ODB replacement cable

Race Capture Pro hardware installation- power, wiring, physical installation, etc. See the dedicated forum for Sensor related topics

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mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

I recently bought a replacement cable for my race capture. The original had a broken catch on the RJ45 plug that was causing data loss.
When I installed the new cable the RC unit would not power up. I have discovered that ground the old cable was wired to pin 4 (chassis) on the ODB plug, but the new one is wired to pin 5 signal ground.

Is this a fault in the new cable or a design change? How should I proceed?

brentp
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:36 am

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by brentp »

Hi,

Can you clarify if your old cable still powers the RaceCapture system?

Where did you purchase the new OBDII cable?

mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

Yes the old cable still works. I used a short RJ45 extension and taped it to the old cable to overcome to broken catch. I now have a working, if inelegant system.

The system and cable were both purchased from Petrel Solostorm.

mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

BUMP.

Is there anyone who does customer service?

brentp
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:36 am

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by brentp »

It's great you found a workaround in the meantime.

We haven't yet seen an issue with these OBDII cables before not providing power to the device. So, it is a first for us seeing this.

Normally pin 4 and 5 are populated in vehicle OBDII ports and they both connect to ground - for low current applications they are typically considered interchangeable.

Can you peek into the port and let us know if there is a metal contact in both pins 4 and 5? What year/make/model is the vehicle?

We can check some of our existing cables to see if there are any variances.
Brent Picasso
CEO and Founder, Autosport Labs
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mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

2014 Scion FRS

I will check the port tomorrow;

mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

Seems to have both connected
Seems to have both connected
IMG_20220217_115804960.jpg (216.89 KiB) Viewed 5671 times

mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

I would have thought that for this application you would want to use signal ground. While they are at the same nominal potential signal ground should provide a less noisy signal for data. My car may be deficient in not providing a signal ground, but I don't understand why you would use chassis ground when I bought the unit and changed to signal ground without warning and perhaps even giving users the option of using pin 4 is pin 5 id not connected,

brentp
Site Admin
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Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:36 am

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by brentp »

Hi, we'll check our existing stock to see how our current cables are wired.

Thanks!
Brent Picasso
CEO and Founder, Autosport Labs
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mtwlawson
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 9:21 pm

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by mtwlawson »

I need to know if ALL new cables are using Sig Gnd, if so are there is there a good reasons for the change from the original cable. If there was not an engineering reason for the change I will put a new RJ45 on the old cable and return the new cable. If there was a good reason for the change I will have to invest the time needed to find a Sig Gnd on the car and connect it to the ODB.

brentp
Site Admin
Posts: 6274
Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2007 6:36 am

Re: ODB replacement cable

Post by brentp »

We checked our current cables and they do power up the unit on a standard OBDII port, tested on a Ford vehicle.

It's up to you if you want to return it, or put a pin in the OBDII connector of your car. Please work with your dealer on that.

Thanks for your patience with this unusual issue!
Brent Picasso
CEO and Founder, Autosport Labs
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