MT-2500 Help please..

Hello all.. I am a shadetree mechanic and not a bad one. I have several vehicles and my relatives plus friends also have vehicles. They are always asking me to 'fix' theirs when something goes wrong. Luckily none are very late models so I still can try to work on them. To make it easy on me and because I had heard really good things about it, I purchased a used MT2500 - the "red brick" on ebay. To get my feet wet I tried it out on my 86 Ford van - EEC - IV. Following the directions I got a 11 code and then a 34 code. NOW, what do I do with it?? I went to troubleshooter as I thought it would 'troubleshoot' it down to the component or actual circuit. It didn't appear to do this unless I am doing something wrong. The Ford Reference Manual was of very little help (at least in this stage of my learing curve). SOO, without flaming or taking away from a professional mechanics job I am trying to find out what I am doing wrong. Can I assume there is no Freeze Frame as it it not OBD2? Does the Troubleshooter function get it down to a component? If not how does one successfully use it? Is there a MT2500 Book for Dummies that helps explain further how to utilize this piece of equipment? Any other thoughts to make using this device more enjoyable and understandable will be greatly appreciated. Thanks again...

Reply to
sjmorris2001
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You're in luck... I used to sell these for a living.

No, there is no freeze frame as there is in OBD2 There is no data stream (O2 volts, MAP frequency, TPS volts, EGR position, etc.) as there is with GM and ChryCo vehicles. If you want to view these voltage/frequency values, you have to haul out the DVOM and start making connections.

There are/is two types of codes; On demand codes Memory codes.

On demand codes are generated during the performance of a self test, there are two types of self test; Key On Engine Off (KOEO) Key On Engine Running (KOER) These two test modes are performed in the service bay (or under the shade tree in your case), select them from the menu and follow the screen prompts EXACTLY. The engine must be fully warmed up for these tests or else you'll generate false codes.

Memory codes are those which set while the vehicle was being operated, much the same as what the other manufacturers enable. On an 86 MY vehicle, there probably wasn't a check engine light associated with any code being set, IIRC, that capability didn't appear until MY 1989.

Using the troubleshooter; Select it from the main menu, then scroll to the "code tips" selection, hit the "Y" button and scroll until you see the code (34 in your case), hit the "Y" button and follow the tips as presented. NOTE; not all trouble codes have trouble shooter tips, so if there is no "34" listed, there is no tip offered in the troubleshooter database. IOWs, the service manual would be sufficient for diagnosis. The code 11 shown is a pass code for which ever test mode it was listed under. The combination of both the code 11 and code 34 could be explained a couple of ways; The 11 was set during KOEO and the 34 was set during KOER The 11 was set during KOEO -or- KOER and the 34 was a memory code. The 11 was set during KOEO and KOER, the 34 is an old code which has already been corrected but not cleared from memory.

The MT-2500 make everything available that that genre' of Ford

-had- available, it lacks nothing in ability. Anything different that might be seen on a GM or ChryCo vehicle when connected is because that's the way Ford designed their system, not the fault of the test equipment.

There are other test modes available such as; Wiggle test Computed timing Cylinder balance (depends on engine and model year) But you should walk before you run...

Reply to
aarcuda69062

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