Can I Program in ABS with Lexia

[stevek9]

Hi all, I have a faulty ABS unit in my C2 2009 1.1 VTR, assuming I can get a second-hand replacement unit of the right type (there seem to be two possibilities) can I read the settings from the old unit and program the new (second-hand) unit using a set-up as found on eBay such as eBay item number 183448665409 without having a subscription or somesuch?
On a Toyota I had you needed to buy a day/week/month subscription to their full system if you had the programming hardware (which I did) but this was only a few £s and they would tell you Exactly how to do it and what to do so not an issue.
I cannot find any equivalent system for PSA for the Daigbox / Lexia so wonder if it can all be done off-line but none of the suppliers will give me a definitive answer. They just say 'it should'
Does anyone know for sure?

[GiveMeABreak]

You can change the ECU configuration for the specific engine type, gearbox, wheels and other items depending on whether your vehicle has ABS or ABS & ESP. It is mostly the ESP units that need to be configured correctly. You'll need a Lexia Kit (get a full chip one) which should come with Diagbox software. You'll only need Diagbox 7 for this and then upgrade it to 7.57 and leave it there as this will cover vehicles up to October 2014.

You don't need access to the PSA servers to do this part. Just make sure you have a matching Block and ECU that's the same as your original.

[wheeler]

If you get one off the same spec of car with same gearbox, engine & tyre size it shouldn’t need any configuration as it will already be set. Plug & play.

[stevek9]

Many thanks wheeler and GiveMeABreak, at last some definitive answers. Is there any disadvantage to getting a later version (LEXIA 3 INTERFACE DIAGBOX 9.91, 8.55, 7.83 FULL VERSION LATEST FIRMWARE 4.4.0 - WE SPECIALISE TO ONLY SELL LEXIA 3) as it would seem this would be more useful in the long term both for myself and any friends and family with PSA vehicles, I suspect getting a replacement unit for exactly the same spec vehicle will be a bit hit and miss so it will be much safer to be able to read the old unit and program in the new. Plus once I got it I guess there may be other local forum members who would be grateful for its services?

[GiveMeABreak]

Bear in mind that V9.** restricts telecoding of ECUs. But you will need V9.** for vehicles around 2016 or later. You can still diagnose read and clear faults as well as follow some of the guided procedures, but configuration of ECUs is restricted to online mode which requires paid access to PSA servers and there is the possibility that your hardware may be detected as a clone and blocked - hard to say for sure. Anything 2015 and earlier and you should be fine with DN V 7.**. Stick to V7.57 though if installing. You will need a dedicated laptop to run it and be warned that installation is messy. V9.** will generally also require a laptop capable of running virtual machines in order to use software like VMWare, for which many versions of V9.** are provided on this platform.

[stevek9]

Thanks again Marc, if you're ever near the Humber Bridge a cuppa will be waiting for you here. So good to have someone who knows what they're talking about and gives clear guidance, it is really appreciated. I have mailed a number of the full chip vendors to see if any can supply V7.57. Sounds like if I get it I'm going to have some fun installing!
Oh happy days, when I learned to drive cars were simple, computers non existent, and repairs roadside do-able. We even had to learn to double declutch and use hand signals to pass the test. Mind you I used to recon about 60,000 out of an engine if you were lucky whereas now I have one with about 300,000 still going strong so improvements as well as complications.

[stevek9]

Well I invested in a FULL-CHIP REV C LEXIA 3 PEUGEOT CITROEN DIAGNOSTIC INTERFACE PP2000 DIAGBOX 9.96 with 7.57 software and installed everything but it will not communicate with the car. An Autel maxisys and a VPecker computer based system both communicate fine so I suspected a problem with the install or interface of the Diagbox system but when their support people went in via teamviewer they say the problem is likely due to the car being re-mapped. I quote
"the universal scanners work on any car, whether mapped or not the lexia interface wont work if any mods as doesn't get the parameters are different and mis matched. from our experience many saxos are remapped, why we try scan not work on these and they cant to the main dealers as they tell them the same thing, usually main dealers have a tool to check but very difficult to check, a remapper usually will know more as normally don't get involved in remaps due to the complexity".
Can anyone confirm if this is really true as it goes against what I would have expected and I suspect I'm being fobbed off. Is there anyone near me I could borrow their OBD port from and see if my interface will read their car?

[GiveMeABreak]

I think that's BS to be honest.

A remap should not prevent the diagnostic equipment from connecting to the engine ECU at all. It is more likely you don't have a full chip kit. Where did you get it from?

Sounds like excuses as remaps can be overwritten when the engine ECU software is updated or re-downloaded as the dealers. Tuning remaps have nothing to do with the ability of the diagnostic interface to read the ECU. A tune will generally just tune the air and fuel mixture / ratios and turbo settings etc. to adjust the power curve and in the case of a diesel can provide turbo power over a wider range trather than the boost at lower revs.

If you want my advice, I would return it as faulty and stick to that and get your money back. Then buy a kit from a recommended UK supplier. The grammar from the 'support' chap in your quote is very poor and indicates he doesn't know what he's on about to me.

Cut your loses, return it and get it from a decent supplier. A full chip kit will generally speaking be about £100-130 ish. There are sellers who copy each other pictures and sales blurb and state full chip kits - but in reality they are cheaper clones without all the hardware or are just poorly made or faulty.

Also he's completely wrong about 'universal scanners' working on any car. That is definitely BS. Many generic scanners are unable to read constructor-specific codes which are now increasing given all the specific bespoke equipment in use that are outside of the general OBD II generic codes.

I bought my kit from Easy Diagnostics, (in common with a lot of other members) years ago and it's been perfect on a range of PSA vehicles.

[stevek9]

Thanks Marc, that's what I suspected. I didn't buy from the cheapest, I bought from a .co.uk supplier and paid about £120 and to be fair to them they have been really helpful short of actually getting it to work. Do you have anyone your would recommend? I'm going to go for a return and if necessary a section 75 (always buy over £100 on credit card) and try one from elsewhere is I can find someone reputable.

[GiveMeABreak]

I bought mine from Easydiagnostics. They have provided a discount for FCF members (although we are not affiliated in any way).

Procedure here. They often sell out of kits because of popularity, but always get new stock back in. Maybe worth a chat to Jim or one of the Sales Team to see what they say.

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=60112

[stevek9]

Have got reply when I suggested I try on another car, they seem pretty adament it is something to do with remapping but it still makes no sense to me

"definitely try on other car.

rule it out if the interface is faulty or not but the experience with no rpely fromm ecu and no detection of the vin usually remap as probably last 15 years we had about 30 cars with the same issue and they go to main dealer with same problem and they tell them its a remap which needs removing."

[GiveMeABreak]

Many engine tuners will tell you that their software remaps are undetectable so won't affect dealer diagnostics - so that does not follow or make sense.

Further, they will also tell you that if your dealer undertakes an engine ECU software update for example, this will overwrite the tuning map that was done - so will need to be re-mapped again.

This is also why many tuners retain copies of the original default engine ECU map and the remap they have undertaken - so that it can be restored if you change your mind, or if you want it reapplied after an ECU software upgrade has been performed by the dealer.

If that was the case, then all the thousands of engine tuning businesses would be out of business if it stopped the dealer diagnostics from working!! No, not convinced and I still think it's BS

[stevek9]

PM'd you Marc, am convinced total BS by vendor after talking to Jim

[GiveMeABreak]

No PM received, so please use the little speech bubble by the CONTACT on my profile to the left of my post and choose the PM option so it addresses it correctly for you. Usernames are case sensitive

[wheeler]

Many engine tuners will tell you that their software remaps are undetectable so won't affect dealer diagnostics - so that does not follow or make sense.

I wouldn’t trust that either, whether its detectable or not depends on the dealer software, they are all different. BMW’s dealer diag kit for example can detect if the ECU has been altered even if the original map has been restored back on before it goes into the dealer and it alerts the technician.
Im not aware that diagbox has this functionality (yet) but either way it should not stop communication with other tools.