PC datalogger for VR-4 - it works!

[Axeboy]

I would be interested in that

[Nick Mann]

So the more expensive cable allows writing back to the ecu? And the cheaper one doesn't? Is there any point - I mean, can the ecu take reprogramming?

[wrdmotorsport]

yes please

[AderC]

Don't think there's much point ordering the reprogramming cable as AFAIK our ECU's don't support reflashing (correct me if I'm wrong!)

I think the FTOOC are trying to set up the group buy so we order individually direct from the supplier, but will confirm once it's sorted.

aDe

[AderC]

Following a thread on the Aktivematrix/Mitsulogger forum regarding compatibility of an alternative cable for datalogging with the Mitsulogger software, I got hold of one of the cables via the Mediasave e-bay store for £12.49 (+ £2.49 p&p) - ordered Friday lunchtime and it arrived Saturday morning. I've tested it with the Evoscan this morning and it works fine (so I assume Mitsulogger and ecuEdit will also work!). If you want to order one, go to the Mediasave e-bay store and search for "VAG KKL".

The cable itself is actually designed for use with Volkswagen/Audi Group vehicles and the VAG-COM software from Ross-tech (kills 2 birds with 1 stone for Kieran then!), but as it uses the same FTDI chipset as the Tactrix/Openport and Evoscan cables it happens to work with the Evoscan/Mitsulogger software too. All you need to do is install Ecuflash (which will install the correct version of the FTDI drivers) and Evoscan or Mitsulogger and away you go. It doesn't have the reflash connector that the Tactrix cable has, but as our ECUs don't support this it's redundant anyway. Build quality of the VAG cable seems pretty good, and it's significantly cheaper then the Tactrix ($89) and Evoscan ($69) cables. Note that it does require pin 1 on the OBD socket to be grounded in the same way as for the Tactrix cable.

Also, the latest version of Evoscan (v0.99) has some cool new features, including a first stab at an on-road dyno.

aDe

[richy rich]

good info ade

have some more rep

[AderC]

Given that the VAG cable OBD connector is screwed together rather than moulded and sealed I thought I'd have a go at rewiring it to convert it to a MUT-II cable (i.e. doesn't require messing about with earthing the pin 1 on the OBD socket) so it's just plug and play for our cars. Using a paperclip and a piece of plastic to hold things in place I've done it as proof of concept, tested it this morning on the way to work and it works fine. Basically puts the car into diagnostics mode as soon as you plug the cable in.

Just need to get hold of a soldering iron and something more substantial than a paperclip to make it more permanent. Will post details/pics of how to do it later tonight.

aDe

[Kieran]

Now I'm getting very interested. I look forward to reading your guide!

[AderC]

As promised, here's how to convert the VAG-COM cable to a MUT cable compatible with Evoscan, Mitsulogger, etc.

As previously described in this thread, to get the datalogger to work the car needs to be put into diagnostics mode. This is done by grounding pin 1 on the OBD socket itself. The principle behind modifying the VAG cable is to make use of the fact that position 4 on the OBD socket is earthed, and there is a pin 4 in the plug on the VAG cable. Basically, all you need to do is add a new pin in the currently empty pin 1 position on the plug, and connect it to pin 4 within the plug itself. Simple!

Pic below shows the pin positions of the standard plug. Note the lack of any pin in position 1, and the pin in position 4:



Next pic shows the plug - all you need to do to get inside is undo the 4 screws and prise the plug open.



Next is the connection within the plug. To test the concept all I've done is insert a paperclip through the hole for pin 1, to the same length as the other pins, and bend it over to touch the solder on the back of pin 4 (making sure the paperclip didn't touch any of the other components). I wedged some plastic in to hold the paperclip in place (pic doesn't show this):



To make this more permanent, I need to get hold of something more substantial than a paperclip for the pin, as the clip is loose and will bend a bit too easily. The pin will need to be soldered in, then a piece of wire soldered between the back of pin 1 and pin 4.

Final pic shows the pins and the shiny paperclip in place (top right).



Voila! A working MUT cable. It's plug and play in that you now don't have to fiddle about under the dash to earth the pin from the socket itself, so the cable is readily transferable between cars. Also note that the cable I used is that supplied by the Mediasave e-bay store, and there are other suppliers of compatible cables but I don't know if they are made in the same way (i.e. screwed together rather than moulded and sealed).

aDe

[Kieran]

I am now going to transfer this thread to the member's area, if that's okay with you, Ade - I think your hard work is worth a contribution!

Have some more rep.

[Nutter_John]

Top notch job Ade - excellent stuff have some rep from me

Now how about a group buy on these cables , will even modify them for people

[AderC]

Would make sense to co-ordinate a group buy and get them all modified at the same time. Any ideas what we might use for the pins - they're flat and taper off to a point?

aDe

[Nutter_John]

Yep - will try and get hold of a set of pcb header pins as I feel from your picture that is what they have used

[bigscott]

excellent stuff, ordered my lead from mediasave the other day and made the link from pin 1 to 4, which put the legnum in flashy dash mode, downloaded evoscan and ecuflash but havent quite got there yet. keep getting some saucy yank type telling me my links disengaged. have the following message in the event log: Error: Unable to load DLL (FTD2XX.DLL). any ideas?

[bigscott]

just opened ecuflash and the final message on that is: [00:45:26.531] error loading FTChipID.DLL. will try downloading again

[AderC]

Sounds like the FTDI drivers required for the cable to work haven't installed properly (they should install with Ecuflash). Did Windows recognise the cable OK when you plugged it in to the PC?

aDe

[AderC]

I've just plugged the cable into the laptop to double-check what the device is listed as. If you go into Windows Device Manager when it's plugged in, you should see it as a "USB Serial Converter" in the USB Controllers list.

aDe

[bigscott]

yeah it was the driver, i installed the driver off the disk that came with the lead, which meant the ecuflash driver didnt install properly. anyway, what a gadget! - now just to find out what half the readings mean......

any ideas why boost isnt read?

cheers for all the info btw

[AderC]

AFAIK our ECU doesn't measure boost at all so we can't log it :-(

This link should help explain some of the parameters: Datalogger 101

One thing you will probably need to do to get speed reading correctly:

Go to C:\Program Files\EvoScan\EvoScan v0.99\DataSettings and open the Data.xml file in notepad (back it up first though!). Change the following line:

<DataListItem DataLog="Y" Color="#FFAD00" Display="Speed" LogReference="Speed" RequestID="2F" Eval="1.2427424x" Unit="Mph" MetricEval="2x" MetricUnit="Kph" ResponseBytes="1" GaugeMin="0" GaugeMax="280" ChartMin="0" ChartMax="280" ScalingFactor="1" Notes="Not loggable on some Mitsubishis"/>

to:

<DataListItem DataLog="Y" Color="#FFAD00" Display="Speed" LogReference="Speed" RequestID="2F" Eval="2x" Unit="Mph" MetricEval="2x" MetricUnit="Mph" ResponseBytes="1" GaugeMin="0" GaugeMax="280" ChartMin="0" ChartMax="280" ScalingFactor="1" Notes="Not loggable on some Mitsubishis"/>

Evoscan expects a reading in kph, but as ours have a speedo converter fitted it's actually in mph, hence the need to change the formula

Glad you've got it working though! What did you use for the extra pin? (I used a larger size paperclip in the end!)

aDe

[bigscott]

i used a bit of 1.5 mm twin and earth electric cable, it kind of jumped out when i was looking through my van, and being copper soldered straight on to pin 4. cheers again for help, will do some decent logging tomorrow after a big service. amsoil all round engine and box, and some nice blue brake fluid, thanks to don at performance oils