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I've never dealth or looked into OBDII so forgive me if these questions sounds stupid. I'm not even sure if I'm asking the right questions. From what I've read on the net, it seems OBDII is an industry standard on-board diagnostics tool for cars since the mid-90s (Kinda like the car cigarette lighter is a standard size etc)? Is this the case?

I have an old 1999 Volvo V70 (that I only use to carry my kayak & bikes). It recently started showing the "Check Engine" light. I did a search on the net and read, that this could mean one of the O2 Sensors and/or the RPM Sensor has gone?

I'm thinking at buying a cheap OBDII scanner but wanted to know if they're a standard (ie. I can buy whichever so long as it's OBDII). What should I look out for? Will this also work with my NB8B?

I'm thinking at buying this one from eBay for $27 delivered? What do you think of it? Will it do the job? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MS300-OBD2-E ... 46080fda80



Do you have one that you'd recommend? What features should I be looking for? Or what feature is handy to have? I don't want to spend much as I'm sure it's a tool that will most likely sit around unused.

Any advise will be appreciated. Cheers

If the '99 Volvo V70 is anything like the MX5 in Australia, it didn't actually get fitted with an OBDII port to plug a scan tool into until later, i.e. in the case of the MX5: 2001-2002.

ObII was fitted in the late nb modes. Nb8c onwards. SE has them, unfortunately we don't on our SP

Allan, im running a scangauge in my car, which is also a OBD2 fault reader

if your car has a OBD2 port, usually near the fuse box you are welcome to come down and plug it in. You can prolly get all the codes from the net somewhere

Looks like you are in luck with having an OBDII port: https://www.google.com.au/#hl=en&safe=o ... 67&bih=530

I bought an ebay scan tool, it has a battery pack that does nothing and a power button that is not connected to anything but it works fine. I have actually used it a couple of times.

Cheers, yeah my 1999 Volvo V70 have an OBDII port located on the centre console storage between the two front seats.

But I thought the port with the word "Diagnostic" in the engine bay of my 2002 NB8B was also an OBDII (see picture). Obviously it’s not from what you guys are saying. So is that a Mazda proprietary port?

Adam, I might take you up on your offer to quickly check the error code from my V70. Thanks.

Allan! Fellow Volvo owner! Brother! How many cars do you own, man???

Correct, the port under the bonnet is a silly Mazda specific plug.

It's the same one right back to the NA6 (I think the NBs had different pinouts maybe?)

Yes, NA6 had the same plug too. I remember shining it up with armorall. Probably there so it can speak to the computer ("Are you there com-poo-tah?" 'Yes I'm here. Now go away.')

The 4 pins used in the SE's OBD2 port all also run to the diagnostics connector. Lachlan Riddel and I hooked up an OBD2 plug temporarily to the diagnostics connector on an NB8A and his software could detect it was an MX-5 but couldn't read any other data. I also tried a ScanGauge and didn't have any luck either:

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=54176

Tks Tim - wondered how your NB8A OBDII project in your thread had gone.

Guran wrote:Allan! Fellow Volvo owner! Brother! How many cars do you own, man???

I ended up buying this 2nd hand Volvo V70 about 4 months ago, as it was cheaper than the (foldaway) boat trailer that was made for my sailing kayak. This V70 has a low roofline. Making loading my 65-80kg sailing kayak on top of the wagon soooo much easier compared to my 4WD. In fact, I can now drive in my garage, drop the sailing kayak on the roof racks, secure it, then drive away. It cuts my loading and unloading in half. Plus, I don't have to worry about towing anything.

If you have an Android phone, a cheaper method is to use the Torque Pro app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=en

You'll also need a bluetooth adapter that plugs into on the drivers side near the bonnet latch: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ELM327-OBD2-V1-5-Car-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Interface-/260935358215?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cc0f597076

I had a quick play yesterday, I was able to check engine codes, read various temps (air intake, ambient etc) and measure boost with little lag.
You can also get the app to log data and send it via email or upload it automagically to a web server.

Pretty cool for $30...

[Edit] If any one needs a tute/procedure, let me know. I can take some photos.

kenson wrote:You'll also need a bluetooth adapter that plugs into on the drivers side near the bonnet latch

Unfortunately that port is only available on the very last of the NBs as well as the NCs.

timk wrote:

kenson wrote:You'll also need a bluetooth adapter that plugs into on the drivers side near the bonnet latch

Unfortunately that port is only available on the very last of the NBs as well as the NCs.

Doh, oh well