OBD Reader for E36 Problems

[OzDrDj]

Hi there Again,
I have purchased myself about 6 different ODB tools, but i cant get any to work.
I beleive my problem is They are all OBDII and the 1998 E36 328iC is OBD1. Some say there is an OBDII port in the Car, but I can't find it.
So, Is there and OBDII port hiding in the car somewhere?
Or Can someone reccomend an OBD1 Dignostic tool I can buy in Australia. Nothing Fancy, I don't need one of those $2000 Jobs. Just one of $100 aprox ones will be fine. Heaps in the US, But I cant find one here.
Thanks In Advance
OzDrDj

[shogun]

it depends which country spec you have, some USA models were equipped with OBDII 16-pin from 1996, EURO models were equipped with the 20-pin diagnostic port in engine bay till 2001, some even had both, 16-pin and 20-pin.
If the car has both the round 20-pin and the OBD-2 16-pin sockets, then the round 20-pin socket should be used for diagnostics, since only the TXD line for the engine control is looped through to the 16-pin socket.
EURO version E36: All E36 (except the last built Compact cars) have ADS (OBD1).
I assume your Australia version is basically EURO version = 20-pin round port in engine bay.
If you just want to read codes similar to the so-called stomp test for cars in US spec, get a used Peake fault code reader. Peake R5 FCX Obd1 Reader. They are NLA, so you would have to find a used one in OZ.

[JDStrickland]

Hi there Again,
I have purchased myself about 6 different ODB tools, but i cant get any to work.
I beleive my problem is They are all OBDII and the 1998 E36 328iC is OBD1. Some say there is an OBDII port in the Car, but I can't find it.
So, Is there and OBDII port hiding in the car somewhere?
Or Can someone reccomend an OBD1 Dignostic tool I can buy in Australia. Nothing Fancy, I don't need one of those $2000 Jobs. Just one of $100 aprox ones will be fine. Heaps in the US, But I cant find one here.
Thanks In Advance
OzDrDj

You're in Australia, we're mostly in the States. Our cars all went to OBD 2 beginning with the '96 Model Year, but you need to figure out when the OBD 2 standard was applied in your country.

The OBD 2 Standard in America says that the Data Port must be located on the driver's footwell, we have LHD. You can look in the left side footwell for a cover that is about 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches with a cover that says OBD2 DATA PORT.

[JDStrickland]

it depends which country spec you have, some USA models were equipped with OBDII 16-pin from 1996, EURO models were equipped with the 20-pin diagnostic port in engine bay till 2001, some even had both, 16-pin and 20-pin.
If the car has both the round 20-pin and the OBD-2 16-pin sockets, then the round 20-pin socket should be used for diagnostics, since only the TXD line for the engine control is looped through to the 16-pin socket.
EURO version E36: All E36 (except the last built Compact cars) have ADS (OBD1).
I assume your Australia version is basically EURO version = 20-pin round port in engine bay.
If you just want to read codes similar to the so-called stomp test for cars in US spec, get a used Peake fault code reader. Peake R5 FCX Obd1 Reader. They are NLA, so you would have to find a used one in OZ.

ALL USA cars and trucks in all makes and models are OBD 2 since '96 model year production. There are a few OBD 2 cars from '95 production, but no BMWs fall into that group. The Data Link Connector (round, 20 pin) was used in early years of the OBD 2 standard, with data tapped from the DLC to the OBD 2 Data Port.