OBD II Connector Adapter

[Bob_Roller]

Anybody here familiar with OBD II connectors ?

I'd like to have a look at the on board computer on the oilhead, but the vehicle connector is round, and all of the OBD 'readers', have a 'flat' connector .

Anyone know of an adapter cable available, or how make up your own?

[Lucky_Lou]

They have a OBD 11 to USB + others on here if thats what your after.

http://www.himfr.com/buy-obd_ii_connector/
Lou

[Bob_Roller]

What I'm looking for, is a round connector that plugs into the bikes diagnostic plug, then plugs into the OBD II scanner, or reader .

All of the connectors I've seen that plug into 4 wheeler connectors, are of a flat type .

The oilhead has a round connector, with round pins .

Of course, BMW doesn't sell test equipment for any of their bikes .

[MrRiden]

Here are some adapters Bob.
http://www.cellcorner.com/xshp/cell-phone-unlocking/vehicle-tools/
and more to look at
http://thatsblue.com/BMW-20-PIN-to-16-PIN-Female-Adaptor-Cable-OBD-2-OBD2-P464500.aspx

scroll down the page here for the pinouts
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/engine-management-obd-ii-engine-diagnostics-etc/75063-obd-ii-scan-bmw.html

[Bob_Roller]

None of those look like they would work .

The connector on the bike is round, 10 pins arranged in 2 rows of two pins, and 2 rows of 3 pins, only 5 pins are installed in the connector, and they are male pins .

A bit of an odd arrangement from what I've seen available .

[nhmaf]

Leave it to the %^& bloody Germans to help with developing an international standard, and then ignoring it with using a connector which is not defined by the standard.   I am not sure if the pin configurations in that connector (though rearranged) conform to the EOBD-II  or EOBD (european on board diagnostics) or enhanced version or not.    The OBD/EOBD standard is suppused to use similar 16-pin D-shell type connector as used on North American Vehicles.


Anyhow, there is a device / product, which is specifically designed to plug into that proprietary BMW connector and spill its guts.   I think that these guys must be getting kickbacks from Bavaria, but anyhow, this website has all that you need (provided you give them some money) to reveal the secrets hidden behind that unscrupulous connector:

http://www.hexcode.co.za/

-Mike
P.S. IF I had an oilhead I'd reverse engineer the connections and come up with an open source device for this - it is the lowest form of greed, IMHO, to make someone pay through the nose to be able to simply have the tool to diagnose/troubleshoot their vehicle, which they've already paid (much) good money for...

Better get off my soapbox now...    Maybe I'll start looking for a used oilhead next.

P.S.  IF you see some "BMW scan tool" cables on the internet for sale , be careful, all those that I have found are for the BMW automobiles, which incidentally ALSO do NOT use the standardized connector but their own circular 20-pin connector scheme.   Looks like another example of the bike-guys following the the steps of the car-guys again.  Half the wheels = half the size/# of pins in the circular connector ?
 

[Motu]

Leave it to the %^& bloody Germans to help with developing an international standard, and then ignoring it with using a connector which is not defined by the standard.   16-pin D-shell type connector as used on North American Vehicles.

You mean not being pressured into using a standard developed by the US when they have a perfectly good system of their own.In the US you only know OBD-II - the rest of the world has been using other systems just as long.It's called freedom of choice....

[nhmaf]

No - you are in error.    The SAE standard which started with OBD was north american, and a requirement for all north american vehicles (which happens to include Canada, as well).  But, the EOBD/ II standard is indeed a European standard - WHICH USED THE SAME CONNECTOR for compatibility/interoperability reasons.  THE connector used on the BMW vehicles is UNLIKE the connector which is used on the other European OBD/II vehicles and north american OBD and OBDII vehicles.

Different connectors force auto shops to have to carry different types of devices simply for mechanical fitment issues with the connector, though the connector signals used on the OBD/II and EOBD/II are all suitable/compatible with the standard 16 pin D-shape connector.    The BMW folks just had to use something different - for whatever reason I don't understand.  This is ridiculous, IMHO.   FWIW, both north american and european and the proprietary BMW interfaces all use the CANbus interface developed by Robert Bosch, as well as a couple SAE /ISO bus standards developed jointly with international auto and truck mfgrs.

[Bob_Roller]

I just checked the connector on my '01 Z-3, and it is the standard configuration that I've seen on other vehicles .

I'm wondering if motorcycles comply with a different SAE standard, than 4 wheelers .

Anybody out there with an Asian, British, or Italian bikes, that has engine management computers, could you check your diagnostic plug ( if it's easily accessible), and report what you find .

[nhmaf]

I believe that H&D/Buell use the industry standard 16pin connectors - I don't have any bikes with any computers myself.

I found some stores and website in Great Britain taht sells OBD/automotive diagnostic tools.  Many of the euro-auto maker brands represented/supported with the tools all appears to use the "D" shell conenctor format.  But, if one clicks on the BMW tools section, one of the first items encountered is an adapter cable to go from a BMW-only 20-pin round connector to the 16 pin D connector:

http://www.ukobd.co.uk/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=51&category_id=12

I have tried to find the pinout info for the BMW 20-pin or 10-pin round conenctors on the itnernet, with no luck.  But of course, it is easy to find the pinout info for the D-connector configuration of the various OBD/EOBD standard.

[Motu]

No - you are in error.    

Uh,yes EOBDis the European system,this came a long time after the US OBD-II.The Euro's and Japanese fitted OBD 16 pin plugs,but also kept their own diagnostic plugs - not all data came out of the OBD plug,better info came out of the factory plug.By mid naughties they were all mostly working on the 16 pin plug.

In New Zealand we have mainly imported Japanese domestic cars,none of the scanners would work on them.With a bit of pressure on the scanner makers we now have some good coverage....scanners like the Launch were developed for the NZ market.I had a Snap-On scanner updated to the single cartridge,and gave me nearly complete coverage of Japanese,Euro,Australian and Korean vehicles.I work in a Mitsubishi dealership now,we have the MUT-II which is the Mitsubishi dedicated scanner.You can plug in your OBD-II scanner,but you won't have the abilities we have with the MUT-II.

Manufacturers have their own systems,they will always support them more than some ''universal'' system.

[nhmaf]

I think that most manufacturers must (or at least are strongly encouraged) to equip new vehicles being sold in particular markets with the test/diagnostic equipment support mandated by those markets/regions, if applicable.   Just like emissions equipment, lighting, speedometer faces, language of owner's manuals, etc.  Since BMW's auto group sells many 10s of thousands of cars in North America, it would make sense that Bob's Z roadster came equipped with the standard EOBD/OBD 2 connector.  The BMW bikes seem to be in a different category unto themselves, for whatever reason.   Maybe someone with a new fuel-injected bike, like SueCanada's fairly new Triumph Bonneville, could be checked out sometime to see what type of connector it is fitted with.

BMW motorcycle group has often been accused of taking great pride in their being 'different'.  While this has some amount of cachet' I personally think that when it extends to making things hard and expensive for the buyers of their product to have the bikes maintained & repaired, it is working against them.   Even having a proprietary connector might be excused, if they would at least publish the information so that it could be readily used by customers and tool vendors.   As it is, it seems only the GS-911 product has this knowledge from BMW, and they aren't readily sharing it with anyone either.   This makes for expensive tools and hard to find service/repair shops, and is not a good use of exclusivity, IMHO.  No matter what the BMW bike engineers may think, it is still just a motorcycle, and prone to breakdown far away from the relatively few factory dealerships.
 :-/

[Motu]

I think that most manufacturers must (or at least are strongly encouraged) to equip new vehicles being sold in particular markets with the test/diagnostic equipment support mandated by those markets/regions,
 

I think you are talking as an American - however,BMW are made in Germany,for their own market.Exports are a big part of their production for sure,but they are primarily German vehicles,made by Germans....in Germany.They might add on something for other markets,but the base vehicle is their own.

A lot of manufacturers,especially motorcycles,just can't be bothered producing a one off just for the US market...so they don't bother.Hence you don't see such things as my previous bikes,the Honda XLV750,and Yamaha DT230.

Who is American to stipulate what should be standardized....have they ever heard of ISO? When I see them change to metrics,then I might agree that the rest off the world should use their 16 pin OBD plug.

[Justin B.]

I have an OBD II/CANBUS scanner and it would be neat to have an adapter so it could "look" at the Oilheads computer...  That one by hexcode is somewhat pricey...

[nhmaf]

Motu - did you read the thread about BMW motorcycles sales, and what percentage of vehicles are sold in the various parts of the world?  Yes, Germany bought 11,600 bikes so far this year, but BMW sold alot of bikes outside of Germany. Companies must comply with regulations in the countries that they do business in.   That is why they have/had different speedometers, etc.   IF a company doesn't try to cater to their customers, they'll find out soon that they don't sell much product.   Then again, it seems like that is what is happening with new BMW motorcycles.

I agree that the BMW philosophy seems to have become somewhat of a "Trust us, we know what is best and you do not - so you will like what we are willing to give you".   This is not the right way to do business.   They will learn, eventually.


Justin - the hexcode.com product is basically your ONLY option as far as I can determine, as a consumer.  If one is a BMW dealer, well then there are probably BMW tools one can order from the factory.   This is why I perceive this scheme as a proprietary money grab opportunity setup by BMW.  They don't publish the pinout to the connector anywhere that I can find, so one is forced to go back to the dealer to find out why the engine is misfiring or an idiot light comes on.   With the special connector, you are forced to either try to get to the dealer if you can, or pay the high price for the exclusively marketed GS-911 device.  More 3rd party products would compete and drive down the cost of the diagnostic tool, if they had the info to develop such a tool.  I suspect that there may be some special marketing arrangment worked out with the hexcode and BMW folks.