UKSaabs

With the number of members that own a Tech2 Diagnostic Tool increasing, we feel it beneficial to provide a topic where advice on using the equipment can be offered to other owners/users.

Irrelevant/off topic posts, such as persons seeking Tech2 help will be removed. This is not a discussion thread and will be moderated accordingly.


NB: It is possible the contributors to this topic are new to Tech2. Their knowledge may not be entirely accurate and users are advised that following the advice provided is at their own risk.
UKSaabs and/or the topic contributors cannot be held responsible for issues/faults arising on users vehicles after following any tips/procedures provided here.


Please be as concise as possible with the information provided (including step-by-step procedure where necessary) as some users may not be as competent as yourself.

If a procedure is particular to a certain Model/Year/Engine variant, please highlight this at the beginning of your post.


Should any advice/tips provided within these topics be noted to be inaccurate, please notify a member of the Moderator/Admin Team so the post can be appropriately amended or removed if necessary.


UKSaabs would like to thank all contributors to this Technical Library, which we trust will be of benefit to many members in the future.

A brief "tip".

My PCMCIA card died. I searched on line for a new card and chose "EOBDtool.co.uk" who claim to be in the UK. The tracking details have been sent and the journey originates in China with a 12-15 day delivery date!!

_________________
.
.
.
.
Everything will be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end...

Tech2 can have two PCMCIA cards installed at any time, it remembers which card was last used and will default to that on each power-up. To swap, press “shift” (note the light next to it illuminates) and then left/right arrow. Make sure you then press “shift” again (extinguishing the light) or the normal buttons won’t work unless you power cycle it again.

_________________
'98 9000 2.3T CSE, stage 3
'08 Jaguar XFR
'10 9-5 2.3T Turbo Edition, stage 3+

To configure modules not originally fitted to your model (eg Parking Sensors on an OG9-3) select a 9-5 of the same year in the vehicle selection.

It will throw an error but still let you proceed.


Diagnostics will work on any module connected regardless of whether it was available on your model or not.

_________________
"Dusty" 1975 V4 Anniversary
"Money Pit" 2008 93SW Turbo-X

Okay....

I'll edit this as time goes on to hopefully ensure that it is useful to others, but my shiny new Tech2 has arrived today with a bewildering array of bits and pieces, a CD and DVD (and no drive on my laptop, so I'll need to put them on a desktop machine) and no instructions.

I'm sure there will be instructions on one of the discs, so I'll report back on what I find. As there seem to be a lot of options for different vehicles I'm loathe to just start installing applications randomly just to get the guide, especially as I'll need them on the laptop.

I thought the Tech2 would just plug in (as Dave in Saab&Vauxhall did with the 2.2), but I think I need the CANdi module according to this: https://www.tech2wiki.com/doku.php?id=w ... to_a_car&s[]=candi
Tech2 with CANdi

Model CANdi
Saab 9400 (900 94-98, 9-3 99-02 +03CV) no
Saab 9440 (9-3 Sport 03-) CANdi
Saab 9600 (9-5 98-05) no
Saab 9600 (9-5 06-09) CANdi
Saab 9650 (9-5 10-12) not compatible

Mine is a 2007 9-3 1.9TiD which I believe is 9440 (WIS says 9-3s from 2003-2012 are 9440).

I understand that the Tech2 will be powered by the OBDII port (is there no internal battery ?) which should allow me to check the codes etc, even if I have to figure out how to connect it to the laptop later.
That will probably mean if I share any fault codes they'll be pictures, rather than downloaded.

There is something else that needs to be done that I haven't done yet. I could go through a lot of diagnostics, but hadn't found any actual fault codes. I tried to check the alarm system, but it said there was no communication. I also tried to 'remove' the alarm (a separate and probably unrelated matter), but it said that the CANdi was not fitted, which was weird as it connects in-line, so I shouldn't have been able to connect to anything if it wasn't there. I'm a bit confused about whether there is software I need to be downloading to it.
Updating a bit more, it now tells me that CANdi is not connected almost whatever I do and I cannot get back to any of the diagnostics. It could be my ignorance, but I'm wondering if I've been sent a lemon, especially as Googling the issue comes up with people who re-soldered the connections straight on, rather anything an idiot might have overlooked.

I had to laugh at the little bag with all the stickers in it, including the ones that said 'Warranty void if removed"

It's much bigger than I expected.

Much bigger than I expected too.
They are powered from they OBD port and that works for in car use. I'm not sure it is by design but the "stand" that flips out on the back is handy for hooking over the top of the steering wheel. I will admit it wasn't something I spotted right away.

_________________
Underskatta aldrig en gammal man med en gammal SAAB

There are two possible places you can connect power to a tech2, if it doesn’t get this from the OBD port - these are:

1) socket on the tech2 itself, to the left of where the main cable is attached - use this when the main cable is not plugged into a car (e.g., when updating the tech2’s software)
2) socket on the back of the OBD port plug - use this when the main lead is connected to a car and you want/need a more stable power supply

Whilst the second option sounds unnecessary, many clone tech2’s use a cheaper internal power converter which needs a higher voltage to operate. Hence why on those, when you crank the car (for example, when trying to diagnose a crank position sensor by reading the engine RPM during cranking) the tech2 just resets instead!

Plugging an independent power source into the connector on the back of the OBD port plug should get around this issue - I used a battery boost pack with the tech2 cigarette lighter power lead on mine and was then able to get an engine RPM reading whilst cranking. However, I can confirm that when my tech2 did eventually die, the replacement power converter which was fitted by the place I sent it off to for repair doesn’t have this issue.

Note that you must never connect both at the same time, nor should you connect to the socket on the tech2 (first option above) when the main lead is plugged into a car’s OBD port - doing so can damage the tech2.

_________________
'98 9000 2.3T CSE, stage 3
'08 Jaguar XFR
'10 9-5 2.3T Turbo Edition, stage 3+

I'll probably delete my post above as I can't get this Tech2 to work - I suspect the CANdi unit or a connection - so unless someone else has the same fault, describing how it doesn't work will not be much help. There are some threads about these things elsewhere, with people commenting that £270 is too cheap to expect them to work properly, though to my mind that's pretty expensive for a tool for an old car and I don't see why you shouldn't be able to have a fully functional bit of software that connects to a USB port for a much lower cost.

Either way, this is the video I did to show the guy who sold it to me what isn't working (which looks pretty similar to other people with these not working), but if you can see anything that's wrong I'll be glad to hear it: https://1drv.ms/v/s!AkcJv_8I0xDTg_Vh5tn ... Q?e=fqT0Qt

Now - back to EBay to say I need to return it, though there might be no answer before Monday now.

Any update Greg?

I see this is an old thread but wondered if you had any success.

An issue not mentioned is the OBD port itself. I have had 2 that refused to connect properly due to (when I eventually found them) the connectors in the port pushing out of the socket.

Everything looked ok from the front but when I unscrewed the connector (2 screws for the cover, 2 hold the connector, 2 minutes to un-do) it was very obvious the car's connector was duff. A very quick fix once found, but I had days of fiddling, talking to my supplier and trying replacement leads before I found that simple solution!!

If you use the left and right arrows on tech2 when you have a load of options to choose from (e.g., model year), it will scroll a page at a time.

_________________
'98 9000 2.3T CSE, stage 3
'08 Jaguar XFR
'10 9-5 2.3T Turbo Edition, stage 3+

If you have problems with comms with the car (as I did, see separate thread in Workshop) it could be a bad VCI unit. Mine would beep and say 'Establishing Communications' every 20 secs or so. Replaced the VCI and all is fine. This post here is useful (although for a more serious comms issue, the solution was the same):
https://tech2wiki.com/obsolete/doku.php ... _a_bad_vci

_________________
When you think you know it all, it's a sure sign you don't.

I'm new to owning a Tech 2, definitely a good move i think, and was just wanting to double check with the Tech 2 guys when connecting to my 2006 Saab 93 I would need to use the Candi to communicate with the car??

as above in one of the previous posts from "greg_in_london":

• Saab 9400 (900 94-98, 9-3 99-02 +03CV) no
• Saab 9440 (9-3 Sport 03-) CANdi
• Saab 9600 (9-5 98-05) no
• Saab 9600 (9-5 06-09) CANdi
• Saab 9650 (9-5 10-12) not compatible

Yours is the second line ...

_________________
'98 9000 2.3T CSE, stage 3
'08 Jaguar XFR
'10 9-5 2.3T Turbo Edition, stage 3+

That's what I thought, Just wanted to be 100% sure. Thank you

I need to re-marry my radio following a battery disconnection and considering a tech2 purchase. Paul at the Saab clinic kindly educated me on the difference between a vetronix original and a clone. Also that there can be issues gaining the necessary security access. Mine is a 2005 9-5, so I understand Candi module not required. I would love to be able to diagnose and also play around with the numerous configurable factory default settings. Also at 40 or 50 £ per plug in at a specialist I can see the costs quickly mounting. However, if it’s much more than plug and play I suspect it would be an additional and unnecessary tech frustration in my life. Unless this generation of car doesn’t require the security access steps? I have access to a laptop running windows 10 if that helps. Any suggestions or comments on this would be appreciated.

_________________
2005 9-5 Aero Estate

from what I remember, 9-5's don't need security access - only the later (2003 onwards) 9-3's.

_________________
'98 9000 2.3T CSE, stage 3
'08 Jaguar XFR
'10 9-5 2.3T Turbo Edition, stage 3+

I think sounds is correct. I've swapped units between my 9-5 fleet (my98-04), swapped batteries too. I've never needed a code or Tech2 to get them working again.

_________________
Underskatta aldrig en gammal man med en gammal SAAB

That’s encouraging! So even if the ‘clone’ Tech2 is hit and miss passing security set-up, my pre-Edna 9-5 shouldn’t require that step. Does that make the tech2 effectively ‘plug and play’ in this scenario or do you know if some laptop trickery may still be required to set up? Thanks again for input so far

_________________
2005 9-5 Aero Estate

I think that the radio head unit is the only bit that needs marrying. The other dash items may need a reprogram, if they come from a different type of car. Petrol v diesel is the usual one as the SID can’t find the sensors that exist on one but not the other.

_________________
.
.
.
.
Everything will be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end...