the Mongoose V158 is because I stepped up to the plate, bought one and tried it. There will be no definitive answers on the others until somebody does the same with the others. You could be that person or you can sit back and wait until somebody else takes the initiative then follow. However you cannot expect somebody else to take the initiative so you can avoid the risk.

[cancunia]

Let us know how they work. The supply of DiCE clones is drying up and the price of a Genuine DiCE is too high to justify for DIY.

From what I've read elsewhere, there may be little or no more manufacturing of Dice clones & no more VCX Nano for Volvo. If so, the prices of remaining stock will only go up, so knowing that alternatives will work is really helpful.

A clue about what will work may be in this eBay listing, the listing has ended so you need to scroll down the page to see details. The pictures show a device that looks very similar to some that I saw on AliExpress, but these have an extra label on the plug..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAE-J2534-Pr ... 7675.l2557

[- Pete -]

I have no experience with that one, but here’s another listing for it. I see the DiCE unit on there for $900usd

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SAE-J2534-Pro- ... 632-2357-0

[cancunia]

I have no experience with that one, but here’s another listing for it. I see the DiCE unit on there for $900usd

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SAE-J2534-Pro- ... 632-2357-0

Yep, looks to be the same item as I'd seen on eBay UK.
Here's one that looks very similar on Aliexpress for a lot less money & says it's Volvo compatible:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003 ... mainSearch

[Davidib]

Let us know how they work. The supply of DiCE clones is drying up and the price of a Genuine DiCE is too high to justify for DIY.

From what I've read elsewhere, there may be little or no more manufacturing of Dice clones & no more VCX Nano for Volvo. If so, the prices of remaining stock will only go up, so knowing that alternatives will work is really helpful.

A clue about what will work may be in this eBay listing, the listing has ended so you need to scroll down the page to see details. The pictures show a device that looks very similar to some that I saw on AliExpress, but these have an extra label on the plug..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SAE-J2534-Pr ... 7675.l2557

Funny enough I see that he edited "J2534 pro" onto the blank sticker that should say "mongoose" I spoke to this guy on ebay and he's very adamant that everything works, the only thing he hasn't tried is tuning/data logging which I need.

j2534 edited sticker

[Davidib]

nobody has a definitive answer on what J2534 cable would work and what wouldn't work.

Mongoose V158 and Openport 2.0 looks good on paper. On paper Mini-VCI looks like it is missing the Volvo low speed can.

I gave you a definitive answer on the Mongoose V158. The only reason we a definitive answer on the Mongoose V158 is because I stepped up to the plate, bought one and tried it. There will be no definitive answers on the others until somebody does the same with the others. You could be that person or you can sit back and wait until somebody else takes the initiative then follow. However you cannot expect somebody else to take the initiative so you can avoid the risk.

It seems like OpenPort and the mini VCI are missing "ROSCO" from the pin diagram I've seen, the v160 JLR pro has all them. Seems like the only one that would work is the mongoose clone...

Mini VCI vs Open Port Vs mongoose clone vs Original mongoose Pin diagram

[RickHaleParker]

Funny enough I see that he edited "J2534 pro" onto the blank sticker that should say "mongoose" I spoke to this guy on ebay and he's very adamant that everything works, the only thing he hasn't tried is tuning/data logging which I need.

He could very well be 100% correct. We tend to think the Chinese copy western products. China has captured the electronics manufacturing market. Quite often, when you open a western electronics product you will find a generic Chinese PCB. Western companies don't manufacture their electronics any more they have the Chinese do it for them. When a western company discontinues a product the Chinese company can keep on making the product. They just need to watch out for trademark infringement. If the western company is using generic Chinese PCBs and cases they don't own the design ... just the trademark.

It has pretty much flipped, the the Chinese are the originators the westerns are the copiers.

Remember the Dice "clones" came with the sticker detached from the DiCE unit. That because shipping a clone with the sticker attached would be counterfeiting. But shipping your product along with a replacement sticker for a genuine DiCE is legal. It is not trade mark infringement or counterfeiting because they did not put the trade name on the product. The consumer did.

All the Mongoose PCBs are most likely the same. The difference is how the PCB is populated.

The westerns game is convincing the consumer their generic product is worth 10 times more then the other guys generic product.

[RickHaleParker]

It seems like OpenPort and the mini VCI are missing "ROSCO" from the pin diagram I've seen, the v160 JLR pro has all them. Seems like the only one that would work is the mongoose clone...

Note ROSCO is on pin #8. Pin #8 is a vendor option pin. "ROSCO" is some custom protocol Jaguar and/or Land Rover uses. Volvo does not need ROSCO.

Volvo:
1. J1850 Bus+ Pins 2 & 10
2. CAN Low Speed: pins 3 & 11. ( Volvo Vendor Option )
3. Can High Speed pins 6 & 14.
4. K-Line Pin 7
5. Chassis Ground Pin 4.
6. Signal ground pin 5
7. Battery Power pin 16.

[Davidib]

If Rosco is not needed then the Mini VCI and the mongoose clone both have similar supported protocols which are:
K-Line ISO 9141, KWP 2000 ISO 14230-4, SAE J1850 PWM, SAE J1850 VPW, CAN 2.0B ISO 11898, CAN ISO 15765-4.
Btw, the Openport seems to be lacking in the supported protocols, I don't know if that's due to a bad description or that's what it really does. I think my 2 best options are the mini VCI and the V160 pro. I might just buy one of each and test.


Do you have any red flags when it comes to the mini VCI? The mongoose clone has to have the same exact pinout layout to the real one but is it possible that the mini VCI has a different pinout? I'm guessing most OBD pin assignments are similar except the proprietary being added or being blanks but the general layout should be the same, right? I also heard you can use the original mongoose drivers with the clone, I'm wondering if I could use real mongoose drivers with a mini VCI instead of those awful CD's that they come with.

Funny enough I found a mini VCI in a mongoose clone case, so maybe the mongoose clone and the mini VCI are actually extremely similar, just rebranded to do different things.

mini VCI in a mongoose clone casing