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[irratic]

I HAVE AN OBD TO SERIAL CABLE , AN OLD LAPTOP AND A TON OF PROGRAMS FOR VARIOUS MODEL CARS... MY QUESTION IS: AS I UNDERSTAND IT VARIOUS CARS HAVE DIFFERENT SOFTWARE PROTOCOLS SO ,DEPENDING ON WHAT VEHICLE I.E: VAUXHALL, FORD OR VW CAN I DIRECTLY CONNECT THE SERIAL CABLE TO MY LAPTOP FROM THE OBD CONNECTION POINT (OBVIOUSLY USING SUITABLE SOFTWARE FOR EACH) OR DO I HAVE TO PUT THE SERIAL END OF THE OBD LEAD THREW AN INTERFACE BEFOR IT GOES TO MY LAPTOP??? THANKS

[TheBoy]

The lead plugs straight in laptop.

You won't get it to work with your Omega though, if its a simple lead, as nobody did the software for pre OBDII Vauxhalls. The cheapest is the cheapo Tech2 lead, which is a simple lead with a multiplexor in front - with that you can use the buggy software...

[theolodian]

Yeah, what TB said.  Generic OBD2 tools don't work unless you have 2.2, 2.6, 3.2 or some of the diesels.  That leaves you with VX specific stuff, or I should say GM specific, which is the Tech2.  THe real deal is monster expensive, TB has one, and the cheap stuff is not great.  OTOH, if you only care about the engine look up the 'paperclip test'.  That will give you engine fault codes for the cost of a paperclip.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Just to clarify a few points for people.

You cant connect any OBD port direct to a serial port as the logic levels are not compatible, they need some interface circuitry to allow support.

The Omege does have an OBD port to an ISO standard (well multiple standards!) in fact its an ISO spec K line interface and the protocols are KWP82 or 2000 dependent on which bit you talk to, it is not however OBDII compatible on all but the later engines.

[irratic]

thanks for the replies, i appreciate my elite isn't OBD11 compatible , so as i'm trying to get my head around this... if i had say a citroen saxo or a vw golf or bmw . could i just connect the obd11 lead direct to the pc??? or would a need an interface between them??? and if so would it a different interface for each vehicle?? or is there a universal one that automaticaly interprets the different vehicle signals?

[theolodian]

thanks for the replies, i appreciate my elite isn't OBD11 compatible , so as i'm trying to get my head around this... if i had say a citroen saxo or a vw golf or bmw . could i just connect the obd11 lead direct to the pc??? or would a need an interface between them??? and if so would it a different interface for each vehicle?? or is there a universal one that automaticaly interprets the different vehicle signals?

There are generic ones for OBD2 cars, generally post 2000.  You need an electronic OBD2 adapter (Google elm327) and a PC program.  Even the generic ones don't necessarily cover most cars though.  There are no generic ones for non-OBD2 AFAIK.

[irratic]

i thought odb11 came in around 97 and 98 for most cars????but thanks for the info.. is this the type of thing i need ?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OBD-1-2-SOFTWARE-RADIO-DECODERS-INTERFACE-CABLE_W0QQitemZ250112422425QQihZ015QQcategoryZ30921QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[theolodian]

i thought odb11 came in around 97 and 98 for most cars????but thanks for the info.. is this the type of thing i need ?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OBD-1-2-SOFTWARE-RADIO-DECODERS-INTERFACE-CABLE_W0QQitemZ250112422425QQihZ015QQcategoryZ30921QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'd be interested to know if that does all that it claims.

OBD2 was mandated in the US from Jan 1st 1997, it seems to have been slowly phased in in the UK until 2001.

[irratic]

it would be good if it did do all that it claims...its a shame although the manufacturers decided to use the same socket they couldn't manage to get all the vehicle software the same..well for code reading and remapping purposes anyway..

[TheBoy]

Very few European cars were OBDII until 2001 (or even later for diesels).  Omega is no different.