Dear Fellow Thaivisa.com Posters,

 

I would greatly appreciate yer recommendations of OBD2 Etc. Scanners, with good software update policies, for ;

 

Mazda Tribute

3 Liter

Year 2003

[ Recently replaced with used Ford "Escape ?" 3 Liter Engine from Japan ]

 

I note the Ancel, Autel, & Launch as being popular brands serving many car models.

Perhaps there is another model I should be aware of as being good ?

 

Here is hoping that I can find on Lazada.co.th or similar what yee recommend ;

Of course,- I would also welcome knowing where recommended new scanners can be bought in Bangkok at very keen prices.

 

Thanking yee all in advance for yer most helpful relevant constructive replies.

 

Faithfully Yours,

 

Our Man in the Tropics

Quote

 

 

ELM327, i.e. this one:

https://www.banggood.com/HHOBD-ELM327-Car-Bluetooth-OBD2-Auto-CAN-BUS-Scanner-Tool-Android-p-913030.html

 

TorqueApp Free or the full version for 150THB

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en_US

 

Tested and it works fine

1. Verify the car has an OBD2 port.

2. Verify what ever brand of OBD2 reader you are looking at comes with the cable for Mazda.

I have an Autel and it works great.

 

I am sure you could use also use Forscan. It is a free diagnostic tool for your laptop.

12 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

ELM327, i.e. this one:

https://www.banggood.com/HHOBD-ELM327-Car-Bluetooth-OBD2-Auto-CAN-BUS-Scanner-Tool-Android-p-913030.html

 

TorqueApp Free or the full version for 150THB

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en_US

 

Tested and it works fine

Hi OneMoreFalang,

 

Thank u for ur reply.

 

According to the "Compatibility" Function within the Banggood.com web-page above ;

 

This part is not compatible with 2003-Mazda-Tribute-DX-DX Sport Utility 4-Door-3.0L 2968CC 181Cu. In. V6 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated-

 

Note ;

I do not know what exact Mazda Tribute 3 Liter it is.

And,- I do not know what year the "replacement" Engine is.

I use DX-DX Sport Utility as example only

In fact I tried for all the Mazda Tribute 3 Liter models offered in that "Compatibility" Function for checking.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

By the way,- does Banggood.com have Pay-on-Delivery option ?

6 minutes ago, Our Man in the Tropics said:

Hi OneMoreFalang,

 

Thank u for ur reply.

 

According to the "Compatibility" Function within the Banggood.com web-page above ;

 

This part is not compatible with 2003-Mazda-Tribute-DX-DX Sport Utility 4-Door-3.0L 2968CC 181Cu. In. V6 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated-

 

Note ;

I do not know what exact Mazda Tribute 3 Liter it is.

And,- I do not know what year the "replacement" Engine is.

I use DX-DX Sport Utility as example only

In fact I tried for all the Mazda Tribute 3 Liter models offered in that "Compatibility" Function for checking.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

By the way,- does Banggood.com have Pay-on-Delivery option ?

I bought that adapter about two years ago - for my brand new KTM motorcycle...

 

Search on Thai shopping sites for ELM327 and you will find many adapters.

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?q=elm327

ELM327 is a standard which exists since many years. I guess there are not many differences.

To be sure you get the right adapter for your car/engine maybe google ELM327 and your car name and see what comes up.

 

The software works with many ELM327 adapters. And you can easily try the free version first.

Hmm mmm !

 

I wonder about this ;

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/focom-vcm-obd-pic18f2455-usb-i1061818868-s2371648860.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.76.fed27225h8FHpK&search=1

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0779M6D18/ref=acr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar

I do not know the business model for the OBD2 Etc. Motor Vehicle Scanners

 

1_

Are the best models loaded with :

 

1_1_

choicest state-of-the-art Interface ?

 

1_2_

choicest info. ?

 

2_

And,- are these best models equiped with free updates of high quality ?

 

3_

Are the best models equiped with software devised in cooperation with the motor vehicle manufacturers ?

 

4_

Is it feasible, & actually more effective & efficient, to use a tablet computer [ Windows 10 ] rather than the small consoles ?

@ OneMoreFalang,

 

I perused some results for search-term ELM327 ;

 

A_

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELM327

 

B_

https://www.elm327.com/

 

C_

https://www.elmelectronics.com/products/ics/obd/#ELM327

 

 

Unfortunately,- ..... :

 

1_

there is for me a rather steep learning-curve to undertake with pursuing the dedicated ELM327 topic at this stage as one having no personal experience of using Motor Vehicle Scanners

2_

Inserting Brand & Model yields no results in B_ elm327.com

 

3_

elmelectronics.com is unimpressively formatted & maintained website

 

4_

this link found within A_ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELM327

article advises against using ELM327 "Clones"

 

D_

https://www.scantool.net/forum/index.php?topic=2379.0

 

HOWEVER,- I DO AIM TO RETURN HABITUALLY OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, GETTING UNDERSTANDING ABOUT ELM327

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MEANWHILE,- I FOUND THIS ;

E_

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/jsp-obd2-obd2-scanner-obd2-ancel-jp700-obdii-eobd-autel-jp701-autophix-om127-om500-jobd-i207869637-s312936947.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.2.5b1c6c413qaACH&search=1

 

But, ahead of deciding on preferred Motor Vehicle Scanners for purchase,- I must determine :

 

1_
the particular physical port fitting

 

2_
the implications of the used “replaced” Engine upon the whole matter ;

I do not even know the year of the engine

 

Ref.

The Paperwork given to me for submission to Dept. of Land & Transport :

 

2_1_

it is termed a "Ford" Engine

But,- I wonder do Mazda term their “original” Engines for Tributes as "Mazda"

 

2_2_

it has the Letters AJ ahead of the Hyphen in its Serial No.

Regards,

 

Our Man in the Tropics

 

 

The Mazda Tribute and Ford Escape were co-developed by Ford and Mazda. They are essentially the same car, based on the Mazda 626 platform.

The 3.0 engine is the Ford AJ-V6 engine. Original design by Porsche with cylinder heads by Cosworth. Its a good engine - used also by Jaguar (with VVT cams).

The engine management system in your car is Ford EEC-V (Electronic Engine Control - V) - used on numerous Ford cars around this time. Many scan tool should work with it.

ELM327 is merely a microcontroller chip (an Arizona Microchip PIC) that is programmed with software to convert the OBD protocol signals from your car into a format suitable for input to your PC.  Interface in other words.  You then need additional software on your PC (or phone etc) to interpret the OBD information.  There are now many ELM327 clones out there - some better than others...

 

One thing you need to be aware of is that Ford made various changes to the 3.0 AJ-V6 during production.  Sensor locations were changed etc.  Wiring may be different depending on the year of manufacture of the engine.

 

 

Ref.

ELM Electronics link 

https://www.elmelectronics.com/help/obd/

 

1_

 

Excerpt "1 of 3"

It is difficult for us to provide an accurate table of this data for you, as most countries set a date for full compliance, and also provide a ‘phase-in’ period in which the OBD requirements increase over time. 

Some do not publish their requirements openly, and some have different requirements for urban and rural areas.

With the help of our users and from published information, we have been able to come up with the following list of dates for light duty vehicles:

 

Note by "Our Man in the Tropics" "1 of 3"

This messy situation per OBD Protocol "Compliance" & "the Recording of said Compliance whereby there is no authoritative reliable source to compile all this" is :

very surprising

very disappointing

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

2_

 

Excerpt "2 of 3"

Cars and light duty trucks (typically < 14,000 lbs GVW) that were manufactured for sale in the listed country after the date shown will likely work well with our products.

If your vehicle is older than this, or was imported, it may not be OBDII compliant so may not work with our integrated circuits (even if it uses a similar looking connector).

 

Note by "Our Man in the Tropics" "2 of 3"

 

Specifically, ELM Electronics link below serves to make the reader doubtful of On-board Diagnostics 2 [ OBD2 / OBDII ] Protocol --  "_ _ _ which is what ELM ICs support [ ONLY ? ] _ _ _" -- applying to their "car" or "light duty truck [ typically < 14,000 lbs GVW ]" if that vehicle :

 

2_1_

was manufactured for sale in Thailand prior, or during, year 2012

 

 

Note by "Our Man in the Tropics" "2 of 3" ;

I am very surprised at such a late year declared for Thailand.

 

or

 

2_2_

imported *

*

Note by "Our Man in the Tropics" "3 of 3" ;

Obviously with attendent scenario that the vehicle was manufactured for sale in a country prior, or during, a year listed per that respective country or political block [ e.g. EU ] in ELM Electronics link above.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

3_

 

Excerpt "3 of 3"

Vehicles that comply with the OBDII standards 

..............................................................

The OBD connector is officially called an SAE J1962 Diagnostic Connector, but is also known by DLC, OBD Port, or OBD connector. It has positions for 16 pins, and looks like this:

 

Many older vehicles use a similar type of connector for communication with modules, but do not comply with the OBDII standards.

 

Simply having a J1962 connector does not mean that the vehicle is OBDII compliant.

Be aware of this when attempting to read vehicle codes

And be aware that you may cause damage to some circuits if you connect the wrong voltages to them.

 

Always look first for a section on OBDII compliance in the owners manual, for a sticker in the engine compartment, or for information on the manufacturer’s web site, to be sure that you are dealing with an OBDII compliant vehicle.

 

Locate the J1962 connector in your vehicle, and determine if there are pins at positions 2, 6, 7, 10, 14 or 15.

Once you know which pins are used and which are not, then determine which standard applies from the following table:

 

Pin 2	Pin 6	Pin 7	Pin 10	Pin 14	Pin 15	Protocol	Use
must have	–	–	must have	–	–	J1850 PWM	ELM320 or ELM327
must have	–	–	–	–	–	J1850 VPW	ELM322 or ELM327
–	–	must have	–	–	may have*	ISO 9141-2 or 14230-4	ELM323 or ELM327
–	must have	–	–	must have	–	ISO 15765-4 (CAN)	ELM327 or ELM329

* not all ISO9141 or ISO14230 vehicles use pin 15 (the ‘L’ line)

 

The above should be considered a good guideline.

The presence or absence of pins in the connector is not an absolute indication though, as only your vehicle manufacturer can say for sure which standards the vehicle was built to.

Pre-2008 Typical Protocols

All new cars (2008+) seem to be going to the faster ISO 15765 (CAN) protocol.

But older vehicles might have used one of several different protocols.

The vehicle manufacturers generally stayed with one protocol

But not always

e.g.

Chrysler started using ISO 9141-2 and then switched to SAE J1850 VPW around MY2000).

 

Typically, you will find the following standards usage for older vehicles:

 

Manufacturer	J1850 PWM (ELM320)	J1850 VPW (ELM322)	ISO9141 ISO14230 (ELM323)	ISO15765 CAN (ELM327 or ELM329)
Acura			X
Chrysler		X	X
Ford	X
General Motors		X
Honda			X
Saturn		X
Subaru			X
Suzuki			X
Toyota			X
Volkswagen			X

 

Actually, beginning with the 2005 model year, some North American vehicles did begin using the ISO 15765-4 (CAN) interface standard, so maybe we should have put some ‘X’s in the last column.

The above should be a good starting point for you, though.

Beginning with the 2008 model year, all North American vehicles were required to use ISO 15765-4 (CAN).