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Automakers to Make Diagnostic Codes Available
Rubbersoul writes "As reported on /. a few months ago independent auto repair shops are a bit tense about not having access to car computer diagnostic codes. Well it seems that now the auto makers will share these codes after all. According to an article at CNN the codes will be available to all professional mechanics as well as amateurs working out of their garage at home. Good to see the auto makers came around on this one, even if it did take Congress to help a bit."
This is a pretty big deal since it's pretty tough to figure out what's going on on computer controlled engines otherwise.
This is a bigger deal because it means that people publishing the codes will no longer face the prospect of being sued for posting it and means that, in this case at least, the auto makers (with pressure from congress) decided that public good out weighed copyright law.
Bugs Bunny was right.
What is new about this? The OBD and OBD II standards have been around for a long time... you can go out and buy a tool that will interface with your car and show you the codes... You can even get a cable that lets you hookup a laptop the sensor port.
The OBD-II Homepage
OBD-II Codes
"We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it" -- Winston Churchill
These are Diag Codes not Source Code. These will not give you information to put Linux on your car. They give information like Code 2453 Means Sencor 4 is malfunctioning. So opening the code help the machanics not the hacker. They are not saying how the Onboad computer is working just giving you the information on what is wrong. It is like a help book for windows error messages. With know all the window error message numbers it helps you possible fix the problem with the Os but not nessarly hack the OS.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
From the article The fault or diagnostic codes, which appear on a handheld computer that the mechanic attaches to the vehicle to designate the source of trouble...
:-) Planning on hooking up a decoder to an old Grid PalmPad and using one of the programs on SourceForge to continuously display the data and log it to the network I am adding to my '96 Jeep Cherokee.
This is describing the OBD-II (onboard diagnostics) codes. OBD-II is required on all new vehicles sold in the US since 1996. The protocol is open, but manufacturers would add additional information that they did not disclose to outsiders. Throttle position, fuel flow, intake temp, etc were all easy to decode but other codes were proprietary.
And, yes, I am one of the people interested in this
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
As someone who works in the industry on the engineering side I am very familiar with their "codes."
The codes will be USELESS to a mechanic. A mechanic needs a "TOOL." A mechanic is not a programmer or engineer. He will still pay $300 for the tool to read the codes. he will still pay $100 per 'module' for each car's codes he wants to read.
He can do that now. So the hope is that more tools will be developed and that will bring the cost of the tools down.
Don't confuse this with any ability to modify anything. These will be read only idiot codes like "o2 is out of range" or "Low Voltage."
It still takes a good mechanic to find the problem and often, VERY DAMN OFTEN, the codes are simply misleading the mechanic when his nose and ears have already given him the answer.
Diagnostic trouble Code so called DTC are avil online for long time. check out http://www.autotap.com for detail on their software and OBDII codes. Autotap is not just for Trouble Codes, you can use it to monitor 1000's of parameters in Real time!! from how much air/fuel your car consuming, how far you have your throttle down, what gear are you in, what's your temptures etc etc.
:)
I have all the Codes for my Grand Prix GTP.
Yes A lot of people mod their cars, reprogramming the PCM or ECU can give you more HP and remove speed limiter etc.
I'm one of those guy who tweak on the cars, i'll be setting DTC's left and right, i just use autotap and look up the code and do the necessary correction to fix the problem.
Sometime friend who have Service Engine Soon light on their late model car I tap in and check out the code (Which cost $75 at the shop) so we'll get idea on the problem with the car before we take it to the shop.
There are palm size code readers and scan tools also.
Look for multiline, serial gauges that coming out in a few month that let you monitor various parameters of your OBD II car and they're reprogrammable too with serial interface.
Am i the only one who though for about .8 seconds that the article was about GNU Automake?
I best cut down on the wine I think...
On Board Diagnostics is a tool. You can read the codes with the tool.
What the codes mean is the point.
Never mind.
No, it does not allow them to do this with access to trouble code information. Tweaking modern day computers has already been accomplished with modifications to the engine's running paramaters through external chips and repogramming of PCMs. People's engines don't just catch fire because you chipped it and it now make 10 more horsepower. Engine fires occur, for example, when your cooling systems fails because you neglected it. Or, better yet, an unprotected electrical circuit such as the one I know morins like to put into their bumping sound system.
CODE 0000-FFFF:
YOUR CAR IS BROKEN. BUY A NEW ONE.
Wah!
Yes, it is news. No, auto makers such as BMW and Volkswagen were not releasing the diagnostic codes. This made it impossible for non-dealer repair shops to diagnose a variety of problems on newer model cars.
My father is the supervisor of the auto shop at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and he was very concerned about this, as they certainly don't want to have to outsource any repairs on their fleet. These days, much of the work in diagnosing car problems involves hooking up a computer to the car and asking the car's computer, "OK, what's not normal?". It's not quite that simple; you still have to know what you're doing in order to figure out what's wrong (not like a dialog box pops up and says, "Mass air flow sensor bad. Replace? Y/N).
Anyway, I spoke to my father today to make sure he had seen this article, and he said that basically the auto makers have said, "We promise to release the specs if you don't pass a law saying we have to do so." He doesn't really trust them, but is hopeful, and will wait and see.
WMBC freeform/independent online radio.
Imagine: you're doing the monthly check, and discover that your mileage has suddenly dropped 10%. Even before something goes wrong, you could take it to a garage and give them strong diagnostic data.
When the time comes to sell the car, you can provide a day-to-day profile of the car's history: every oil change, fillup, and repair automatically logged. Real examples of winter vs summer and city vs. highway performance.
Seems to me that the technology is already available, and some of the functions are already in place. All that really needs to be done is for someone to hack together an interface. Any takers?
Interociter
-=What do I want? I'm an American. I want more.
Go to ebay and buy a scan tool. You see the engine light on your car go on. Even if you have the tool and plug it into your car's computer it only spits out an error number and a little extra information. What does it mean? No one knows....except for the car makers who want to charge you money for the manual.
This is the same stuff Free Software Philosophy seeks to fight: closed systems that take rights away from the user. You bought the car....why can't you figure out what is wrong with it on your own if you choose to do so? Why do automakers want to keep your property a secret from you?
We're actually working on something like this already. We'll see if we can't integrate this into the dashpc project. We're working with the guys at freediag and hopefully they'll be able to help us integrate the ODBII codes into the dashpc codebase.
We'll probably end up recording all the codes into a public mysql db that can be queried or integrated into the core code.
This would allow the UI to display the EXACT problem ("Your 3rd spark plug from the left is firing oddly - please check") instead of just "check engine". Very good news indeed.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
Don't just keep driving... also, flip a switch.
The Chevy Sprint and Geo Metro and other Chevy cars of that vintage had a blinking "check engine" light, which would go on automatically as soon as you hit 30,000 miles, and each 30,000 miles, after that.
This was a result of a single-pole, double throw switch in the odometer. There was also a single-pole double-throw switch inside the fuse area (below and two the left of the steering wheel). In other words, a standard two location three-way switch assembly.
The "corrective" action for the blinky light was to bring the car into the dealer, pay them a lot of money for "scheduled maintenance", and whatever engine parts they happened to have an excess of in inventory in their parts department that month.
And for them to toggle the position of the switch in the fuse holder, to turn off the blinky light until you'd gone another 30,000 miles.
Hooray for blinky lights that get people to spend money at the dealer!
-- Terry