A few folk seem to be interested in arming themselves with a cheap ECU code reader for Mk2 Punto so here’s the “tenner and a laptop” solution.
First, the tenner buys you a USB VAG-COM KKL lead from eBay. I’m not endorsing any supplier but a quick look just now showed the cheapest two as:
Item 220586751903, £8.59, free P&P
Item 260579409658, £8.79, free P&P
For airbag control reading/resetting you are going to need to open up the big blue plug. Mine was screwed together – I can’t vouch for other types but generally, this seems to be the case.
Now for the software (hence the laptop though I understand a Netbook will also do the trick). Go to www.fiatecureader.net and download the free version of the program by Yani. Credit to Yani for writing this software.
Install the software. It creates a USB virtual serial port. You can check the port properties through Device Manager. Yani’s website gives some pointers in his “how to use” section but essentially this is just to set the driver latency to minimum (1mS) and to note which COM port the software has assigned to the device (you can change it but shouldn’t need to). My lead came with drivers on a mini-CD but a suitable (newer) driver is available from www.ftdichip.com. There’s an assumption here that all these leads employ an FTDI chip to create the USB virtual serial port.
Now connect the lead to the EOBD socket. This is on the driver’s side, under the dash, behind the panel to access the fuses (2 screws, quarter turn with a coin). The socket is below the fuses. My lead has a blue LED in the plug that comes on when plugged in (other leads may not have this). Connect the other end to your USB port and launch the program. Click settings and select the COM port (if unknown, you'll need to try each one until it works). Select your car and engine type, select the ECU, switch the ignition on and press F2 to connect. If you get an ISO code error you’ve probably not selected the right model. All being well, it should say "connected". Now play away!
Air bags – If your air bags are supported and you want to clear the fault lamps, you’ll need to modify the lead first. Open up the big blue plug and solder a wire between pins 3 and 7. Note that Yani’s site recommended that the connection from the circuit board to pin 7 should be cut and a switch wired in so that the signal goes either to pin 7 or pin 3. I couldn’t find anything to suggest that any damage would be caused by simply connecting the two pins so that is what I did. It worked OK for me. As before, select your car and this time select your airbag controller type (if unsure just work through the variants). Obviously, if there is a persistant or intermittent fault, the warning lamp will stay on or come back on later but at least you can see the logged error to help decide a course of action.
I refer to this as a solution for Mk2. It works for the facelift/Mk2b as well (that’s what I use it on). The software will NOT work for a Mk1 (with the three pin diagnostic socket near the ECU). I understand however that the hardware (the KKL lead) will work if used with a patch cable (3-pin to 16-pin). There is information elsewhere on the forum for the Mk1 solution.
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First, the tenner buys you a USB VAG-COM KKL lead from eBay. I’m not endorsing any supplier but a quick look just now showed the cheapest two as:
Item 220586751903, £8.59, free P&P
Item 260579409658, £8.79, free P&P
For airbag control reading/resetting you are going to need to open up the big blue plug. Mine was screwed together – I can’t vouch for other types but generally, this seems to be the case.
Now for the software (hence the laptop though I understand a Netbook will also do the trick). Go to www.fiatecureader.net and download the free version of the program by Yani. Credit to Yani for writing this software.
Install the software. It creates a USB virtual serial port. You can check the port properties through Device Manager. Yani’s website gives some pointers in his “how to use” section but essentially this is just to set the driver latency to minimum (1mS) and to note which COM port the software has assigned to the device (you can change it but shouldn’t need to). My lead came with drivers on a mini-CD but a suitable (newer) driver is available from www.ftdichip.com. There’s an assumption here that all these leads employ an FTDI chip to create the USB virtual serial port.
Now connect the lead to the EOBD socket. This is on the driver’s side, under the dash, behind the panel to access the fuses (2 screws, quarter turn with a coin). The socket is below the fuses. My lead has a blue LED in the plug that comes on when plugged in (other leads may not have this). Connect the other end to your USB port and launch the program. Click settings and select the COM port (if unknown, you'll need to try each one until it works). Select your car and engine type, select the ECU, switch the ignition on and press F2 to connect. If you get an ISO code error you’ve probably not selected the right model. All being well, it should say "connected". Now play away!
Air bags – If your air bags are supported and you want to clear the fault lamps, you’ll need to modify the lead first. Open up the big blue plug and solder a wire between pins 3 and 7. Note that Yani’s site recommended that the connection from the circuit board to pin 7 should be cut and a switch wired in so that the signal goes either to pin 7 or pin 3. I couldn’t find anything to suggest that any damage would be caused by simply connecting the two pins so that is what I did. It worked OK for me. As before, select your car and this time select your airbag controller type (if unsure just work through the variants). Obviously, if there is a persistant or intermittent fault, the warning lamp will stay on or come back on later but at least you can see the logged error to help decide a course of action.
I refer to this as a solution for Mk2. It works for the facelift/Mk2b as well (that’s what I use it on). The software will NOT work for a Mk1 (with the three pin diagnostic socket near the ECU). I understand however that the hardware (the KKL lead) will work if used with a patch cable (3-pin to 16-pin). There is information elsewhere on the forum for the Mk1 solution.
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