Technical Examiner

[Deckchair5]

Ah You're in the wrong section I think. Confusing program isn't it as it uses the same title for lots of different things!

Go
Functions diagnosis
Model
Comfort

Then scroll RIGHT DOWN to the bottom

There -3 from bottom is SCHEDULED MAINTENANCE WARNING

I think that's the devil:devil:

Ok Interfaces

I obtained mine from Germany from a shop on UK Ebay. I haven't seen it since but the shop was Electroniker. There were hardly any choices when I got mine and no one was listing them as compatible with the Stilo. Now there are many more interfaces on UK Ebay and loads more still on German Ebay, many stating it is compatible with the Stilo.

Obviously, find out whether you have serial ports or usb on your laptop before you buy and ask the seller if they believe it will work on the Stilo as it may not be listed on their advert. Many will offer money back if not compatible.

With so many different models all using different systems it's hard to say with certainty that an interface will work on a certain model, it's a bit of a gamble. But things like European- EOBD2- 16pin connectors look promising

 

[Deckchair5]

I gave it a try today but Examiner just won't connect and communicate through the interface. The interface itself is working fine as I tried it with another Diagnostics program whilst it was connected but Examiner just displays no interface connection. Maybe a Com port problem as ,most diagnostics programs you have to tell it which Com port to use but there's no facility to do that with Examiner

Back to the drawing board for a re-think

 

[NumanR]

LOL you guys never cease to amaze me. Good luck in your quest. But heres a little info for you, there have been three examiners in total, examiner, examiner plus, and examiner smart. Examiner, and Examiner plus were upgraded via floppy and cd and smart is cd only.
We are currently running software 6.4 (6.5 is about to be released), all software above 6.0 is password protected and only operates for a year. Examiner runs on 95 and plus and smart run on 98. Examiner and plus use can boards to communicate, they also have dvom inputs on a serial type connector. Smart uses a seperate interface called sam to use all the multimeter and pressure measuring equipment. The problem you could find regarding the eobd connector is that there is only a uniform standard for the emissions systems for pin locations. Power, earth and engine management are via three dedicated connections. Everything else is jumbled up, thats why MPX 97 was needed as it is a switch box to connect to different connectors in the connector. Also on the Peugeot stuff there was a sub conector which had to be linked in as well. Also you are also finding the navigation is tricky, functional diagnosis and topographical are only really used for activation of units and to check Can links between ecus and to trace signals around the system. Control unit tests are the things you need to look at, but you need to communicate with the car to open these up.

 

[mscortar]

LOL you guys never cease to amaze me. Good luck in your quest. But heres a little info for you, there have been three examiners in total, examiner, examiner plus, and examiner smart. Examiner, and Examiner plus were upgraded via floppy and cd and smart is cd only.
We are currently running software 6.4 (6.5 is about to be released), all software above 6.0 is password protected and only operates for a year. Examiner runs on 95 and plus and smart run on 98. Examiner and plus use can boards to communicate, they also have dvom inputs on a serial type connector. Smart uses a seperate interface called sam to use all the multimeter and pressure measuring equipment. The problem you could find regarding the eobd connector is that there is only a uniform standard for the emissions systems for pin locations. Power, earth and engine management are via three dedicated connections. Everything else is jumbled up, thats why MPX 97 was needed as it is a switch box to connect to different connectors in the connector. Also on the Peugeot stuff there was a sub conector which had to be linked in as well. Also you are also finding the navigation is tricky, functional diagnosis and topographical are only really used for activation of units and to check Can links between ecus and to trace signals around the system. Control unit tests are the things you need to look at, but you need to communicate with the car to open these up.

nice, that means we need the MPX97 connector and the sam (what is this btw, a pcmcia card or just a serial cable with some electronics on it?)

 

[Deckchair5]

Ha! Thanks for the inside info NumanR. It was always going to be pie in the sky to try to get Examiner to work and it was just a challenge to see if it would. It runs on WinXP with a few mods although it's a VERY DOS based program.

It was interesting to see what you guys have to work with and it looks VERY un user friendly.

If nothing else it would have been nice to be able to extinguish the SERVICE DUE warning. What a dastardly silly plan that was, to design to put a permanent warning that could only be extinguished by a Fiat dealer . It just leaves the impression of a planned con and not good for customer relations. It remnds me of those web viruses that put a virus on your cmputer and then try and sell you an anitvirus program to get rid of it!

It just gives the feeling that Fiat believes their customers to be totally dim. Durrrr! I can't work out what my mileage or what today's date is

"Yes, thanks for the warning, i'd like to turn it off now please" I guess it's just a simple alarm countdown timer of mileage or date and should have been easy for the driver to turn off just the same as it is in most other vehicles. Still, there we are, stuck with it

 

[yellowstilo]

Hello guys,

It won't be easy to get the Examiner software to communicate with your car without the original VCI card (Vehicle Communication Interface) which is an intelligent piece of electronics inside the Examiner tester!
You will also need the Recovery installation disk which installs windows 3.1 or 98 plus some basic programs nessesary for further installation of release cd's (kind of 1.0 start version).
Concerning the service reset on the Fiat Stilo it is possible to do the reset without an Examiner - After a lot of experimenting I found out the procedure - you will need:

a CANusb- interface + software + cable available on internet for +/- 100 euro
A laptop with usb -connector
some very basic computer knowledge
My "formula" to perform the reset.

As I have invested a lot in equipment for testing (I own a Examiner 1 , Examiner Smart and several interfaces for testing purposes) I want to get some money back by selling the procedure to a group of members who are willing to raise 100 euro to compensate me for the costs and effort to find out the procedure.
I won't get rich from it - I already spent several thousands of euro for my expensive hobby!

Apart from the service reset the above mentioned interface + software are able to explore the Low - and High speed CAN network on modern cars (like Fiat Stilo) by listening on the bus or sending commands (e.g. the service reset command)
which is very interesting to see all the traffic on CAN-lines!
For those who would buy my "formula" I am willing to supply some CAN
identifiers and the meaning of the databytes to be able to read their meaning.
If a group of members is interested in raising the money and possibly do a group buy for the hard / software I will write a description how to perform the reset with the CAN-interface.
Just let me know if you're interested.....
Gert

 

[mscortar]

Hello guys,

It won't be easy to get the Examiner software to communicate with your car without the original VCI card (Vehicle Communication Interface) which is an intelligent piece of electronics inside the Examiner tester!
You will also need the Recovery installation disk which installs windows 3.1 or 98 plus some basic programs nessesary for further installation of release cd's (kind of 1.0 start version).
Concerning the service reset on the Fiat Stilo it is possible to do the reset without an Examiner - After a lot of experimenting I found out the procedure - you will need:

a CANusb- interface + software + cable available on internet for +/- 100 euro
A laptop with usb -connector
some very basic computer knowledge
My "formula" to perform the reset.

As I have invested a lot in equipment for testing (I own a Examiner 1 , Examiner Smart and several interfaces for testing purposes) I want to get some money back by selling the procedure to a group of members who are willing to raise 100 euro to compensate me for the costs and effort to find out the procedure.
I won't get rich from it - I already spent several thousands of euro for my expensive hobby!

Apart from the service reset the above mentioned interface + software are able to explore the Low - and High speed CAN network on modern cars (like Fiat Stilo) by listening on the bus or sending commands (e.g. the service reset command)
which is very interesting to see all the traffic on CAN-lines!
For those who would buy my "formula" I am willing to supply some CAN
identifiers and the meaning of the databytes to be able to read their meaning.
If a group of members is interested in raising the money and possibly do a group buy for the hard / software I will write a description how to perform the reset with the CAN-interface.
Just let me know if you're interested.....
Gert

What kind of interface are you talking about here?

The software is probably much easier to get from you, but what about the interface? I have some kind of interface (ELM type), but probably that cannot do the job.

 

[yellowstilo]

Hello, the interface is a special version for communication on CAN-lines only and comes delivered with software and VCP driver.
You cannot compare this with ELM interfaces - they are only suitable for OBD commands as the CAN interface will accept any (CAN)command at any baud rate you want (50 + 500 kbps for the Fiat Stilo).
It also has a listen only mode for those who are afraid of messing things up...
Normal price is 89 euro including software and VCP driver - cable is 14 euro.
I assume that these prices are discussable when buying as a group (??)

bye,

Gert

 

[Insane]

What exactly can i do to my stilo with this cable and soft?

 

[yellowstilo]

As I already mentioned you can send and receive all CAN messages on different CAN buses - on the Stilo there is a low speed CAN bus for e.g. body computer, dashboard, door nodes, radio, parking node , steering wheel node etc. and high speed CAN for abs, airbag , motorecu, electric steering etc.
A lot of commands on the Stilo network can be monitored an be sent by you for activation of radio volume, mute, search, window up/down etc.
On www.canhack.de you can find more info about the interface and CAN codes and their meaning. If you join the forum you will get a discount of 10 euro on the interface (79 instead of 89 euro). Maybe you will get moer discount when you can organise a group buy ??
Good luck,
Gert

 

[mscortar]

As I already mentioned you can send and receive all CAN messages on different CAN buses - on the Stilo there is a low speed CAN bus for e.g. body computer, dashboard, door nodes, radio, parking node , steering wheel node etc. and high speed CAN for abs, airbag , motorecu, electric steering etc.
A lot of commands on the Stilo network can be monitored an be sent by you for activation of radio volume, mute, search, window up/down etc.
On www.canhack.de you can find more info about the interface and CAN codes and their meaning. If you join the forum you will get a discount of 10 euro on the interface (79 instead of 89 euro). Maybe you will get moer discount when you can organise a group buy ??
Good luck,
Gert

There's a little problem with that: www.canhack.de is in german...

 

[yellowstilo]

Yes, I know, but unfortunately you have to be multilingual today to be able to read all information on the internet...
Concerning the technical aspects of the interface and software I hope you will understand the features - the software is in English so that's one problem less !
There are several people on that forum who communicate in English and most of the time they get replied in English - but of course most users communicate in German.
When using the interface for service reset of your Stilo I could write an instruction in English.
Regards,
Gert

 

[gearfinger]

Cant speak German, neither can I but...

If you want to have a peek at the above site but cant understand German then use Google to translate it for you

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=http://www.canhack.de/&meta=

Click on the TRANSLATE THIS to the right of the link, its not briliant but you get the gist of things.

 

[Stilatos]

any chance we can get a hold of this examiner software ?

 

[mscortar]

any chance we can get a hold of this examiner software ?

Talk to Stu, he'll tell you what to do ; but honestly, unless you have all interface cards and terminators etc. there's nothing much you can do with it...

 

[robertk2003]

Ha! Thanks for the inside info NumanR. It was always going to be pie in the sky to try to get Examiner to work and it was just a challenge to see if it would. It runs on WinXP with a few mods although it's a VERY DOS based program.

It was interesting to see what you guys have to work with and it looks VERY un user friendly.

If nothing else it would have been nice to be able to extinguish the SERVICE DUE warning. What a dastardly silly plan that was, to design to put a permanent warning that could only be extinguished by a Fiat dealer . It just leaves the impression of a planned con and not good for customer relations. It remnds me of those web viruses that put a virus on your cmputer and then try and sell you an anitvirus program to get rid of it!

It just gives the feeling that Fiat believes their customers to be totally dim. Durrrr! I can't work out what my mileage or what today's date is

"Yes, thanks for the warning, i'd like to turn it off now please" I guess it's just a simple alarm countdown timer of mileage or date and should have been easy for the driver to turn off just the same as it is in most other vehicles. Still, there we are, stuck with it

To reset or have the service interval warning switched off is really easy, follow these steps like i did
Get into you car, and start the engine.
Start driving, ansure you are headed towards your local dealership
When you arrive there
Approach the service desk and mutter the following words.
"Hello, i would like you to remove the service interval warning from my vehicle, it is a feature i do not wish to have on it, i do not intend on having my vehicle serviced by yourselves anymore, and i am under no obligation to do so." ((Now my vehicle is coming upto 3 yrs old so ~I dont see the point in paying for Fiat's service when my warranty is about to run out IMO))
Now my Fiat dealership obliged and most others "should" also, as you not to be "forced" into situations where you HAVE to have your car serviced by a dealership. You MAy have to have it serviced prior to requesting the service interval warning be switched off, but as long as it is done to a level equal or greater to what Fiat do (( Which IMO wouldn't be hard)), then they cant really refuse you.

 

[Rich]

Right, to put some context into this thread:

A member of the FiatForum, who shall remain nameless due to software copyright infringement reasons, has successfully downloaded the examiner software and tried to get it work; however, it requires Windows 98SE to run, and an AMD processor (K6 I think). The GUI (graphical user interface) doesn't load properly, it will not be able to communicate with the car as the inferface boards are non-existent, and it'll re-write critical files on your HDD (in other words, you need a spare PC or an emulator to run it).

Seems like a non-worker, but if anyone is a computer scientist and wants a bash, I can provide the details of the person in question

 

[alexGS]

Thanks rrope... and also (to add some more context as you put it)...

Using a CAN-bus interface, it may be possible to send/receive messages from the Stilo's low or high speed buses. This includes being able to send the 'service reset' information, according to 'yellowstilo' who has helpfully provided a website and may share more information at a price

robertk2003 - some of us are not so fortunate. The only FIAT dealer for me is over 130km away and will charge me almost two weeks' wages to service my car. It would be more appealing to spend 100 Euro on an interface (that's about a quarter the price of a service) and learn more about the CAN bus in the process.

So, thank you Gert - how may I donate to your cause?

-Alex

 

[yellowstilo]

Hello Alex,

That's the right spirit ! Investing in an interface plus software to be able to read all data traffic on B- and C-CAN (and do some writing when you know how to) is a better investment rather than just dumping your money at your dealer !
Since I bought my Stilo I invested a lot of time and money to learn as much as possible about the Stilo, especially it's electronics and after 4 years I can say I have gained a lot of knowledge concerning it's data traffic.
As I own several Examiners and other interfaces it is also possible for me to do some datalogging and reconstructing of K-line and CAN-messages.
I came across this interface on Ebay and discovered it was very helpful , the software is very good and is updated with new features quite often.
Thank you for your offer to support my research but I intended to sell the formula for the service reset to a group of people on this forum to keep the costs low for all members that once would raise the 100 euro together - if 10 members would raise 10 euro each and somebody would organize the transfer I will write a description how to perform the reset with the CANhacker interface and software.
Once you own this interface it can be used to duplicate almost all CAN commands as they are sent by the Examiner - if you don't want to take any risks you can also start in the "listen only" mode - that way you can read all data traffic and prevent unintended sending of messages.
If you understand some German you can also read my posts on the CANhack forum - there are already a lot of known commands for the Stilo in the meanwhile...
As I also have the message maps for B-and C-CAN I'm able to decipher all CAN messages.
After selling the "service reset" formula I will reveal some other commands...

Good luck,

Yellowstilo

 

[Tim T]

I have purchased interface & software could anybody else who has PM me so we can sort something out regards purchasing info off Yellowstilo.
I use Google Language translater to translate from German.