Diagnostic Readers

[Third From Texas]

Not sure if this helps anyone, but I have a 2003 (refreshed by Acela however) and running this splitter: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B0CHRCLDP2

Which is connected to a Scanguage D and a Blue Fire dongle. While I haven't driven the truck much, both function fine (over 30+ min of testing ) and read data at the same time. Maybe the Blue Fire will burn up shortly, maybe the 24v is reduced by the split, or maybe Acela tweaked it, but all seems fine. If I remember I'll put a meter on the plug and see what it says.

Yeah, as per the OP and my first train of thought I have a "Y" cable coming so that I can retain the OEM port with 24v and step the power down to 12v for the Bluefire. I'll test if to confirm, but I suspect that the bluetooth signal from the Bluefire will work just fine from behind the kick panel. So don't think that I'll even need to cut a hole in the kickpanel.

I don't expect to ever own a military diagnostic/reader set, but I want to retain the 24v just in case.

So to make it all come together, I ordered the Y cable. Also since the cable from DG Tech was useless I replaced it with a Type2 9-pin to data 15-pin (I had to change it from female to male because that's all the rage these days).

I'll confirm all the pinouts are correct before hooking anything up, of course.

 

[Third From Texas]

The Bluefire is up and talking to my tablet. I plugged in my J1939 Y splitter and landed one end for the OEM 24v diag port and the other end I clipped the 24v lead and fed it 12v.

Plugged in the Bluefire and all was happy. Had to register the adaptor, download some gauge packs, and off to the races. Typical learning curve stuff as with any new device. I will have to tweek a custom gauge layout to fit my $50 tablet and layout what gauges and colors I want to see, but overall it was quite painless. VERY pleased with this side of the project. VERY pleased....

The DPA4 is another story. The DPA4+ uses a 15 pin data connector. I found a 9-pin J1939 to 15-pin data cable. NONE of the wiring match up to the way the DPA4 is pined on the 15-pin side. So I'll either have to spend a few days on the electronic bench cussing and screaming at the wires.....or pay Deerborn the $500 they likely want for the $20 cable. LOL

 

[Lostchain]

The DPA4 is another story. The DPA4+ uses a 15 pin data connector. I found a 9-pin J1939 to 15-pin data cable. NONE of the wiring match up to the way the DPA4 is pined on the 15-pin side. So I'll either have to spend a few days on the electronic bench cussing and screaming at the wires.....or pay Deerborn the $500 they likely want for the $20 cable. LOL

this looks to be the one you need, maybe you can beat em up on the price?

DEARBORN PROTOCOL ADAPTER CABLE - DEUTSCH DG-JI939-04 - USED | eBay

DEARBORN PROTOCOL ADAPTER CABLE - DEUTSCH DG-JI939-04 REV D FOR VOLVO / MACK TRUCK ECU DIAGNOSIS 6 PIN / 9 PIN.

www.ebay.com

I am pretty sure the gray connector on that cable can be used to diagnose the ABS in your M1082

 

[Third From Texas]

EDIT:

THIS IS COMPLETE CRAP AND WRONG IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE

DO NOT USE

I found the pinout info that I needed.

https://www.automotivecontrol.com/www.dgtech.com/product/dpa5/manual/DPA_Pinouts_Dec2012.pdf

I may still just buy the damned cable.

 

[corycoryh]

I confirmed on my truck too, the power feed to the port is 24v. I guess I got lucky the bluefire didnt burn up yet. Have since unpluged it, and will rewire to 12v as above, with one splitter side 24v and one 12v.

Interestingly enough, the ScanGuage D seems to handle 24v fine. I couldnt find anything anywhere saying either way. It ran for 6hrs yesterday, no issues. Time will tell .

 

[Third From Texas]

I confirmed on my truck too, the power feed to the port is 24v. I guess I got lucky the bluefire didnt burn up yet. Have since unpluged it, and will rewire to 12v as above, with one splitter side 24v and one 12v.

Interestingly enough, the ScanGuage D seems to handle 24v fine. I couldnt find anything anywhere saying either way. It ran for 6hrs yesterday, no issues. Time will tell .

Yeah, Bluefires has a disclaimer warning about 24v in their FAQ
*I know the guy on FB burned up a couple before they sorted it out (I think it was the Bluetooth radio inside the device that smokes).

My vehicle has a 24 volt system. Will the adapter work?

Most likely not. The Adapter is designed for 12 volt systems and in most vehicles, the diagnostic connector is 12 volts even if the vehicle is 24 volts. If you are unsure, contact BlueFire support as plugging the adapter into a 24 volt system could damage it.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Yeah, Bluefires has a disclaimer warning about 24v in their FAQ
*I know the guy on FB burned up a couple before they sorted it out (I think it was the Bluetooth radio inside the device that smokes).

When all the LED stuff from China runs on 10-30v, the DPA3/4 and the CAT computer don't care about the voltage it's kind of inexcusable for any product that connects to this interface and may encounter anything between 10v and 30v to not handle this gracefully. Even on a 12v vehicle you can see anything between 5v and 14.5v for normal operation so tolerance has to be allowed for - and for a product that is going to see use in a market segment that does use 24V in some applications it seems a oversight to not handle it correctly.

 

[Third From Texas]

When all the LED stuff from China runs on 10-30v, the DPA3/4 and the CAT computer don't care about the voltage it's kind of inexcusable for any product that connects to this interface and may encounter anything between 10v and 30v to not handle this gracefully. Even on a 12v vehicle you can see anything between 5v and 14.5v for normal operation so tolerance has to be allowed for - and for a product that is going to see use in a market segment that does use 24V in some applications it seems a oversight to not handle it correctly.

And it may very well work.

They used advertise that it worked with 12/24v.

But at the end of the day, it was a 5 minute precautionary fix.

I had another reader I purchased off Amazon back in 2020 that,(like the Bluefire, displayed the data to a customizable layout/dash via a tablet). I really wanted that one to work as it had a really rich UI for making custom eDashes. But that one also proved to be incompatible with 24v (it smoked). The Bluefire has been in my cart ever since. As I said, it used to be marketed as 12v/24v.

The only issue I've heard came from the fellow who smoked two. And IMO he may have had other issues (as pin-D was also pushing 24v). I know he smoked two of them. Bluefire may have updated their FAQs as a result. Dunno

But I'm thrilled with the product. Pretty decent library of gauges. Can pretty much display anything within the ECU. It was exactly what I wanted.

 

[Lostchain]

But I'm thrilled with the product. Pretty decent library of gauges. Can pretty much display anything within the ECU. It was exactly what I wanted.

Can it display CTIS gauges?

 

[Third From Texas]

Can it display CTIS gauges?

Not sure, I'll dig into it and see. The Bluefire appears to be capable of displaying anything on the ECU.

But I don't honestly know to what extent the ECU tracks axel air/PSI (if it even does). If it does, I would think it was per axel and not wheel, though. /dunno

I know that there is software that can talk to the CTIS controller. I just don't know if it's thru the the J1939 port.

@GeneralDisorder may know....

 

[Ronmar]

Not sure, I'll dig into it and see. The Bluefire appears to be capable of displaying anything on the ECU.

But I don't honestly know to what extent the ECU tracks axel air/PSI (if it even does). If it does, I would think it was per axel and not wheel, though. /dunno

I know that there is software that can talk to the CTIS controller. I just don't know if it's thru the the J1939 port.

@GeneralDisorder may know....

There is only one sensor for pressure in CTIS, on the Pressure control unit. When it seals and pressurizes the system to open the wheel valves, all tires are plumbed together and they equalize at the same pressure. That is the combined/average pressure that CTIS reads…

 

[Third From Texas]

There is only one sensor for pressure in CTIS, on the Pressure control unit. When it seals and pressurizes the system to open the wheel valves, all tires are plumbed together and they equalize at the same pressure. That is the combined/average pressure that CTIS reads…

Thanks. I'm still a bit fuzzy on the basics of the CTIS. To me it's all magic

But what I don't know is if the engine ECU tracks that sensor/data. If it does, it could be displayed via the Bluefire. I still haven't dug thru all the possible sensors and readouts that the Bluefire is capable of yet.

That said, I'm loving the ability to display all this hidden data. You could practically do an entire glass cockpit. What sparked my interest years ago was something I saw on an ACELA truck. I said "I can do that !"

 

[Third From Texas]

There is only one sensor for pressure in CTIS, on the Pressure control unit. When it seals and pressurizes the system to open the wheel valves, all tires are plumbed together and they equalize at the same pressure. That is the combined/average pressure that CTIS reads…

I got a bit side tracked in my reply above.

Does the engine ECU track that pressure sensor?

 

[chucky]

Thanks. I'm still a bit fuzzy on the basics of the CTIS. To me it's all magic

But what I don't know is if the engine ECU tracks that sensor/data. If it does, it could be displayed via the Bluefire. I still haven't dug thru all the possible sensors and readouts that the Bluefire is capable of yet.

That said, I'm loving the ability to display all this hidden data. You could practically do an entire glass cockpit. What sparked my interest years ago was something I saw on an ACELA truck. I said "I can do that !"

View attachment 909266

Wonder how much smoke comes out when you go to welding on her ?

 

[Third From Texas]

Wonder how much smoke comes out when you go to welding on her ?

Well, I disco my batteries when I weld on the truck.

That said, the J1939 port doesn't typically burst into flames when welding on the truck. The Bluefire being connected shouldn't really be a factor. And the display is driven wirelessly via bluetooth

 

[Ronmar]

I got a bit side tracked in my reply above.

Does the engine ECU track that pressure sensor?

I do not think so, i think CTIS gets speed info from the ECU in the later trucks so it can compare it to pressure and a look-up table to generate a overspeed and inflation response to deal with driving under-inflated tires too fast… I do not think it exports any data unless it is accessed by its manufacturers software.

 

[ckouba]

Does the engine ECU track that pressure sensor?

Going off of memory (dangerous...), the signal from the PCU pressure sensor goes back in to the CTIS controller box, but I don't remember a wire with that data going out of the controller to the ECU. I am also pretty certain that information would not be available via the ECU.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Engine ECM doesn't know about CTIS. Bluefire would have to be programmed to understand the CTIS data and I'm not sure the CTIS is sending data all the time. The pressure reading is only relevant when the CTIS controller does a pressure check so 99% of the time it's going to read atmospheric pressure anyway.

 

[Lostchain]

DEARBORN PROTOCOL ADAPTER CABLE - DEUTSCH DG-JI939-04 - USED | eBay

DEARBORN PROTOCOL ADAPTER CABLE - DEUTSCH DG-JI939-04 REV D FOR VOLVO / MACK TRUCK ECU DIAGNOSIS 6 PIN / 9 PIN.

www.ebay.com

I am pretty sure the gray connector on that cable can be used to diagnose the ABS in your M1082

Closing the loop on this, I did confirm that if you get that cable I linked to above, besides being the right one for your truck side it also connects to the diag port on the M1082 so you can read ABS faults on the trailer as well. Looks like I actually have a sensor code stored… Glad I Checked!

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Nice. I wonder how many M1082's are running around with stored codes.