1997 850R ODB-II diagnostics ODBLink LX

[LittleGreyCat]

My 850R Auto Estate (UK) is showing the ABS and TRACS OFF lights.
It wasn't before we went on holiday for a month (without the car).
The battery was disconnected because it flattens if you leave the car sitting for a month unused.
So reconnecting the battery may have upset it.

Now I have a Bluetooth ODB-II diagnostic reader (never previously used).
ODBLink LX.

I have downloaded the Android software to my tablet.
Fitted the dongle into the ODB-II socket (lights flash).
Paired Bluetooth up.
Started the car.
The software cycles through different protocols (I think) and then links up.

However the application cannot see and report any fault codes.
Using the Dash Board in the App the only thing it reports is engine temperature and battery charge.
It does not report engine revs or vehicle speed.
It does not report fuel usage (on this, I have three options: Mass air flow rate, Intake manifold absolute pressure, Direct Fuel Rate).

First question - if the software can talk to the ECU and get engine temperature and battery charge, should it be able to see other data such as speed and revs or are these not standard ODB-II on this model year? Is there, perhaps, more than one ECU?

Second question - has anyone else used this ODB-II reader or anything similar?

[I have seen VOL-FCR mentioned here, but that is software only, requires Windows XP, and allegedly needs a serial or USB connector. It also costs £126.]

I will be asking the manufacturer some questions as well, but do not expect them to be particularly knowledgeable about specific Volvo models and years, so some help on what I can expect to see on a standard ODB-II monitor would be very helpful.

Thanks

LGC

[Ozark Lee]

For ABS, SRS, etc. a standard code reader won't work. VOL-FCR is a good choice and there are some other freeware programs that can interrogate the proprietary Volvo systems. VOL-FCR uses a VAG-COM cable while many of the others use an ELM-327 based cable. A great source if information on the ELM-327 is at the following address but it appears that he is migrating to a new server and at the moment the page is down:

http://jonesrh.info/volvo850/elm327_rea ... _emulators

There are many ebay vendors with VAG-COM cables and some may have a cracked copy of VOL-FCR included. The cracked version of the software has been floating around on the P2P sites for years.

As a practical matter, if your ABS module has not been rebuilt, the module itself is bad. There was a serious flaw in the manufacturing process for the ABS modules that has resulted in a 100% failure rate as the solder joints on the connector pins crack.

If you are handy with a soldering iron you can repair it yourself (there is a tutorial in the repair database) or there are many rebuilders that will repair the module for you for much less than the cost of a new module. In the US most of us now use https://www.midwest-abs.com/ABS_Modules.php . He is a member here and he does a terrific job for a very reasonable price. I'm not sure if he could help you or not with all of the VAT tax complications.

...Lee

[LittleGreyCat]

My local Volvo specialist has checked the codes and although one sensor is showing a code (which he has cleared) he says that it can take a few journeys before the ABS recalibrates after a long power down.

So I'll run it for a few days and see if the warning light clears.

Cheers

LGC

[esl_97_850_T5]

LGC,

1. Its "OBD-II" not "ODB-II", and its "OBDLink LX" not ODBLink LX". Remember "On Board Diagnostics". That's a common mistake we all make.

2. The OBDLink LX should be able to do both the OBDII emission diagnostics and the KWPD3B0 diagnostics. It should be able to report the engine revs and vehicle speed both:

- with standard OBDII emission diagnostics PIDs 010C and 010D (assuming your UK car's ECM has been reflashed so it uses the OBDII emission diagnostics similar to how they were used for the USA cars -- by the way, I've seen quite a number of Europeans cars in the last year that **do** have the OBDII emission diagnostics capability, so somebody is reflashing or is buying ECMs from defunct USA cars), and

- with KWPD3B0 diagnostics using the ECU 51 (COMBI) A50701 combined request, as well as the A50501 and A50401 individual requests.

3. What Android app did you use?

4. My guess is that you have not added any of the other PIDs which are possible with your 1997 850R and that the app is simply displaying whatever PID that it comes preconfigured to display.

I know that the OBDwiz and TouchScan software that can be used with OBDLink SX while running under Windows only displays two (or some small number) of PIDs as it comes preconfigured. I wouldn't be surprised if your Android app behaves similarly.

To see a list of the 01xx PIDs and other OBDII emission diagnostic requests which are available on some '96-'98 850/S70/V70/XC70, display http://jonesrh.info/volvo850/volvo850diag.html, then search for "Click OBDII Scan". The 01xx values from 0103 thru 011E are probably what you are interested in. Some of those PIDs might not be available on your car -- some of the '96-'98 850/S70/V70/XC70 cars have 13 PIDs, some have 14 PIDs, some have 19 PIDs, some have 20 PIDs (in addition to the 0100 PID).

Figure out how your Android app allows adding PIDs to its poll list. When you add a new PID it should start getting polled either immediately or after your next OBDII reconnect attempt.

5. The Android app is OBDII emission diagnostic capable. It will only be KWPD3B0 capable if it has a Console ability that allows you to type commands -- or better yet, run scripts -- to setup the OBDLink LX for KWPD3B0 communication.

6. ScanTool.net will *not* have knowledge of how to address the COMBI, SRS, ABS, etc. So their standard response is to basically say that it can not be done. That is an appropriate response on their part, since their focus is standard OBDII emission diagnostics. They've done an excellent job with their OBDLink SX, OBDLink MX, OBDLink LX products of making them ELM327 v1.4-compatible enough to allow communication with our '96-'98 Volvo KWPD3B0-conversant ECUs: COMBI, SRS, ABS, etc. But don't expect ScanTool.net to support *any* of the KWPD3B0 details. They just will not waste their time with it.

ScanTool.net will also not know what OBDII PIDs will work with our '96-'98 850/S70/V70/XC70 Volvos. So make sure you delve into the 3rd paragraph of item 4 above to figure out which PIDs should work with your OBDLink LX.

7. If your application has a Console ability, then it *might* be able to make the app read and clear the raw hex fault codes using the KWPD3B0 AE01 and AF01 requests. It all depends on: a) if your app has the Console ability, and b) if you have a way to either disable the app from automatically establishing OBDII connections or have a way to disable all repetitive OBDII polling, establish an OBDII connection, terminate it with ATPC, then perform KWPD3B0 setup, and subsequent connections to the KWPD3B0-conversant ECUs. This is not a trivial endeavor.

8. The Dash Board in the App should be able to display the engine revs and vehicle speed after you add those OBDII PIDs to the app's poll list and, if necessary, make sure you've added whatever graphical thingie is needed on the Dash Board to represent those PIDs.

9.

First question - if the software can talk to the ECU and get engine temperature and battery charge, should it be able to see other data such as speed and revs or are these not standard ODB-II on this model year? Is there, perhaps, more than one ECU?

Answers to First question(s): Speed and revs *are* standard OBD-II PIDs for a '97 USA 850. The number of ECUs isn't really pertinent. What will be responding to an OBDII PID 010C and 010D request is the ECM (eg, Motronic 4.3, Motronic 4.4, etc). Assuming your app turns on the headers (using ATH1), the responses might look like:

>010C
48 6B 17 41 0C 0D 20 44

>010D
48 6B 17 41 0D 28 18

If your app has a log like the OBDwiz Raw Data log, then those might appear like:

01 0C: [48 6B 17 41 0C 0D 20 44 ]
01 0D: [48 6B 17 41 0D 28 18 ]

The ECM is the 17 in those OBDII requests and responses.

10.

Second question - has anyone else used this ODB-II reader or anything similar?

Answer to Second question: Yes. I and several other '96-98 850/S70/V70/XC70 owners have used OBDLink SX USB cables and/or a OBDLink MX wifi device to successfully read all the OBDII PIDs that are available on our respective cars. You yourself have already proved that an OBDLink LX can be used to at least read 0105, assuming your app was reporting a reasonable temp -- an ambient temp when the engine is cold, and something in the 78-91 F range when the Temp Gauge is at horizontal.

11. If you have a way of recording a log in your app, then you could copy the contents of that log into the
Paste Volvo 850/SVC70 communication here box and I could help you with the debugging if you also leave contact info.

12. I strongly suggest you make sure the protocol in your app is set to "ISO 9141-2" before you try to connect. In other words, for your '97 Volvo 850R, I suggest to *not* rely on any of the ELM327 protocol choices that involve AUTOmatic detection of one sort or another. The app should use ATSP 3 to connect.

13. I strongly suggest you make sure your OBDLink LX firmware is at least as new as the latest publicly available download at the ScanTool.net firmware download page.

14. Summary: Review item 4 and item 8. The most likely source of your "unable to read engine revs and vehicle speed" problem is you are simply not polling for them yet.

esl_97_850_T5