OBD II Computers - Gen 1 Forester and Gen 2&3 Outback

taza

taza

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OBD II Computers - Gen 1 Forester and Gen 2&3 Outback

Well after many hours of research I came to the conclusion that The Gen 1 SF Forester, Gen 2&3 (96-03) Outback are only OBD not OBD II. Which means you cannot plug a scan gauge into them.
After much testing also with 4 different OBD II Readers in my Forester I couldn't get any to recognize the vehicle and read data until NOW! :biggrin:

While at work on the weekend doing some stuff on my Foz after hours I decided to see if our device would work so i could find out why my Check Engine light keeps coming on.

Anyway the pics will say more than words.

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Selecting which vehicle after navigating to Japanese Vehicles, then Subaru.
20121118144810.jpg


Woohoo it has found my 2.0l SOHC Soob :twisted: :lol:

20121118144826.jpg


After starting the foz this is some of the data it shows.

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My Error code which is my knock sensor. I cleared the code but it keeps coming back... time to hunt down for a new one on ebay :iconwink:

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Thought some people might find this interesting. However I have only found one type of device that works with our types of cars. Must be the first generation of OBD II..

You can also look at Transmission data, A/C and Climate control, Brakes, Air Bags and heaps of other info about your car and it's computer :raspberry:


EDIT: This only counts for Aus, Euro and JDM Spec Subaru's as in the US it was mandatory to have all vehicles OBD II after 1996(due to laws and regulations for emmsions there). This is part of the reason why they had the EJ25 DOHC in their SF Foresters, not the EJ20 like the rest of the world had.
 
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Yeah, I've worked for many automotive manufacturers - Ford, Toyota, GM, VW, Audi, Proton, designing and developing electronic instrumentation, climate controls, transmission controls, engine controls, multi-media systems etc, and the biggest problem I have is the OBD.

In the past, every manufacturer used a different "standard", so you end up having to include them all. Not only was the encoding different, but the physical interface was different as well - different voltages and different connectors! In the early days it wasn't uncommon for 50% of the circuit to consist of various ODB interfaces.

Nowdays though, pretty much everything can be done in a single chip, which makes my life so much easier! I developed the first automotive CAN hardware manufactured in Australia, and even that had a proprietary interface. No more K-line or J1850, just CAN, and it was considered a giant step forward at the time. Fortunately, we've seen the light, and OBD-II is now widely accepted.
 
My understanding is that the Outback H6 (01-03) was the first Subaru to get OBD II.

As for your knock sensor problem, hopefully you don't have any dramas with that. I had the Knock Sensor come up on a code check of my old Liberty. I had it replaced and it just kept coming back. We got a replacement under parts warranty, and again, the knock sensor code kept coming back.

Finally, I bit the bullet and bought a genuine Subaru part and that fixed it. I was using a generic Bosch replacement (new), but that obviously didn't work.
 
Gee, Taza, you're learning heaps mate.

Keep up the good work - I'm sure you will! Sounds like you are loving it.

Some are cut out for academic stuff, and some have other strengths that are equally valuable. The hardest part for each of us is often finding out what that niche is.
 
This may work for you also https://www.offroadsubarus.com/showpost.php?p=23541&postcount=8
FreeSSM https://developer.berlios.de/projects/freessm/ is also supposed to work, but I have not tried it yet. More info here https://www.subaruoutback.org/forum...426-freessm-complete-access-your-ecm-tcu.html
I have also tried https://www.evoscan.com/. When I tried it, evoscan would display various variables such as throttle opening etc, but did not display the DTC code when my gearbox neutral position switch failed. ecuExplorer did display the DTC in this case. This was 2 years ago, perhaps evoscan has been fixed now.
I have not tried any stand alone scanners, only PC based.
 
Great writeup Taza. Am I correct in saying you used a "Multiscan P2"? Where would I get one...providing its not horrifically expensive! :eek:
 
FreeSSM Cable that actually worked - but not for my TCU

The FreeSSM that came with the $13 cable from ebay at
For SUBARU FreeSSM V1.2.5 Auto Code Readers Engine Scanner OBD2 Diagnostic Tool
works great on windows 10.
At least for making the ECU talk sweet and dance all the engine related actuators.
BUT my TCU will not connect.
I have a 2001 Forester.
My transmission is not responding at all to the gear shift excepting that Park works.

Does anyone have a clue whether it is possible to get error codes from the TCU on a 2001 Forester?
 
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