Ford Focus ODBC

[The_Burg]

Possibly a dumb question but here goes.

After our Passat nuking it's turbo now my Focus has an engine management light comes on intermittently and loses power.

I have a cheapo cable i bought of eBay to use with VCDS, would this cable fit the Focus too? Is it a standard port on ODBC?
Obviously the software won't work, is there any free software anyone can recommend?

For adde fun MOTdue end of month too and i'm feeling it in the wallet!

[mnkiboy]

OBD = On Board Diagnostics
ODBC = Open DataBase Connectivity

Don't get the two confused. You can't manipulate your Focus in Microsoft Access.

And a Focus does have an ODB port, so the same cable should work.

[thescamper]

can you not use one of the cheap bluetooth code readers and a suitable app.

[Krikkit]

mnkiboy said:

And a Focus does have an OBD port, so the same cable should work.

FTFY.

[mnkiboy]

Oh ruddy hell.

[kambites]

The OBD port is completely standard but there are two slightly different protocol standards currently in use - E-OBD and OBD-II. Most of the software seems to support both, though, and they're pretty damned similar.

[The_Burg]

So the cable should in work then.
Any recommendations for software. Car is Focus 2, 55 plate 1.6 100hp Zetec climate.
Preferably freeware.

[kambites]

What you were using on the Passat should work, unless it intentionally blocks non-VW cars or something daft.

[The_Burg]

kambites said:

What you were using on the Passat should work, unless it intentionally blocks non-VW cars or something daft.

VCDS Lite, which is a stripped down VAG.com. VAG specific as you have to tell it what chassis your car is. Possibly it could be edited but i wouldn't have a clue how.

Is it possible to break my Focus by trying? I would think not as it's just reading.

[kambites]

The_Burg said:

Is it possible to break my Focus by trying? I would think not as it's just reading.

It might be theoretically possible, but almost certainly not unless whoever wrote the software did it on purpose.

FWIW I use the freeware version of Digimoto and it seems to work OK.

[The_Burg]

Tried various free tools and none seem to work with my cable, works fine VCDS Lite and Vag.com so maybe something odd thats specific to VAGs perhap?

[The_Burg]

Thanks for the help. Looks like it could be as simple as plugs /leads.

This place aint what it used to be.

[conkerman]

Came position sensor fails on the 1.8tdci. Cheap and easy to fix.