Strange one - torque pro reading 18 V but battery at normal 13.7 when running

[cyberman]

Had a bit or fear today when I opened torque pro for the first time in months. The voltage was flashing (some sort of alarm) and fluctuating between 18.0 and 18.3 volts. I was worried it would fry my battery and I had no idea how long this has been going on.

Got home, let the engine continue to run and checked voltage at the battery at 13.7 volts. So the voltage regulator is fine.

I'm wondering though if somehow the ECU thinks there is 18V and whether it makes any trim adjustments based on voltage.

It's a strange situation and deep in the electronics if the signal going to the OBD II port is part of the standard or if the OBD adapter just sees the voltage directly and reports it.

Anyone know?

[rf900rkw]

The OBD2 dongle is just a communication interface. Everything displayed is provided by the DME. Assuming no misprogramming in the data conversion, the DME thought it saw 18V. 13.7V at idle does not mean 13.7 all of the time every time.

[cyberman]

The OBD2 dongle is just a communication interface. Everything displayed is provided by the DME. Assuming no misprogramming in the data conversion, the DME thought it saw 18V. 13.7V at idle does not mean 13.7 all of the time every time.

Thanks for the clarification. At the time I measured it, the DME was reporting 18V at the same time the actual measured value was 13.7V so I gather the DME is somehow getting it wrong. I'll check it with INPA today and see if there is a difference (assuming INPA reports voltage, which I can't recall). The funny thing is that lately it seems the engine has never run better.

[328 Power 04]

I've seen most modules shut down on purpose when there is vehicle overvoltage in newer cars. I'd be hard pressed to believe that the DME will even run at 18V, if it hadn't released the magical smoke by then. I believe you've had a history of DME needing replacement in the past?

Still, I'd suspect a bug in the app. INPA menu for the DME 5.2 will have voltage in status menus for sure.

[cyberman]

Having a bad day. Went to check with INPA and also my multimeter this morning and both read 13.7V at idle, so it was the Bluetooth adapter which proved it by being dead. No connection to the phone was possible or available now. So, no problem, the adapters are cheap.

But then things went south when I tried to reset the service indicator lights. I tried jumping pins 7 and 19, then 7 to ground and every possible sequence of ignition on, jump, unjump, put the cap on before and after ignition on and it stayed at two green bars. Now I've done this in the past with no problems. Spent and hour and gave up - I guess I'll just have to live with whatever bars it wants to show. I even sprayed contact cleaner on the 20 pin, then gently scraped the inside of the the female terminals with a tiny screwdriver which is now lost under the battery tray (96s have battereis mounted where god intended). Now perhaps the bad Bluetooth adapter is causing the issue, so I'll exhume it from under the console when I get a replacement, but I doubt it's causing this issue. And why do spell checkers insist the word 'Bluetooth' be capitalized?

[328 Power 04]

Haha, because king Harald Bluetooth was a real dude.

- - - Updated - - -

I always had the best success by bridging pins 7 and ground while I counted to 10 using all the Mississippis. Sometimes it didn't work.

Hopefully pin 7 is all good.

[sleeperz]

And why do spell checkers insist the word 'Bluetooth' be capitalized?

It is a patented bit of tech from Ericsson.

Hope you figure out the issues with your other electronics. I always dread having to troubleshoot electrical stuff.

[ZGator]

ya know there is NO other way then shorting those pins to reset the service light - prove me wrong - my ancient pac man ADS adapter came with a toggle switch - I remember I had to build that damn thing from scratch - it came as a kit - ah the good old days of software interfaces. Might have even been serial only at that time.

[328 Power 04]

ya know there is NO other way then shorting those pins to reset the service light - prove me wrong - my ancient pac man ADS adapter came with a toggle switch - I remember I had to build that damn thing from scratch - it came as a kit - ah the good old days of software interfaces. Might have even been serial only at that time.

Hmmm we've all done it many times as a group here

[ZGator]

I have tried in all forms of software - ista/inpa etc - and could never do a reset - only the short of those pins.

forgot the name of the guy who made that pacman ADS kit - Feister or something? - and yep, I have the wire with what a resistor connected? in the trunk -when the pacman cannot be found. My reset light takes like 20k++ to get down to yellow - which I use as an indicator but don't really obey it - I have only reset it about 8 times or so?

[328 Power 04]

Reading your initial comment, I read it that you couldn't get it to do it over the wire grounding method. (unsure how I got that, but possibly due to doing too many things at once)

Not being able to do it over INPA/ISTA is because you're not using a genuine factory ICOM interface tool (or the old GT1 diagnostic head). Although I remember being able to tell the facelift cluster to clear it via diagnostics easily. I'll have to check.

The command from INPA/ISTA to these older ones will tell the genuine tool to short pin 7 to ground

[cyberman]

Reading your initial comment, I read it that you couldn't get it to do it over the wire grounding method. (unsure how I got that, but possibly due to doing too many things at once)

Correct. No amount of shorting that pin worked. If INPA lets me get into the cluster, I'll see if it will clear.

[cyberman]

So, just shoot me. I checked INPA and the Cluster shows, but I wasn't able to get into it as it bounced and error message. Then, I checked the pins and pin 19 is to ground and pin 7 showed about 11.83 volts with the ignition on as compared to 12.7V pin 19 showed. Then I tried one last time to short the two for about 15 seconds and it worked! Why it worked on the first try today and wouldn't after many tries yesterday is a mystery.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond and comment.

[ZGator]

Thanks Abel for that explanation on the genuine interfaces actually shorting those pins with circuitry - overengineering, service revenue back in the day my ADS toggle switch will have to do!