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OBD1 scanner

xjdavid1

NAXJA Forum User
What is the best OBD1 scanner for my 94 XJ. I know I can get codes out by cycling the ignition switch but is there a scanner available.

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Other than the dealer tool or a hideously expensive snap-on unit (whose model number I cannot recall), I don't know if there's many options for OBD-1 that are practical for the home user/enthusiast. I don't even know if the Dealers even have them any more (seeing as the last OBD-1 Jeeps were built 25 years ago).

Wish I could be more help in that regard, but what is prompting you to ask? Are you having some sort of issue that just dumping the blink codes with the key trick isn't enough to diagnose?
 
Good question. I have never really needed a scanner but thought it might be handy. The Actron 9690 will read codes and read live data but I am not sure whether it would be of much value given that my Jeep is obd1 and is pretty simple.

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Agree that they're handy, but given the limits of OBD-1 it may not be needed.

Did a little Google-fu and found out it's "probably" a DRB2 you'd want (that's the Chrysler tool), but I've never seen one in the flesh and know nothing about it or if you can even still find any.

This thread over at JeepForum has a little info on it: https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f12/good-obd1-scan-tool-94-wrangler-3585498/
 
fYeah it's not as straight forward as OBD2 by any means. The vast majority of what you need to know can be pulled via the key/blink code method. I know Nickintime has a system for pulling data from the RENIX Jeeps maybe one day he'll delve into the DRB stuff but there may not be enough call for it for him to justify the expense/effort.

https://nickintimedesign.com/
 
My ODB1 Actron doesn't seem to read fuel trim correctly. Did the factory DRB2 scan tool read fuel trim. I was interested to see if my cracked headers were affecting the fuel trim.

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It would cheaper just to fix the issue than to analyze it, you wouldn't be able to do much about it other than that anyway!
 
I typically use my Snapon MT2500 for this but they are getting a bit long in the tooth these days. I have had multiple "domestic through 1995" (and 96, and 97) primary cartridges burn up or arrive DOA from ebay sellers at this point as well as more than a few that showed up with the incorrect EPROM versions inside compared to what the faceplate claimed was installed (and the seller had reasonably assumed was installed.) I have also had to do several internal repairs to my main MT2500 scanner frame's PCB. However they are still the gold standard as far as I am concerned when it comes to 86-90 2.5L RENIX TBI, 87-90 4.0L RENIX MPFI (though nickintimes REM 2 is amazing work and an excellent buy if you have a supported vehicle), and 91-95 2.5/4.0L SBEC OBD1 systems. So I guess I will be maintaining my MT2500 collection well into the future at this point. I have collected a fair number of notes on some common MT2500 failure modes and how to repair them and should probably publish them on my website sometime but haven't felt like formatting them sufficiently for public view yet.

Minimum you will want:
domestic primary cartridge (will say something like "Primary Cartridge GM*CHRYSLER*FORD*JEEP" on it, along with a year range and possibly OBD2 or OBD2 bidirectional controls)
main MT2500 body
a 15 pin MT2500 extension cable
JEEP-1 (RENIX) or CHRY-1 (OBD1) adapter (if you want to work on certain Chrysler automatic transmission vehicles, you will need CHRY-2 as well, but I seem to recall my CHRY-1 was enough to read all the TCU data for my 91. Not sure.)
if you are using CHRY-1 on 91-95 you will also want the barrel connector to cig lighter or alligator clip cable so you can power the unit off the car

Optional:
domestic troubleshooter cartridge for the appropriate year range

Just be careful because I have an entire graveyard of junk domestic primary carts I have bought off ebay at this point. Something like 4 or 5. Either I have the worst luck in the world (possible) or it is getting harder to find ones that aren't dead yet. Amusingly each one has a different failure mode so I am keeping them as parts donors and/or backups in case my fully functional cartridge stops working on a certain make/model in the future, as I am a mobile mechanic and work in an area with a significant number of vehicles older than 1996.
 
That is a setting somewhere in your control panel, probably under subscriptions or threads but it's been several years since I thought about this so I may be wrong on that.

Another thing, some of the later editions of firmware for the domestic cartridge remove support for the older OBD1 systems. One of my "through 1997 with OBD2 bidirectional controls" cartridges actually turns out to have 96-01 OBD2 domestic software on it with bidirectional control support rather than being up to 1997 as it was advertised when I got it. So if you see a cartridge for sale that claims to be domestic through 01 or so, probably don't bother buying it for OBD1 and pre-OBD vehicles as it may well not have support for them anyways, as they started removing support for the older vehicles to make room for more modern stuff at some point.
 
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