I have an 03 S-type 4.0 and need to know is it CAN only for an OBD2 reader?

I've gone through all the searches and lists but it's still confusing.

THX

 

This is a question for our resident OBDII guru, jagV8, he will see this thread and give you the advise you request shortly.

 

In case you want to check, the workshop manual has electrical guides (by year) and you can just about figure it out there. I think you'll find the PCM is both ISO 9141-2 ("K-line") and J1850 PWM ("SCP"). (The redesign cars have CAN instead of that particular bit of SCP.)

Your car has no CAN, but all future cars are legally required to be CAN (and only CAN, for generic OBD). Also, multi-protocol OBD tools such as the elm327 cost so little you may as well get one that'll do pretty much anything. About $20.

Now... if you want to do fuller diagnostics (i.e. to the many other modules) you need a much more expensive tool like AutoEnginuity (and that is multi-protocol anyway).

 

Thanks for the quick response, you guys are awesome.

I'm getting the dreaded engine light with the occasional "restricted performance" and limp mode behavior. I'm not sure the Elm327 will work with a Mac so I just wanted to use a hand reader with no computer involvement.

I was looking at this Actron 9125 reader for around $70 to just get codes.

Also I had removed the throttle body filter assembly and thought that may be the culprit but now have reinstalled twice and light is still there. Looking at search results it may be transmission related but a reader can verify.

I had a PC version of the 2003 shop manual (JTIS) but now have a Mac and have no access to this great info I spent around $30 buck for a few years back. Do they make it for the Mac also?

 

What kind of Mac are you running? are you familiar with parallels?

 

scantool.net released the source code for their OBD software, which supports the elm327.
It's available for Windows and Linux but I don't know if it has been built (or can be) for the Mac.

Sorry, no idea about standalone readers. "Should" work, I guess.

If you can get the files off the JTIS CD/DVD you can open them without needing Windows:
the electrical guides are PDF
but the others are SGM (SGML) and database (DAO or some such) and not so easy
(you can read SGM by eye, it's just text with mark-up, but it ain't pretty)

There are tools for the Mac that run Windows apps, but I know no more than that.

 

Interesting.....

I got an IMAC with OSX. Not familiar with parallels.

Well I'll check the disc I have for the PDF's and maybe I can at least save those. I could try and insert disc and see if Mac can interpret but I was a little paranoid about trying.