What OBD on a Pug 306 HDi 99 V Reg

OBD-II

Tim..

It has OBD II diag socket, but still has proprietry communication protocol.

John

Anybody tried those OBD to laptop progs you can get on ebay? Do they work ok? load of crap?

A lot of people misunderstand what OBD II is. OBD I and II were introduced by US legislators to provide a common diagnostic interface with the engine ECU. All vehicles sold in US since 1996 had to comply with the OBD II standard. The OBD connector is the now familiar 16 pin plug. However, just because a vehicle has this connector, doesn't mean that it is OBD compliant. Manufacturers have fitted this connector, but still used their proprietry protocols. European legislation was introduced a couple of years ago, called EOBD. This applies to all petrol vehicles manufactured since 2001 and all diesels from 2005. Some vehicles prior to this are compliant, some are not. I'd say there's probably a list somewhere on internet. If a vehicle is OBD compliant, it must use one of two protocols for engine diagnostics. This does not cover other systems, ABS, airbag etc. This means that the laptop interface units you mention will read any OBD compliant vehicle and any vehicle using the standard protocols, J1939 and one other that I can't remember at the moment. Hope this clears it up.

John