Fault Scanner for 1998 5VZ-FE

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

Can anyone recommend a diagnostic scanner for my 1998 Prado GXL 3.4L V6? It's been stuck across town for months, I tried to hire a mechanic to go put a diagnostics computer on it, but he didn't bother showing up. Thinking more about it, for the money that any mechanic would likely charge to drive out and put a diagnostics kit on it, I can probably buy one.

I found one option here for a couple of hundred and it appears to be suitable (but not sure):

http://www.dtdauto.com/Product/Produ...I%20Scan_E.htm

Are there alternatives that are more cost effective, or perhaps a conversion box from the Toyota diagnostics connector to OBD-II?

Can anyone tell me what the connector in my car is actually called so I can look specifically for that?

Thanks!

[skulldragger Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close skulldragger]

Instead of paying for a diagnostic tool why don't you just get it towed to a mechanic?

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

Well if the scanner's only a couple of hundred bucks, I think it's a sound investment because I plan on keeping the car. I don't want to tow it myself because of the slope it's parked on. So if anyone can confirm if the device in the link I posted should work or if there are alternatives for similar or lower price, I'll go that way.

My suspicion is that it's the immobiliser ECU. I have since got hold of a second immobiliser ECU (for free) but have been told they're over $300 to program the key into, so I'll hold off on that until I get the actual diagnostic code. I also tried a second pulse coil (the black ring at the key end of the ignition barrel).

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

I've ordered the unit from dtdauto, the connector diagram matches the diagnostic connector pin labels under the bonnet so it should work as advertised. I suspect it may take some time to get through the mail, so when it does turn up and I run it on my car I'll check back in with my findings on the unit. No other connector I searched for had anything that matched up to what I have.

[letsgoplaces Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close letsgoplaces]

Let us know how it goes, ease of use, accuracy of codes/feedback etc. The 5vz-fe is listed on the compatible car list, so it sounds promising

Cheers
John

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

Checking back in, yes this product does work on my car for reading fault codes. That's all it reads for me, but it was enough to confirm my suspicion about something with the immobiliser.



I don't need to explain the contents of the kit, that's all on the dtdauto EFI Scan site and the kit does ship with everything included as described. It also ships with Techstream that I guess has its own list of vehicles it is compatible with (mine is not compatible from what I could research). For a pure Techstream solution with cabling, ebay will provide you with much cheaper alternatives.

Since the solution I bought purely reads engine fault codes I'm guessing free techniques like jumping the diagnostics terminals to get the code would work just the same - providing of course you can find a fault code list for your car. I've also read all kinds of conflicting statements saying the jumping technique is bad, whatever, I could not come up with any kind of conclusive result with all the researching on this.

Setup is rather simple if you follow their given instructions to the letter. Don't toss the manual over your shoulder. As for the pin connections, I didn't even bother trying to do the software lookup, I just used the first image on the EFI Scan site that matched my diagnostic port.

In all, a pretty expensive device, but invaluable if you want to set out to do your own repairs but are staring at some mysterious problem that the computer knows about.

Now for the next challenge, to find the source of the immobiliser fault. It's going to cost a lot to get the replacement immobiliser set to my key so I'll try and at least isolate the problem to that. Anyone know of someone who can do the immobiliser reset/set master at a realistic price? I'll start checking if there's some cheap DIY device I can get my hands on to do the same thing myself.

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

Another check in, I think I've fixed it... What I did was look at the IC's on the immobiliser ECU and one turned out to be an eeprom (the 8 pin one). No surprises there for those in the know. Anyway, it was a simple matter of de-soldering the eeprom and transplanting it into the donor ECU (from the wreckers). The unknown was whether there was another ID chip which would prevent the eeprom working with the board.

Anyway, the transplant took, the car starts flawlessly, time will tell if this was the actual problem, but I've taken it for a few drives with a few start/stops without a hitch. This might be of help with anyone who ends up with the same issues. Ridiculous that you can end up stranded with a perfectly sound car and an immobiliser that won't let you drive it.

[RanJ Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close RanJ]

Where is the immobilizer ecu located? Do you happen to have a pinout of it at all?

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

If you pull the face off the centre-console around the CD player and such, it's on the lower right, a black box. I don't have any pinouts, I found very little info on the unit except that while protecting you from thieves it will leave you dead if it breaks in the middle of the desert.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Wow nice find and excellent repair info! I was looking around for scanners a while ago but the Toyota units are very expensive.

Does the device allow you to monitor electrical sensor signals such as MAF, timing, O2, etc?

[ebswift Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close ebswift]

Wow nice find and excellent repair info! I was looking around for scanners a while ago but the Toyota units are very expensive.

Does the device allow you to monitor electrical sensor signals such as MAF, timing, O2, etc?

Yes and no... on my vehicle I don't have OBDII so I can pretty much only decode faults. If you have OBDII then yes it does have Techstream supplied with the package from memory, along with all the cabling connectors. Though when you have OBDII cheaper solutions exist that can report back to your phone. This tool just does what the cheapies can't and that is decode faults on non-OBDII. I think there are low-tech solutions that are just as effective, i.e., forcing the fault codes to flash that can be found elsewhere around the web.