4th Gen 4 Life

OK here is a new problem lucky me got to discover. I finally received my two cables from china. The USB cable was right but the obd 12 pin to 16 pin adapter is different. On my adapter cable I have 5 wires? Black, white, yellow, green, and red? No brown or tan? What pins exactly connect to the black, green, and white USB wires? Maybe I can figure out the correct color codes for this type of adapter. Thanks for all the help and responces.

GaryDoug

Use the yellow wire in place of the brown wire.

See the first post for the pin designations (pin M is data,yellow, pin A is ground,black)

4th Gen 4 Life

Ok i connected the wires up, got the COM ports setup and this is what i got. Tho it don't help the battery was weak in the car. I will try to get a good charge on it tomorrow just in case that was my problem.

GaryDoug

It doesn't look like anything is coming back from the pcm. The data shown is just an an echo of the request sent.

4th Gen 4 Life

Could a low battery cause this. It was too low to crank the car but not low enough where the interior lights and dash was dim. Or could it be my wire setup? Also the pcm has always seemed to act strange to me? Like for instance when I would cut the car off and take the key out the ignition it would wait like 3 sec and make one last faint ding sound. And then the car would just throw codes when ever it felt like it and not on things I know it should have thrown a code( bad opti, 02 sensor, trans harness unplugged). It has a mind of its own?

94 Z28 A4 known mods... reworked ported heads/intake. Cam, 3" cat back flowmaster. unknown PCM tune. still researching car. ...

1990 RS HO 305, TH350(shift kit). 4 barrel carb, Cam, Long tube headers.

jshow816

Hey guys quick question I just bought my car, its a 96 body with a 94 LT1 & PCM. The previous owner ran a RS232 serial port through the dash into the glove box and told me to use Freescan. Freescan works without issue, but the only Laptop I have with a serial port is ancient, so I would like to get Scan9495 going on my newer computer. Is there a way to splice into the serial connector with a usb? If so, how? Thanks for the help

GaryDoug

Yes, you can if it is true RS232, but I doubt that is the case because it would require some interface to convert RS232 voltage and polarity levels to the OBD1 format that the pcm needs. But if you are using a standard RS232-type cable now and it works, then you can probably use this one: SABRENT Model CB-FT1K - Newegg.com
You must use an adapter that has the FTDI chip, not any other brand.

See post #1 in this topic to see what is normally required to convert RS232 to OBD1. http://www.firebirdnation.com/forums...-for-under-20/

jshow816

Oh I thought the serial port meant it was rs232. So let me be more clear, the laptop I have now was given to me when I purchased this car, it's super old and only has tunercats and freescan loaded on it, which both work with the cable rooted tothe glove box . If I buy the adapter you linked would I be able to use your program with my newer laptop? I'm sorry if I should know these answers but I really appreciate your help.

GaryDoug

I can't guarantee anything, but if the older pc works with the cable, then the Sabrent adapter I posted should work. You will probably have to use an extension cable on one end (USB or DB9) because it is so short.

jshow816

Awesome, I'll give it a try. Thanks again

16Sammy61

Recieved my cable today, the obd1 style connecter is way different then any examples on here. Theres 12 different color wires on the inside and idk what to do.. I even saw the one above about the connector with 5 wires, i couldve figured that out if mine had 5. But this one has 12... Any help? I dont know if i should connect yellow to green/white, or brown. It has both. Theres 12 wires and 12 pins....its not 1 wire to every pin is it?

GaryDoug

Wow all 12 pins have wires. Wish I could have found those earlier. Well, the ground for this cable will go to pin A, which is usually the black wire (no guarantees). The data (white and green) goes to pin M. I suggest you use a multimeter or battery powered test light to see where the wires go and document that for others. If you don't have one of those maybe you can find someone who does; maybe even the guy at Radio Shack would do it if you act like you are wanting to buy it. Harbor Freight has a simple digital multimeter for about $5, if it isn't actually free with any purchase/coupon.
You really can't hurt anything by trying the brown, yellow, and tan wires at random (or if necessary, all of them). All the pins in the car's connector are "soft" inputs except the ground, meaning you won't short anything out.

GaryDoug

It's possible. You may have to check the continuity of the cable to make sure the yellow wire goes to pin M. It is possible that pin M uses another color entirely.

16Sammy61

Well ill connect black to black as a starting point. Should i start by trying each, such as brown to green/white, and if that doesn't work then yellow to green and white? Or since you said it wont hurt, just connect brown and yellow to green and white all at the same time. I know someone with a test light that requires it to be grounded on metal(i think). Looks like i have a long day of trying wires ahead of me

GaryDoug

Try the remaining wires one at a time to the green/white wires. Connecting more than one would give unpredictable results. This is the sequence I would use: brown, yellow, tan, red. That assumes there are those colors. Now would be the perfect time to get a multimeter and learn to use it.