I've been looing for an OBD2 diagnostic package to monitor an MY97 WRX and have come across this site in the US.
http://www.obd-2.com
I was under the impression that the OBD for the MY97/98 didn't update info as quickly as MY99- so couldn't be as easily displayed on SECS or Deltadash.
Anyone with OBD experience got any comments about whether this package is worth getting?

Nick
1997 Forester S/tb


[Edited by Butty - 7/13/2003 11:30:01 PM]

 

I didn't think ODB-II was standard in UK Imprezas until 2001. (When the US and UK got the same WRX car) I would like to be proved wrong, but I don't think I will be...

The Subaru select protocol is quite good after MY96, if you can work it out. (It has been done for the Impreza in AndrewC's Scoobymonitor, and I expect it'll work for the Forrester too...)

There is a rumour about a Deltadash style laptop program for the MY93 to MY98 Imprezas too

 

This website and Ravensblade indicate that OBD2 for the Subaru came out in 1996 (95 for the Legacy). Would this have been in the US only?
What was the UK running back then and why wouldn't Subaru globalised such a tool?
I have sent an email off to obd-2 and await their reply....

Nick
1997 Forester S/tb

 

The Classics aren't ODBII compliant. The note you found about it being mandatory by 1996 is, as you suspected, applicable to the USA only (this partly explains why the Classic turbos were never sold in the USA).

The Select Monitor protocol for the 97/98 cars is now well publicised, and easy to read, either with a PC or with a third party tool. The only constraint is that the data lines to/from the ECU are at TTL level, so you'll need an (easily made) converter before you can link to an RS232 port.

For some good info on the Select protocol, plus a tool that might be exactly what you're looking for, check out AndrewC's page here

 

Thanks guys,
Since my car is a JDM Forester S/tb (read MY97 240PS WRX), would cars for the Japanese domestic market have had to be ODB2 compliant as well at that time?

Nick
1997 Forester S/tb

 

No. The ODB protocol was originally driven by Californian emissions standards, so the US market has always been ahead of the rest of the world in this respect.

If you want to read your car, the Select protocol on Andrew's page (and elsewhere) will do fine. If you want to interrogate it via a PC, all you need to do is build a TTL to RS232 level converter.

[Edited by greasemonkey - 7/14/2003 4:26:42 PM]

 

Does ScoobyMonitor work for MY99/00.

I thought it was just MY97/98

 

It will when someone maps the diagnostic parameters of the 99/00 ECU's.

 

I actually have the very same software from Alex and it is very useful if you are OBD-2. It gives you all the readings the ECU receives, O2 readings, ECT, timing, IAT, VS, RPM, load, TPS, MAF, etc, etc. You can get CEL or MIS codes and clear them if you want. Very cool thing to have and Alex is awesome to work with.

 

Oh what a PITA. What would it have cost Subaru per car to bring in OBD globally back then?
I saw Andrews work on Scoobymonitor and looks good but a real time display isn't what I'm seeking.
Anyway, its starting to get beyond me now I'm afraid. The physical link I can just about get away with making but the subsequent capture, storage and graphing of data is beyond me.
Anyone know of any relevant off shelf packages or is anyone working on sutable software?

Nick
1997 Forester S/tb

 

I almost have software ready. Keep watching! (MY93 to MY98)

 

Obviously more than they were prepared to spend! I could be wrong (and I'm going to find out in the next couple of days anyway! ), but I believe the MY99/00 cars will speak the ISO 9141 variant of OBD, but the earlier cars are definitely Select Monitor only.

The hardware and working out the format of the comms protocol is the difficult bit. The actual capture, storage and graphing is a piece of pee!

You can use some pretty simple Delphi, C, Visual Basic, or even good old QBasic code to capture to a comma separated .txt or .csv file (once you know how to interrogate the ECU). From there, importing to Excel and displaying/graphing as you like couldn't be easier!

DeltaDash is off the shelf, and I know a fair few here have been working on software for the older cars. Check out the "Standalone ECU Monitor" thread that was last hit a week or two back for further info.

 

Greasemonkey - Do you have a plan for MY99/00? I'm told that the select protocol is faster than ISOxxx ODB for this era car. Not tested it, as no-one lets me near their car with a screwdriver any more

 

I'm part of the way down the road, yes, but it's a bit hit and miss at the moment, which is why I was wondering whether going the OBD route may provide a more fruitful avenue to explore.

I'm trying to do it the "hard" way to avoid any accusations of plagiarism (etc.), but if I come up against any brick walls, I may be spending some time at my local Scooby dealers playing with their Select Monitor...

Have you learned much about the 99/00 Select protocol yourself?

[Edited by greasemonkey - 7/15/2003 12:19:20 AM]

 

The scoobymonitor along with a laptop will do the capture for you, outputting a CSV text file which can easily be imported into excel to graph etc.

All you need to do if you have the monitor itself running is select "logging" as one of the four items and connect to it via hyperterminal on your laptop. So even if you don't want the display, the hardware/software interface to the ECU has already been done for you, all you need is a copy of Excel or similar to graph them.

 

gm - a little, but no tests yet. I know what you mean about plagiarism etc. - it's a fine line to cross with reverse engineering...

Mail me, and we can compare notes if you like.

 

Oh dear - perhaps I should just wait for you chaps to do the hard work and then I'll buy the finished item from you.

I assume that anything developed for the Impreza 97/98 will work for the Forester? If there is any info required that is Forester specific then please drop me a line and I'll try my best to help.

Nick
1997 Forester S/tb

 

With a bit of luck it'll work for the Forester. After all, it's just an Impreza on stilts...