obd 1 inoperative

[jjzebra]

98, 318 ti will not pass MA state inspection as they are unable to obtain readings. My mechanic can not as well.
Connector under hood is fine. Car runs great. Will not pass unless they can obtain reading from inside the car.
Thanks.

[pdxmotorhead]

Should be OBD2 ,, There are some flash burns that kill the port arn't there? Or did someone convert it to OBD 1 and left the connector in the harness?

Just thinking out-loud...
Dave

[hotmilk400]

if your motor is a true OBD 1, and your car is an OBD 2, you might have an interesting time trying to get it inspected. you better have a friend that will inspected it and pass it, because the computers are not the same, and the connector under the dash will not give them the readings they need, (or even work)

if the motor is original, then it is obd 2, and should not have a problem. for some reason, their are alot of questions about people asking about fitting an OBD1 motor in a OBD2 car in the last few weeks. we keep telling them not to do it, so hopefully you did not just buy this car, or do the motor swap.

[jjzebra]

I am probably incorrect stating that I have an OBD 1, I will verify for sure tomorrow as I am not knowledgeable in that area. I suspect it to be OBD 2 as I have had two responses
that concur. The inspection station as well as my mechanic can not get any readings from this connection. I have not had any problems with this in the past. I am the origional owner and the car has a great service record. Any thoughts on why the connection may be disabled? As stated earlier the connection under the hood is fine.
Thanks.

[hotmilk400]

if you are the original owner, you never replaced the entire motor, and your car is a 98, then it has to be obd2. obd1 is the computer/motor from a car that is pre-96. (if i am not mistaken, it was because of pollution controls that they changed to OBD2, since OBD2 is more sensors which the computer can use to lower exhaust rate)

the problem is that they are not getting the connector to give a reading under the dash. it could be a simple fuse blown, which does not supply the connector with power, but they should be smart enough to get that to work. also, maybe take it to autozone or pepboys, they will read it for free, maybe the mechanic is having a problem with his controller. just ask for them to read the codes on your car for free, if they can not, something is disconnected.

also, if i am not mistaken, since OBD2 connector under the dash is an USA only requirement, BMW has a 2nd port for the Euro requirement under your hood. basically, the USA connector is plugged into the original Euro connector, so it is quite possible the connector is not fully connected, or rusted in the inside (maybe someone loosened it, or a bad connection)

some shops can read the Euro port, (like the dealer) but you should ask them first if they have the tool to read the Euro port instead of the USA port (but they will normally charge around $50 - $100 to read codes, so maybe get them to inspect it their if you take that route) i also think you can buy the euro reader yourself on ebay for like $100, but someone else will have to give you info on that, since i use the USA port. the tool should be round, (as the connector is next to the fuse box, and is round)

unfortunately, i am alittle busy now, so i hope someone else can give you more info on how to check the ports yourself to see if the Euro port is working, and they try to figure out why the USA port is not working. it should not be related to the car, but some kind of bad connection somewhere.

if i were you, i would take it to autozone, and ask them to read it for free, maybe if you ask them about reading the codes under the hood instead of using the Euro port, they can figure out the problem for you. the euro port is a round connector next to the fuse box. it should twist apart, and have wires coming out the top of it. the inside has funny looking prongs and holes that connect each other. their should be a wire diagram on here somewhere that will tell you what each wire does, and maybe when you test it , you will find a bad ground, or a loss of 12v power on a terminal) if not, test the USA port (find the wire diagram) and check for the ground, and the 12volt source.


hope that helps.. sorry i blab to much. good luck.

[tiFreak]

I'm thinking it's a blown fuse, get your mechanic to run through them with a test light

[jjzebra]

Connector in the car is an OBD 2 connector. We have power at all points at the connector. Message reads "no communicatin."
The connector under the hood operates properly. Connections from the inside connector to the one under the hood have been traced and validated. That's all we have
up to now. Thank you all for your comments, please advise if you have anything more to add.