[Georgi Uzunov]

Hi all,

I'm planning to purchase a full license of MultiECUScan v4.5, but I would like the give the free version a try first.

What would be the best cable to buy? There are plenty of options on eBay from ELM327 to KKL 409.1 VAGCom, both of which are "supported" on the page of MultiECUScan.

There's also a more expensive version with different colored cables found here.

My question is - Which cable would be most suitable? I have a late 2010 Alfa Romeo GT with the 1.9JTD engine.

Is there a one-cable solution that would enable me to do it all?
I also think my car is operating over CAN and on some cables it says it will not work...

Any help choosing the right cable would be appreciated!

 

[jwq]

If you really want a 1 cable solution, you would need to buy the multiplex version of MES with the Cantiecar interface.....
More expensive then the multi-cable sollutions though, ease of use comes at a price
MES multiplex

 

[Georgi Uzunov]

If you really want a 1 cable solution, you would need to buy the multiplex version of MES with the Cantiecar interface.....
More expensive then the multi-cable sollutions though, ease of use comes at a price
MES multiplex

Holy moly, yeah, I'll pass on the one cable solution in this case... I just find it quite hard to understand which cable goes were when...

Would this be a good option?

 

[jwq]

Holy moly, yeah, I'll pass on the one cable solution in this case... I just find it quite hard to understand which cable goes were when...

Would this be a good option?

re which cable, see the mes website :
support

re cables, you could go for something like this, at least guaranteed to work
Gendan
(price includes the MES license)
Re other options, it's a bit hit or miss via ebay, but maybe others have working suggestions

 

[Georgi Uzunov]

re which cable, see the mes website :
support

re cables, you could go for something like this, at least guaranteed to work
Gendan
(price includes the MES license)
Re other options, it's a bit hit or miss via ebay, but maybe others have working suggestions

Thanks for your post jwq, the support site looks quite hard to understand to me, but from what I saw the ELM cable should be suitable for all the stuff I need. I still don't really get how the additional colored cables come in, but I guess I need to read a bit more.

The Gendan looks good, but that's a lot of $$ just to hook my car on a regular basis...

This is from the main page on the MultiEcuScan:

"The following interfaces are currently supported by the software: KL (also known as VagCom 409), ELM327 (1.3 or newer), OBDKey 1.40, OBDLink, ELM Scan 5, CANtieCAR.
Bluetooth OBDKey, ELM 327 and OBDLink interfaces are fully supported but not recommended for special functions (like PROXI Alignment, remote control programming, IMA coding, etc.)!"

Does that mean I can't just buy a single cable and use it? Why aren't they mentioning anything about the different colored cables?

 

[jwq]

Thanks for your post jwq, the support site looks quite hard to understand to me, but from what I saw the ELM cable should be suitable for all the stuff I need. I still don't really get how the additional colored cables come in, but I guess I need to read a bit more.
......
Does that mean I can't just buy a single cable and use it? Why aren't they mentioning anything about the different colored cables?

As an example, here's the Alfa 147 2.0 configuration from supported models
From this you can see that for this specific model you need a number of interface cables. If you look at the Motronic engine ECU, you can see you can use either an ELM327 or KKL interface, without additional adapter cables....
If you look at the Bosch ABS ECU, you can see you need the ELM327 or KKL interface, together with the A1 interface cable, which is the green one,
For Airbag, you need the KKL interface with A2 adapter (red), and so on........
ECU's in black are supported in free MES version, ECU's in red only with payed version
A1 - ADAPTER CABLE 1 (green)
A2 - ADAPTER CABLE 2 (red)
A3 - ADAPTER CABLE 3 (yellow)
A4 - ADAPTER CABLE 4 (purple)
A5 - ADAPTER CABLE 5 (blue)
A6 - ADAPTER CABLE 6 (gray)

 

[Georgi Uzunov]

As an example, here's the Alfa 147 2.0 configuration from supported models
From this you can see that for this specific model you need a number of interface cables. If you look at the Motronic engine ECU, you can see you can use either an ELM327 or KKL interface, without additional adapter cables....
If you look at the Bosch ABS ECU, you can see you need the ELM327 or KKL interface, together with the A1 interface cable, which is the green one,
For Airbag, you need the KKL interface with A2 adapter (red), and so on........
ECU's in black are supported in free MES version, ECU's in red only with payed version
A1 - ADAPTER CABLE 1 (green)
A2 - ADAPTER CABLE 2 (red)
A3 - ADAPTER CABLE 3 (yellow)
A4 - ADAPTER CABLE 4 (purple)
A5 - ADAPTER CABLE 5 (blue)
A6 - ADAPTER CABLE 6 (gray)

Thanks for the clarification jwq, that makes things much clearer. I'll think about the Gendan option... or just waste 15 euro and get a ELM327 cable and risk it

 

[halftone]

In my experience:

• ELM327 is quite problematic and limited (especially the cheap ones on eBay).
• KKL VAG interface cables are rather more useful, especially if you buy the adaptor set, or a switchable plug, for connecting to body computer, airbags etc.

You need ELM327 or KKL that are advertised to handle EOBD (Euro codes) as well as OBD2 (USA codes). Stated support for Alfa is best.

You'll probably end up needing both ELM327 and KKL interfaces. Some things you can only do with KKL (eg setting injector codes). I have KKL switched, which is fine, and ELM327 USB which works, an ELM327 Bluetooth (which only works for some parameters).

When you download MES it comes with a PDF, which you can also download from the support page. This shows which type of interface does what with your car.

 

[Georgi Uzunov]

In my experience:

• ELM327 is quite problematic and limited (especially the cheap ones on eBay).
• KKL VAG interface cables are rather more useful, especially if you buy the adaptor set, or a switchable plug, for connecting to body computer, airbags etc.

You need ELM327 or KKL that are advertised to handle EOBD (Euro codes) as well as OBD2 (USA codes). Stated support for Alfa is best.

You'll probably end up needing both ELM327 and KKL interfaces. Some things you can only do with KKL (eg setting injector codes). I have KKL switched, which is fine, and ELM327 USB which works, an ELM327 Bluetooth (which only works for some parameters).

When you download MES it comes with a PDF, which you can also download from the support page. This shows which type of interface does what with your car.

Thank you for the detailed reply (as usual ) halftone!

Have anyone tried the KONNWEI KW902 OBDII WiFi module?

My idea was to hook up my iPhone or iPad to the KONNWEI and use the iOS app for some simple diagnostics at first (with the free version) and if everything goes well there invest in the full set of cables.

 

[jwq]

....
Have anyone tried the KONNWEI KW902 OBDII WiFi module?

My idea was to hook up my iPhone or iPad to the KONNWEI and use the iOS app for some simple diagnostics at first (with the free version) and if everything goes well there invest in the full set of cables.

Have no experience with that, but usually these phone apps only give acces to the motormanagement ECU, not the others, so depends on what you need.