Picasso 2005 OBD2 Conundrum

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Roundtuit
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Oct 2021, 14:42
Location: Hertfordshire
My Cars: Citroen Xsara Picasso 2005 Petrol

Picasso 2005 OBD2 Conundrum

Post by Roundtuit »

Hi All,
Apologies if this has been asked before, I searched and didn't find!
I am helping an elderly relative with a 2005 petrol Xsara Picasso.
After a flat battery episode (not wholly unexpected after a couple of weeks parked), the car now, with battery charged, has a dash warning light showing (engine management?).
I am reasonably confident that this will clear after some use, it wasn't there before the battery went flat.
I tried to plug in my "Torque" ELM327 OBD2 adaptor, to see what connectivity I could get, and maybe erase the warning light, if possible.
The socket on this car will not allow my adapter, which has worked on many other brands of cars, to insert. This is seemingly down to a plastic lug on the side of the car's socket (red arrow in picture). Is this lug there to stop me doing something I shouldn't be?

download/file.php?mode=view&id=38015

Thanks in advance.
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wheeler
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Re: Picasso 2005 OBD2 Conundrum

Post by wheeler »

Pretty much every standard 16 pin OBD socket I have seen has this lug on it, If your torque dongle isnt making a good connection because of it maybe you could trim a bit off the dongle?
Roundtuit
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Oct 2021, 14:42
Location: Hertfordshire
My Cars: Citroen Xsara Picasso 2005 Petrol

Re: Picasso 2005 OBD2 Conundrum

Post by Roundtuit »

Thanks for the suggestion. The Torque dongle that I use has a cut-out in this position, but it is nowhere near deep enough.
I agree, all the OBD2 ports I have seen have had a lug, just a much smaller one than this Citroen. Just for additional information, this actual dongle has been used by me on some Audi, Skoda, Toyota, Mazda and Subaru, all with no problems at all.

The dongle barely moves onto the car's connector - it's a long way from electrically connecting. I can't see anything stopping it apart from this lug, although the access isn't so easy when you want to closely examine it. I did use a reasonable amount of effort, but as the car is going ok, and the light will probably self-extinguish, I didn't want to use any more force than had been necessary on other cars. I've done some searches on this topic with zero success. I did triple-check that I had the dongle the correct way round!
Cheers!
MixerFistit
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Re: Picasso 2005 OBD2 Conundrum

Post by MixerFistit »

It's fairly easy to pop the socket out of the mounting plate with something like a flat head screwdriver. It'll then drop down and can be pulled out for much easier access as the loom is quite long - far too convenient for a French designer if you ask me (you can see the bunch of cables running vertically in your image).

You'll at least have a much better view of what's obstructing and be able to trim any plastic as necessary. Usual disclaimers: be careful not to short anything or stab yourself when you're poking about
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Roundtuit
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Oct 2021, 14:42
Location: Hertfordshire
My Cars: Citroen Xsara Picasso 2005 Petrol

Re: Picasso 2005 OBD2 Conundrum

Post by Roundtuit »

Thanks for the suggestion. I may give that ago.

Yes, a generous amount of spare wiring loom! How odd that it was Citroen who devised the concept of wiring-loom-as-a-bowstring when the XM was originally launched, but then they did this?

Ta very much.
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