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The official Acura site-instructions for radio/navigation code retrieval. Learn how to find your unique code and reset your Acura audio and navi systems.
You can get important information from your car and create some nifty add-ons by hacking an OBD-II adapter, but beware of the clonesBy T.K. Hareendran, contributing writerAfew weeks ago, I decided to buy a couple of cheap OBD-II adapters to start outsome ethical hacking experiments. However, when looking for a reliable adapter onthe market, you can get a lot of confusing information. This hands-on review willhelp you to avoid costly mistakes and make the right choice yourself.OnboardDiagnostics refers to any vehicle’s ability to register and report issues that may occur orhave occurred within the system.
Examples include low-performance, low-fueleconomy and heavy emissions. OBD-I was first introduced in 1987 to standardizethe onboard diagnostics across the industry. If you own a car built after 1996,however, it probably has an OBD-II port.uses a high-speed, two-wirebus that connects a variety of subsystems and runs at 500 kbps (actually rangingfrom 125 kbps to 900 kbps). The bus can, therefore, be used to access a widerange of vehicle information, including vehicle speed, engine rpm, oiltemperature, and a diversity of other details. While the basic structure ofOBD-II is the same for vehicles from different manufacturers, for the mostpart, the protocols may vary slightly.
There are five notable signal protocols thatare in use: SAE J1850 PWM, SAE J1850 VPW, ISO9141-2, ISO14230-4 (KWP2000), andISO 15765- 4/SAE J2480 (CAN-BUS).Theprimary style of warning the driver to any trouble that OBD-II detects is via a“check engine” light (or the MIL light). However, literally anyone with aproper scan tool can read the diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) stored in the systemto more specifically determine the problem with the vehicle. Professionalmechanics use dedicated handheld scanners to make sense of these diagnostictrouble codes, and with some skill and patience, you can, too.TheOBD-II port allows for a scan tool, or anything else compatible with OBD-II, tobe plugged in and access the DTC. The port is usually located under the dash onthe driver’s side of the vehicle. It has slots available for 16 pins, but basedon the specific signal protocol the vehicle supports, it may not actually use 16pins.
The OBD connector is officially named as SAE J1962 Diagnostic Connector,but is also known by diagnostic link connectors (DLCs), OBD port, or OBD connector,and looks like this:One popular plug-in dongle for accessing the OBDport is the ELM327 OBD-II adapter. The ELM327is one of a veritable from ELM Electronics and contains a pre-programmedPIC18F2480 microcontroller customized with a proprietary code that implementsthe testing protocols. These devices allow users to obtain information from theOBD-II system when plugged into the car’s OBD-II port and can make thatinformation available via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. With this dongle as the middleman, abstracting the low-level protocols, you can turn your smartphone ortablet (with the help of a compatible app) into an incredibly handy scanner thatreveals detailed information about your vehicle.Likely,you can find such dongles on eBay, Amazon, AliExpress, or Google using thekeywords “ELM327 OBD-II Adapters.” You will get results showing many dirt-cheapELM327-based OBD-II adapters with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi radio interface from anumber of sources. However, most of them are not real ELM327 — they are cheap Chineseknockoffs pretending to be ELM327.(Fora look inside one, onEP’s sister site, EDN.) These knockoffs may not properly or fullyimplement the code for reading the OBD, which, at best, is annoying and, atworst, can mask important safety problems.WhenI got my OBD-II adapters (both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi versions) from eBay, with the help of the app “” installed on a Windows 10 phone,I first tried the Bluetooth version.
(Despite appearances, both the Bluetoothand Wi-Fi ELM327 adapters that I acquired are electronically identical; onlytheir communications interfaces differ.) As an initialtest, I just powered the OBD-II adapter with 12 Vdc taken from my lab powersupply set to 12 Vdc/500 mA. Next, I sent a few through the app, and the adapterresponded quickly as expected. In my case, the AT-I (status) command returnedELM327 v2.1, indicating the software version in use. Hereis a random snapshot:Someusers, though, are reporting that clones marked as “v2.1” are not always whatthey claim. These clones are actually using a defunct firmware version that ismerely masquerading as 2.1. This sleazy trick results in generic adapters thatdon’t appear to support all of the signal protocols.
So be cautious. If you aresearching for an adapter that safely plays with all protocols, opt for tried-and-truebrands offered by reputable vendors.Ifyou’re not sure, testing your adapter further is pretty straightforward; justtry the Android app “”to assure your adapter’s credibility. ELM327 Identifiersends to your device almost all of the AT commands available and reports which commandsthe device supports in accordance with the ELM327 official datasheet (up tofirmware v2.2). This lets you quickly check if your adapter’s declaration iscorrect or if it’s a fake adapter.I’msure that my adapters come with the correct v2.1 Elm Electronics firmware but don’tuse the original (and expensive-to-license) Elm Electronics microcontrollerchip. I think that mine use a cheesy chip instead, although with identical functionalityand compatibility to the genuine Elm Electronics chip.Recently,an updated device, the “ELM327 2.2 SM” based OBD-II adapter, has becomeavailable, as have its clones.
An unfeigned v2.2 adapter has a genuine ELM3272.2 SM core. To check, take note of the device’s microcontroller chip. Thegenuine (28-pin) ELM327 2.2 SM chip from ELM Electronics has their logo laseredinto the top and has the dimensions of 7 x 18 mm. A clone chip may be square-shapedor may have smaller dimensions.For the hackerAsyou might guessed, it’s not very difficult to interface with a vehicle bususing the cheap Bluetooth (or Wi-Fi) ELM327 adapter.
You can then make your ownexternal hardware interfaces to interact with the vehicle in some specific modeor to build spectacular add-ons such as luxurious gauges, blinkers, beepers, heads-updisplays, and the like. “”is one such hardware design, offering an exciting open-source DIY project that aimsto provide car-lovers a low-cost, customizable, and programmable car gauge. Thehardware is based on Arduino and a modified ELM327 compatible adapter.Ifyou are going to create an add-on or the like, something to put on your wishlist is the “.” The emulator is an electronic device that simulatesseveral original vehicle signals, making it an indispensable tool for OBD fiddlers.It saves the fuel and time that would otherwise be spent testing and debugging programswith real cars. Surprisingly, the emulator’s OBD-II female port is similar tothe one in a real car; thus, OBD-II-compliant devices that plug into the emulatorget powered and work as if plugged into the OBD-II port of a real car.Onefinal note: There is no “best” OBD-II adapter I can point you to. There aremany picks on the market, so if you are out to buy a top-of-the-heap productand not just any middling one, you have to be willing to spend some more moneyand make your decision only after thorough research.
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Without such research, a fakeversion and a genuine version will appear no different from each other.However, there are marked changes between them in terms of safety andreliability!For more of T.K.’s hands-on reviews,follow these links.
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