An ECU scan tool for turbo and NA owners

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 5:18 am

vikash, this is exactly what I was looking for, If one was to collect the parts, would it be possible to have somthing like that done using your software?

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Sat Oct 02, 2004 11:38 am

Not using my software... but using the same information that I collected to develop my software.

magicmike · Post by **magicmike** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 5:58 pm

Any chance of getting this to work with a palm pilot or pocket pc?

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 6:58 pm

Same answer -- you could in principle implement this scan tool on any platform that has the means.

I don't expect to be porting it to other platforms anytime soon though... I don't have time or access to the necessary test equipment.

magicmike · Post by **magicmike** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 7:01 pm

ok, thought I'd ask. I've been doing some basic ladder logic controls programing using siemens step 7, I'd like to look into making programs for my sony Clie

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 5:42 am

do it!

syphon · Post by **syphon** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 5:32 am

I just finished setting up this thing... for the $20 or so it cost me to make the cable, it was well worth it!

Now I just need to figure out what half these sensors mean

RSLegacy90 · Post by **RSLegacy90** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:23 am

hey vrg3..

interested to know..

it appears this doesnt work on JDM ej20T ecu's? (1989-1992) JDM legacys...

fingers crossed it does looks very cool!!

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:55 pm

That's correct, RSLegacy90; it only works on 1st-generation North American Legacy models.

Given the amount of interest in making it work on other cars, though, I might try to make a limited version that would work on cars from other markets. I can't do the reverse engineering thing but maybe I can make use of some of the info out on the web.

If anyone wants to send me samples of JDM or otherwise non-North-American ECUs, feel free to PM me for an address.

syphon · Post by **syphon** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:59 pm

Is any effort going to be made to make a version that displays more than one result on the screen?

An idea would be just a couple screens with like info on it... one screen with RPM and Speed and Coolant Temp and Voltage, another with all the vaccum/boost info.. etc. etc.

I'd be ok with it polling each of the sensors only 1/4th as often.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 5:10 pm

At some point, yes. At this point almost no effort is going into the scantool at all.

They would actually be sampled a little less than 1/4th as often because the instructions would have to be sent. And another catch is that when the ECU's concentrating too hard on running the engine it ignores the signals, so you'd have to maintain sync with a watchdog somehow.

RSLegacy90 · Post by **RSLegacy90** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:40 pm

just outve interest vrg3,
do your 1st gen Leggys use 8-bit or 16 bit ECU's?

JDM 1989-1991 use 8-bit
JDM late 1991-1992 use 16 bit (wrx ecu)

keep up the good work fella's

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:51 pm

We didn't get the BC/BF Legacy until 1990, and didn't get turbos until 1991. We kept the BC/BF up through 1994.

Our 1990-1991 5MT non-turbo ECUs are 8-bit.
Our 1991-1994 turbo ECUs are 8-bit.
All the rest of our ECUs (1990-1991 non-turbo automatics, and all 1992-1994 non-turbos) are 16-bit.

However, from what I can tell, our 8-bit ECU is completely different from your 8-bit series 1 ECU. Ours is made by Hitachi, like earlier Subaru ECUs, whereas yours I believe is made by JECS, like the 16-bit ECUs.

Our 16-bit ECU is somewhat similar to the WRX ECU of the same era. We never got a 16-bit turbo ECU though.

RSLegacy90 · Post by **RSLegacy90** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:00 am

thx for that mate.

hmm it seems like a whole lotta chopin and changin on soob's behalf!!

my ecu is a JECS 8-bit (1990 ej20t)

keen for a scan tool program

ECUTEK in the UK do a cool one for late model wrx.. it even keeps track of injector duty cycle. costs a small fortune tho..

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:30 am

Hehe, yeah, they did a bunch of weird stuff, especially when it comes to our turbo Legacies. Unique ECU, unique turbo configuration, the only EJ turbo with SOHC heads, the only pre-97 EJ turbo with waste spark...

If I do get around to making the "world market wrx scan tool" you may actually need to swap to a 16-bit ECU to use it (from what I understand it's really a drop-in replacement). I know approximately nothing about the 8-bit JECS system.

I believe the system you're talking about is called the ECUTEK DeltaDash here. It is very cool. But, yes, it's not cheap.

NICO · Post by **NICO** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:38 am

will your scan tool work with a chip that has bin moded. every time i try to make it work it gives me a screen trying to fiand the rom and parrlelle port 03b,

need help vrg

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:41 am

I can't say for sure whether the chip will affect scantool functionality, since I don't know what's been modified on the chip... Most likely it will work though.

It says it found the parallel port at 03B? Cuz that's not right... On most laptops it's at 378 or 3BC. Can you check in your laptop's setup to make sure the parallel port is enabled?

NICO · Post by **NICO** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:50 am

i am going to cruz around agian and i will txt you when i get it but it stops at proccessing the rom ... and wont do nothing more. i tried all day i must have the right file cuz it took me that far.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:13 am

You have the software set up right... It's just that the scan tool isn't able to communicate with the ECU, either because of the laptop's configuration or because of the cable.

RSLegacy90 · Post by **RSLegacy90** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:27 am

hey vrg3 do u think a generic OBD scan tool would work?? seems to be a heap of software floating around.. (mostly cots $$ tho)

thx

Post by **Legacy777** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:30 am

The generic scan tools read OBD2 computers. Ours are OBD1, which at the time were propritary. So you would need a subaru scan tool and the correct cartridge to read the ECU.

I've got one, and so does vrg3. His scan tool does pretty much the same thing the subaru select monitor does.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:36 am

What Josh said.

Some third-party OBD-1 scan tools can scan our ECUs, from what I understand... I think I remember someone saying they used the Snap-On one in particular. I would assume those scan tools were developed the same way mine was, and would have similar functionality.

The big differences between my scantool and the Subaru one are that mine displays readings at a higher rate, and that it doesn't read or clear trouble codes.

RSLegacy90 · Post by **RSLegacy90** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:36 am

is there no OBD1 software available?

i imagine the subaru scan tool wasnt cheap..

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:44 am

There is OBD1 software available: http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/~v/bcbfscan/

It's just not universal.

The Subaru scan tool wasn't cheap when it was new, but Josh and I each got lucky on eBay. The ones we have are actually now obsolete, replaced by newer, more expensive ones.

RSLegacy90 · Post by **RSLegacy90** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 1:47 am

i feel like i just chased my tail around in a big circle

hehe

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An ECU scan tool for turbo and NA owners