The MGF Register Forums

I use a Blackbox Nano system but it is meant as a professional system and the price reflects that.
Being as far as I am from a garage with a Testbook I saw it as a necessity.
Philip's system sounds like a promising alternative for enthusiasts.

Ian wrote:The T300 "key programmer" can read the codes I think, however you will need the Rover "POD" which plugs into it. The unit appears to come with manufacturer specific memory modules, looked pricey when I studied it last. If I'm way off the mark - let me know ! - I'll scrub this post and gently bow out

You're right Ian - the primary function of the T300 is as a key programmer, but with a different lead (which Paul/Technozen sells on ebay) will read MEMS fault codes from all systems pre-MEMS3. It will also clear those fault codes. I can read live sensor data from MEMS2J, but cannot do so for MEMS1.9 (it freezes, the connection drops out, and typically the engine will stall). But it is a brilliant key fob programmer, and it will read and change the EKA. Prices have come down, but whether the latest versions coming out of China still support MEMS1.9/2J is not clear

What Philip is working on will be a brilliant enthusiast tool - and potentially will be able to read the ABS system, and other systems as Philip mentions above. The live sensor feed looks to work really nicely on MEMS1.9 - so this is exciting for me to develop my cars' tuning within the constraints of the non-reprogrammable ECU.

Philip, if you need a Rover 75/ZTT CDTi to test the equipment, let me know - I have one of those, and thanks to flaky BMW diesel engineering, having a diagnostic tool will be invaluable!

I too have the Blackbox Nano like Rich, but it does not provide live sensor reads (I don't think), which would be a great thing to have access too.

Eventually I would like to implement the key programming functionality of the T300 as well, which would give people the best of both worlds with one unit (and a legal one as well instead of a Chinese clone).

This could take a while though.

My current feeling on this is that key code programming is not something that people do very often, whereas general code reading and viewing of live data is something that you might want to do far more often, and so that probably has to take priority.

I'm open to suggestions if people disagree.

Last night I pretty much cracked the AB Autoliv airbag ECU protocol

This is exciting stuff guyz ! - it will finally allow us with older cars to be "independent" and not in the hands of the MG Rover garage who currently have the stranglehold on the reading of any error data from the MEMS 2J and older versions of it !. Having spent about £30 on two different OBDII readers which claimed to be compliant with "post 1996 vehicles with an OBD socket" I was somewhat disappointed that 21st century electronics couldn't read data from the early 1990's !. Windows 95 was born then, and we can still read the files on Windows 7 or even 8 !. But I am a mere mortal in these things and have to accept that the design was to ensure MG Rover kept their garages open and DIY mechanics subservient to them when the engine light came on !. Happy to say that my VVC is now purring, MOT tomorrow, so all things crossed it gets through.

Well done Philip on that software development ! - I can't wait !.

Ian.

I've coded my keys, read and reset my EKA and I think it's job done (although I have two MGFs, so I've done this twice). I may get a spare key for Project Shed, in which case, it'll be pressed into action once again. I have also done the same for other members on the forum... but what I am trying to say in a round about way Philip, is that I think you're right: extremely useful for when you need it, but you may only ever need to use it once.

Well done with the airbag protocol! Brilliant! Let me know when you want to interogate the ABS ECU - I'm away now until the 14th, but happy to help out on returning!

I've confirmed over the weekend that Blackbox Solution's Nano Faultmate does not provide live sensor reads, it is unable to communicate with the ECU when the engine is running. So Philip if your system is able to provide live sensor readings that would certainly be a good selling point as far as I am concerned.

Well I am needing my mgf vvc mk1 that needs reading for a vvc fault.. More than willing to meet up if you need a car..

Yes that would be good, however I am out of the country for the next three weeks.

pscan.eu wrote:Yes that would be good, however I am out of the country for the next three weeks.

Ok well when your back I might be able to help.

Are there any VVC MEMS2J owners around that fancy letting me test this out on their car? I'm in Ruislip.

Would love to but mines on axle stands with a failed sphere.

I have got a 2001 MGF VVC and I live in Watford. You will be welcome to test your device on my car Philip. I am available most days so just let me know if you are interested. I have tried using a cheap bluetooth ODB device linking to Torque on Android but Torque can't seem to connect.

Watford is quite good for me because I work in Hatfield and Watford is potentially on route to/from work. I will be in touch. Thanks, Philip

hi
came across this chat by accident looking for mems 3 info but id thought id mention their is a program available that just requires a puter with a serial port(not usb) and an is interface. the interface most common is a vag kkl or a volvo diagnostic but they must be serial not usb. these are iso k line and sub £10. now without wanting to risk copyright type infringements i couldnt tell you the name of the prog is visa 1.83 as thats a french car. have a read here http://www.obd-codes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1583.
it does work on mems 1.9 and gives certain live data and defiantly fault codes with ability to clear said codes. its fiddly to get working and looks a bit cheesy but ive used it on mgf to read and clear codes.. oh yeh remember the pin 5(signal earth) is missing in the obd plug needs jumping across to pin 4. the fun part is digging out your old laptop that has a serial port on it.

I work in Hatfield too so can meet up there if that is easier. I can usually make any afternoon from lunch time onwards to suit you.

Peter, I believe your car is MEMS3. However, I would imagine that Philip would still be very interested in checking the car's ECU protocols - including those for the airbag and ABS (the latter will be a later version than the Bosch v5.0 on Project Shed)

rehtnap wrote:hi
came across this chat by accident looking for mems 3 info but id thought id mention their is a program available that just requires a puter with a serial port(not usb) and an is interface. the interface most common is a vag kkl or a volvo diagnostic but they must be serial not usb. these are iso k line and sub £10. now without wanting to risk copyright type infringements i couldnt tell you the name of the prog is visa 1.83 as thats a french car. have a read here http://www.obd-codes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1583.
it does work on mems 1.9 and gives certain live data and defiantly fault codes with ability to clear said codes. its fiddly to get working and looks a bit cheesy but ive used it on mgf to read and clear codes.. oh yeh remember the pin 5(signal earth) is missing in the obd plug needs jumping across to pin 4. the fun part is digging out your old laptop that has a serial port on it.

Firstly, welcome to the forum!

Secondly, brilliant post, thank you! I'll have a look at this in more detail when I get a proper chance to

Time for an update.

MEMS 1.9 and MEMS 2J are working (as before). I also found that this works on a 1999 Mini which is useful.

ABS 5.0 protocol from Robs MGF as working at least on my emulator, but I need a repeat visit to Rob to test it on an actual car. However some of the packet timing is not exactly as I would like it (the emulator doesn't care but an actual car might). This should be fixed in a couple of days.

EC5/RC5 airbag protocol is working well on an airbag ECU that Rob gave me. I'm hoping that this will also be the Mini protocol.

I am desperately trying to get a second prototype made so that I can test that and start marketing it. It would be cool to have something on kickstarter before Christmas but it will be tight.

Looking foward to the finish results.