TestPilot Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 The following is the text of a letter to the editor I just sent to the MOA. It expands on the use of automotive diagnostics on BMW motorcycles. "Wes Fleming's Torque of the Matter column in the December 2018 Owners News is a bit dated. Near the end of the article he states that ”more motorcycle makers are anticipating the day when all bikes have to have OBD-style connectors and their ECUs will need to speak a common dialect.” That day is already here. European Union (EU) Regulation 168/2013 requires standardized on-board diagnostics for all motorcycles sold in the EU. Specific requirements include use of the 16-pin automotive OBD connector (later amended to allow a smaller 6-pin motorcycle-specific connector), use of any of the standard automotive data communication protocols, and use of standard automotive diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs). Phase-in dates were January 1, 2016, for new motorcycle types, and January 1, 2017, for existing types. This is the reason all new BMW motorcycles have 16-pin diagnostic connectors. BMW's use of automotive OBD technology on their motorcycles goes back even further. In a February 2013 posting on the S1000RRforum.com forum, one individual described connecting an UltraGauge OBD-II data reader to his bike. He jumpered wires from the 10-pin round diagnostic connector on his bike to an automotive 16-pin connector to mate with the UltraGauge. He was able to read several additional data types available from the ECU. His S1000RR uses the KWP 2000 automotive OBD protocol. This past week I was able to do the same thing on my 2007 R1200ST. I used a GS911 female adapter cable to interface between the bike's connector and the UltraGauge. I too was able to view several items of data, again using the KWP 2000 protocol. I was also able to connect my Actron CP9695 scan tool using the same adapter cable and read data and trouble codes. Unfortunately, all my testing was done engine off since my bike is in storage for the winter. I'll do more testing when the spring thaw comes here in western New York." Link to comment
Ponch Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 I wonder if there are any iPhone apps that work with an ELM 327 and adapter cable? Link to comment
dirtrider Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 I wonder if there are any iPhone apps that work with an ELM 327 and adapter cable? Morning Ponch I am not familiar with using that combination to read the BMW 1200 motorcycle codes but over the last couple of years I have assisted and/or worked with a number of riders that have used 3rd party software type code readers to send me the captured failure codes. It hasn't worked out very good (at least in the failure situations that I have assisted with). In most cases they do seem to get a failure code or codes but the code numbers don't seem to line up with the probable failure related to their problem, or the code reading program that they are using seems to assign an incorrect failure nomenclature to the code therefore sending them on a ghost hunt for a problem they don't have (this is where I usually get the PM to help them understand what the heck is going on). Now I don't a have a lot of history with this & most has been done over the internet so the feedback between the problem bike & my in-box is sometimes disconnected by a lag time. I can't remember helping with a solid meat & potatoes type failure code like o2 sensor or TPS but the peripherals like brakes, radio, TPS, & EWS type things don't seem to line up the recovered code with my possible failure code list. One of the things to keep in mind is a simple failure code doesn't always do much good on the complex BMW engine control systems as in most cases it also takes a time lapse all-data trap of all sensors & switches then put into XL form to see the trend across the sensor strings & switches to help understand what the heck is REALLY going on. If the code reading software that you are using will trap a full sensor & data stream over a time frame then allow it to be viewed in XL (or similar) then it is probably usable to diagnose the BMW systems & somewhat pinpoint the root of the problem. Any data is not always better than no data if it sends you looking in the wrong direction. I just don't have enough background using the 3rd party code readers to know if some are better than others or if they were even being used correctly. We need someone with a GS-911 (& experience) to back-to-back common & odd-ball (purposely induced) failures using both the 3rd party software & the GS-911 before we can trust the 3rd party's ability to give correct data in all situations. As I said above, I have very limited experience with this but so far I haven't been very impressed with what I have seen. Link to comment
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