Does Your Vehicle Have a Digi-Master 3?

What is OBD or OBD-2/EOBD?

For the first time, the standardization enables a uniform diagnostic system Digi-master 3 for almost all vehicles worldwide and for Europe according to the above-mentioned time frame, the uniformity of which can only restrict by a few manufacturer-specific in-house developments or extensions.

Contrary to an often-heard assertion, this standardization does not only cover exhaust-relevant electronic modules of a vehicle but rather the entire electronics.

However, it is up to the vehicle manufacturer whether he also integrates his entire vehicle electronics into the standardization.

OBD2/EOBD is an aid for the maintenance of and error detection

The "D" in the abbreviation "OBD" stands for diagnosis. Digi-master 3 is therefore an aid for the maintenance of and error detection in today's modern vehicles with a large number of computer-aided systems. This is otherwise hardly possible without a suitable tool (diagnostic device, scanner, scan tool). However, OBD is not a system for manipulating speedometers or increasing performance, as is often falsely claimed by dubious providers.

The diagnosis integrated in the control unit is part of the basic scope of electronic engine control systems. In addition to the self-testing of the control unit, input and output signals as well as the communication between the control units monitor.

An on-board Digi-master 3 of the electronic system means the ability of the control unit to constantly monitor itself with the help of "software intelligence", i.e. to detect errors, save them and evaluate them diagnostically.

The on-board diagnosis runs without additional devices

During operation, monitoring algorithms check the input and output signals as well as the entire system with all functions for malfunctions and faults. The errors detected store in the error memory of the control unit. The saved error information,

The tasks of OBD

• Continuous monitoring of all emissions-relevant components in all vehicles
• Recording and reporting of significant increases in emissions at any time during the entire service life of a vehicle
• Ensuring permanently low exhaust emissions
• Protection of components, e.g. The catalytic converter in the event of misfiring
• Saving the data when errors occur
• Provision of an interface for reading out the stored data and current operating data
• Display the malfunction using the check engine light (mil) in the instrument cluster

Does my vehicle have Digi-master 3?

In the United States, OBD-2 is mandatory for all new vehicles starting January 1, 1996. This means that vehicles for the American market built in 1995 can already have OBD-2. In the EU, the EURO-3 standard OBD-2, called EOBD here, introduced for new vehicles with petrol engines from January 1, 2001.

EOBD introduced for diesel passenger cars on January 1, 2003 and for trucks on January 1, 2005. Here too, vehicles built before this date may already have OBD.

OBD-2 con

The plug should be within one meter of the driver (see list of locations), usually under the dashboard or under the ashtray. Not all pins of the Digi-master 3 assign. Depending on the protocol used, other plug locations cannot occupy by contact pins. 2000 and newer European petrol vehicles will have the yellow Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) shown below

Due to legal requirements, this error lamp activates in the event of malfunctions. If there is only a temporary malfunction, the lamp goes out again automatically after 3 error-free driving cycles (starting, driving, switching off). The fault memory in the control unit, on the other hand, is only automatically erased after 40 fault-free warm-up cycles.

The parameters and values ​​that can be read out via the Digi-master 3 connector are the same for all vehicles, but not the transmission protocols used for this. Unfortunately, the manufacturers could not agree on this.

Is your vehicle having an OBD-2 connector?

If your vehicle has an OBD-2 connector but not the above pinout, you probably have an OBD-2 pre-vehicle. It is also possible that you have a vehicle with the above pinout that is not OBD-2 compliant if it is a pre-1996 vehicle. The sticker "OBD II compliant" or the entry "EURO-3" provides security. Vehicles from this gray area that are partially or fully Digi-master 3 compliant can be found in this list.

ISO assignment

Up to approx. 2004-2007 most European vehicles use ISO 9141-2 with KWP and have the above pinout. For the interface cable to function properly, there should be no voltage difference between pins 4 and 5 and pin 16 must carry +12 volts.

Protocols, developments for engine management

The first electronic control units in vehicles used for engine management in the 1980s. They had the UART system. In the 1990s, more control units added, which were then able to communicate with each other via shared data lines on a Class 2 data bus.

How does Digi-master 3 work?

The Class 2 data bus only works with a fixed baud rate; all data of Digi-master 3 transmit at the same speed. The control devices connected to it must continuously send presence reports. The modules are therefore constantly in the waiting state.

Data transmission in a Class 2 network is no longer sufficient for the ever-increasing "electronation" of vehicles. In the future, manufacturers in the USA will also switch to the CAN (Controller Area Network) developed in Europe.

The CAN protocol mainly uses as a 2-wire bus with 500 kbps (kilo-bits per second) for drive functions (engine, transmission, brakes).

A low speed (250 kbps) 1-wire variant is typically used for convenience functions such as door locking, power windows and the like where response times of 100-200 milliseconds are sufficient. Since the Digi-master 3 communication protocol is the same on all data buses, it is easy to exchange data between high-speed bus and low-speed bus.

What is OBD 3?

The successor OBD-3 is already being developed in the USA. This successor system bases on the logic of the Americans that it is not enough to just have a warning light on in the event of a malfunction, which many drivers ignore.

You can drive around with a defective car for up to two years (until the next HU/AU). OBD-3 should automatically report defects and error codes including the chassis number (VIN) to an authority via radio, satellite or similar and the owner should ask to repair his vehicle within a certain period of time.

The technology for this already exists, the consequences currently discuss in the US. For Digi-master 3 vehicles, the general obligation to carry out annual or biennial vehicle inspections should no longer apply.