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Car Forum / Nissan / Nissan Maxima / March 2004OBD reader for 1995 Maxima? - the early years
I've got a check engine light condition on my original owner 95 Max. I'm investigating whether I should just buy a low cost scanner to read the codes before going in for service (or possible self-service). I understand that the 1995 is one year short of the "standard" OBD-II. The guy at Autozone said it's possible to read it with the correct "jumper", but they won't due to possibility of damaging the onboard computer if done incorrectly. Does anyone know of any inexpensive code readers that will work for the "early" OBD years? I thought sure this was something I could ferret out on the net, but so far no luck. I did find lots of places that sold EQUS scanners that indicated "some 94/95 aren't compliant" (which I guess includes me). Anyone know if there is any kind of adaptor that will allow a regular OBD-II scanner to plug in and read a 95 Maxima with minimum of fuss? Actually, '95 Maximas are ODBII. You can also read the codes without the scanner, but not with a jumper. As usual, the Autozone dude is misinformed. Check out www.maxima.org. The details are there. -jim > I've got a check engine light condition on my original owner 95 Max. I'm > investigating whether I should just buy a low cost scanner to read the codes [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Anyone know if there is any kind of adaptor that will allow a regular OBD-II > scanner to plug in and read a 95 Maxima with minimum of fuss? > Actually, '95 Maximas are ODBII. You can also read the codes without the > scanner, but not with a jumper. As usual, the Autozone dude is > misinformed. Yea and you wonder why they aren't allowed to "jumper" cars? !  SignatureSteve http://www.atlantaracing.com Steve T <fotocord@yahoo.com> wrote in news:c3ggep$27mclg$2@ID- 52908.news.uni-berlin.de: >> Actually, '95 Maximas are ODBII. You can also read the codes without the >> scanner, but not with a jumper. As usual, the Autozone dude is >> misinformed. > > Yea and you wonder why they aren't allowed to "jumper" cars? ! Even though they were apparently less than fully informed in this case, I personally would hestiate to bash the AZ guys too hard for (potentially) doing something for free that my local mechanics charge from $60-90 and that takes 5 minutes. > Steve T <fotocord@yahoo.com> wrote in news:c3ggep$27mclg$2@ID- > 52908.news.uni-berlin.de: [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > doing something for free that my local mechanics charge from $60-90 and > that takes 5 minutes. So if they "jumpered" your car (or otherwise hooked up their equipment wrong) for free and it toasted a $1200 computer, you wouldn't mind? You don't think it's happened? Why do you think they are told not to jumper cars that need to be jumpered to read codes? I wouldn't let those guys NEAR a car with any tool whatsoever. SignatureSteve http://www.atlantaracing.com > > So if they "jumpered" your car (or otherwise hooked up their equipment > wrong) for free and it toasted a $1200 computer, you wouldn't mind? You > don't think it's happened? Why do you think they are told not to jumper > cars that need to be jumpered to read codes? I wouldn't let those guys > NEAR a car with any tool whatsoever. I assume that's why he declined to attempt it. In other words, he took the conservative approach even though, as I understand the posts here, hooking up the std OBD scanner should have worked fine. No one is saying they are a substitute for an experienced mechanic when the situation calls for one. > Actually, '95 Maximas are ODBII. You can also read the codes without > the scanner, but not with a jumper. As usual, the Autozone dude is > misinformed. Check out www.maxima.org. The details are there. Thanks. I looked over there, but I can't find where their hiding it and the Search is turned off. I looked in MaxFAQ, ShopTalk, and the Forums section. I found pretty much every subject under the sun except reading the OBD! > Actually, '95 Maximas are ODBII. You can also read the codes without > the scanner, but not with a jumper. As usual, the Autozone dude is > misinformed. Check out www.maxima.org. The details are there. After further thought did you mean to imply that any average OBD-II reader can in fact plug directly into the 95 Maxima's connector? I thought perhaps the AZ guy was indicating that the Max fell into the category below. On my under-hood Catalyst sticker it does NOT show the "OBD-II certifed" that several net examples of this sticker say should be there if it is fully OBD-II compliant. "NOTE: Some 1994 and 1995 vehicles have 16-pin connectors but are not OBD II compliant, only the ones where the Vehicle Emissions Control Label states that, they are "OBD II Certified". The question is if the 95 Max one of the above vehicles or not? It sounds like you are stating you think it is not. ALL 1995 Nissan Maxima are OBDII compliant--even the very earliest ones made in 1994. The OBDII port is located by the passenger side footwell to the side of the center console on 1995-1996 models--maybe they couldn't find the port. Any generic OBDII scanner can pull codes although it is true you can simply put the ecu in diagnostic mode and count CEL flashes. CW >After further thought did you mean to imply that any average OBD-II reader >can in fact plug directly into the 95 Maxima's connector? > ALL 1995 Nissan Maxima are OBDII compliant--even the very earliest > ones made in 1994. The OBDII port is located by the passenger side > footwell to the side of the center console on 1995-1996 models--maybe > they couldn't find the port. Any generic OBDII scanner can pull codes > although it is true you can simply put the ecu in diagnostic mode and > count CEL flashes. Yes, there is a sticker on the driver's side dash alerting to the port on the passenger side which is plainly visible. Not knowing for sure whether 1995 was fully compliant, I would have been a little hesitant to ask him to "plug in" anyway if there was a chance of blowing the computer (as he stated, but apparently erroneously). The confusion was later compounded by a Google search for OBD that carried the disclaimers: "NOTE: Some 1994 and 1995 vehicles have 16-pin connectors but are not OBD II compliant, only the ones where the Vehicle Emissions Control Label states that, they are OBD II Certified." and looking at the Max's VEC sticker and NOT seeing "OBD-II certified" anywhere. However, with the subsequent useful link that was posted, I was able to use the "count the CEL flashes" method. Thanks to everyone for the helpful feedback! Now I just have to figure out if I can possibly clean the EGR valve/tube myself to remedy the situation. I finally found the thread on maxima.org about reading by the pulse method. I was focusing on "OBD" when many of the threads are labeled "ECU". This points to the same link mentioned in another thread below. Thanks. > I've got a check engine light condition on my original owner 95 Max. I'm > investigating whether I should just buy a low cost scanner to read the codes > before going in for service (or possible self-service). I understand that > the 1995 is one year short of the "standard" OBD-II. The guy at Autozone > said it's possible to read it with the correct "jumper", but they won't due > to possibility of damaging the onboard computer if done incorrectly. You don't need a reader, try this: http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html >> I've got a check engine light condition on my original owner 95 Max. > > http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html 1st hit on google leads you right to this page, found it in less than 45 seconds. People really need to learn how to use google. -maxima check engine light- SignatureSteve http://www.atlantaracing.com >> http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html > > 1st hit on google leads you right to this page, found it in less than > 45 seconds. Congratulations on finding it in 45 seconds. You can put away your stopwatch now and feel very pleased with yourself. > People really need to learn how to use google. -maxima check engine > light- Yes and no. It's true the first Google hit leads you to this parent page with 250 thread subjects. However, the thread subject "check engine light"(your search keywords) is completely useless there. If one did keep sifting long enough, the reference to the useful page was under the "ecu codes" thread. >>> http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Congratulations on finding it in 45 seconds. You can put away your > stopwatch now and feel very pleased with yourself. Cute. > Yes and no. It's true the first Google hit leads you to this parent page > with 250 thread subjects. However, the thread subject "check engine > light"(your search keywords) is completely useless there. That's what ctrl/f is for (or whatever brings up the find window in your OS/browser). Finding key words on a page. It's MUCH faster to learn how to search the massive amounts of information already on the net than to ask everytime for someone else to point you to it. I'm trying to help you learn how to search the internet, sorry you took it as a personal insult or something? SignatureSteve http://www.atlantaracing.com > That's what ctrl/f is for (or whatever brings up the find window in > your OS/browser). Finding key words on a page. It's MUCH faster to > learn how to search the massive amounts of information already on the > net than to ask everytime for someone else to point you to it. Actually, you're missing my point. Which is the keywords you stated did not take you to the desired info, whether you use "search" on the page or not. You had to look for the ECU keywords (not OBD). > I'm trying to help you learn how to search the internet, sorry you took > it as a personal insult or something? Not a personal insult, but a bit pedantic. FYI, I work in the software field and I use Google everyday. Technically speaking, that link, useful as it is, doesn't actually answer my original question which was "can you plug a std OBD reader into the 95 Maxima port without blowing the computer". (I have a family member which already has an OBD reader). The info about the "flashing ECL" is useful in it's own right and I appreciated the pointer. I think we can move on now. Thanks for the feedback. > >> I've got a check engine light condition on my original owner 95 Max. > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > People really need to learn how to use google. -maxima check engine light- I tried google and couldnt find it, I searched for "vb8maxima" or something similar. but I had stuck in a bookmark folder somewhere. I use this link a lot: http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&group=alt.autos.niss an.maxima >> People really need to learn how to use google. -maxima check engine >> light- > > I tried google and couldnt find it, Like I explained in another post, sometimes google sends you to a page that you need to then use the -find- option in your browser, it's ctrl/f on mine. I've found tons of obscure information very quickly this way. I was trying to help people find this information themselves for future problems. It's much faster than trying to find someone else who has stubled across the information they are looking for. SignatureSteve http://www.atlantaracing.com > You don't need a reader, try this: > > http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html Thanks alot. I was able to read the codes using the flash method described quite nicely in the link. - EGR System Hi/Low Flow - Knock sensor (85K miles) >> You don't need a reader, try this: >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > (85K miles) Rear EGR pipe is probably plugged up, knock sensor has a corroded connector. That KS code may disappear once the EGR is fixed. SignatureSteve http://www.atlantaracing.com |
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