I am a bit handy with electronics so I want to build a rig to connect my PC to the Jazz serial interface and get the error codes for my CEL which has just started to come on intermittently.

For a while the car seems to falter while running, I put new plugs in but that didn't fix it. Now the CEL comes on sometimes and goes off again.

I have an aversion to the Honda dealers in France because they are so darned expensive so I figure if I can at least get the car to tell my why it thinks it needs checking I can take the decision how to fix it. My dealer wants two hundred bucks just to put it on the diagnostic rig!

Can anyone point me to information that will help me interface the car to my laptop?

 

Why bother with the laptop? If you had a Scan Gauge II or one of the other electronic monitors on the market, it would only take the click of a button to find out what the ECU is trying to tell you is wrong, and another button click to clear the code(s) altogether.

Use the forums "search" function, and you will find dozens of threads on the Scan Gauge and other on-board monitoring systems. There may be a newer version than the Scan Gauge II, and most people buy them on Amazon.com because of low price and quick shipping. Take a look at the Scan Gauge web site and you will see the huge number of functions that they provide (not just a code reader).

 

Thanks. ha, shows how newbie I am eh?

I just found an ODB connector and bluetooth thingy on Amazon for 16 quid. I had no clue this was all so easy. I was looking for a difficult solution.

Bob.

 

You are welcome. This is the place for solutions.

 

Got an Android phone? Get Torque Pro from the Google Marketplace (or The Pirate Bay if you're a pirate) for $5. Then get a cheap $16 ELM 327 OBD2 Bluetooth connector. It'll read and clear CEL's, also give you real time driving engine info.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...l.torque&hl=en

 

Wow! Great info- thanks. I just bought my first smart phone, but I am so used to the Scan Gauge I don't think that I want to add a cord to the phone. But good info. for phone addicts.