Lexia, so far so good!

[Andy F]

Evening all,

I was fortunate enough to be sent the Lexia 3 software by Les, (Merlin22red) early this year. I have got my old lap top working properly on XP finally, so it can be for the sole use of Lexia. I knew it was just the software and so would come without any leads and I am confused as to which ones i need now.

So far, Lexia is installed and it cant go any further as it says "The citroen communiation interface is not connected to the USB port of your PC"

What leads do i now need to get hold of so i can plug it into the cars?

Its very exciting to have Lexia after reading about how useful it is on FCF and hope to add my name to the list of people who can help.

Thanks
Andy

[DickieG]

From where you are now you need an interface and a set of leads which from what I can deduce is pretty much universally supplied with the relevant software. However I fear that what you've done so far won't be of a lot of use to you, the reason I say that is that I've had two versions of Lexia 3 and each one has used slightly different software with different installation procedures and as the vast majority of Lexia interfaces are copies I wonder about issues around compatibility between the different interface copies, personally I wouldn't risk the £100 odd an interface costs.

If I was in your situation I'd remove all traces of the software you've installed so far and contact Jim at Easy Diagnostics to source all of the relevant kit you're after, several of us have now bought Lexia kits from him and found him to give excellent service with a product that works and from my own experience right up to and including the current shape C5. If when you contact Jim you mention this forum he may well offer you a discount on the advertised price

[Mandrake]

I'd second those comments. I've used my one from Easy Diagnostics now on my Series 2 Xantia and a C5, about to try it on a C4 Picasso tomorrow.

If you tell Jim you're a frenchcarforum member and you're able to pay by paypal he offers a £10 discount on the normal £119.95. Mine arrived the day after I paid for it as well.

That's a good question DickieG about software compatibility between the various clone interfaces - could someone who already has an older clone interface with only Lexia 3 software upgrade to the full diagbox system for example ? I guess we don't know at the moment, chances are that it may work though.

However in this situation where Andy has only the software and needs the hardware its a moot point, to get the hardware it will come bundled with the software anyway...

[DickieG]

That's a good question DickieG about software compatibility between the various clone interfaces - could someone who already has an older clone interface with only Lexia 3 software upgrade to the full diagbox system for example ? I guess we don't know at the moment, chances are that it may work though.

I don't think you can Simon without getting the interface re-flashed, IIRC "The Birdman" mentioned something along those lines plus I've noticed similar threads on other forums mentioning sending the interface off to Holland or somewhere similar, i.e. mainland Europe but not necessarily full of windmills

[Mandrake]

Just tested my Lexia (running 6.24) on Richards C4 Picasso today - no problems at all, worked perfectly, communicated to all the ECU's first time without having to retry. (I think the native diagbox app is a bit more reliable than the older Lexia app in this regard!)

A little note to Citroen - why oh why is the air conditioning gas pressure measured under "Electrical tests" in the Engine ECU ? I only found it by accident...

[Andy F]

Thank you all for your replies, I feared this might be the case, not as easy as I thought.
I have recently started my own business, so will see how funds look over the first few months and hopefully get one over Christmas.

Thanks again

[Mandrake]

Don't despair Andy, the installation of the software provided by the easydiagnostics kit is quite straight forward and well documented. No matter which way you look at it if you only have the software you still require an interface box (it's not just cables) and that is going to set you back around £100 or so no matter where you buy. For £110 including the discount you get the interface box, all the cables, software on DVD, a good set of instructions, good backup support, as well as the peace of mind that there are several of us on the forum successfully using the exact same kit from the same supplier.

I know what its like to have to save up for a purchase like this, I'd been wanting one for a few months and not having any disposable cash for "gadgets" I had to wait, finally when the money was there I went for it. See how your funds go and when you're ready go for it.

[Andy F]

It should be fine, just thought I had the expensive bit. Never mind, I understand more about it now and will definitely be purchasing it from easy diagnostics before too long. Business is good, Im basically doing my old job but for myself without my old employers taking a cut. But just want to make sure everything works out before I buy extra things I (at the moment) dont need. I dont want to jinx my HDi xant but its brilliant!

Thanks for your input and ill let you when Im up and running

[Andy F]

An update on this one too.

Thanks for your recommendation, Jim at Easy diagnostics was brilliant.

My new Lexia has arrived and I am in the process of moving all work related stuff to a new laptop then going to use my old laptop as my Lexia computer. Unfortunately I need somehow to reinstall Windows xp, as it wont run the disk on windows 7. Any ideas what the best way to revert back to the old operating system?
Andy

[Mandrake]

Is your Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit ? (Check by right clicking on Computer and choosing properties) If its 64 bit you definitely won't get it to work, however it should work on 32 bit Windows 7.

If not and you need to install Windows XP you'll need to get hold of a Windows XP installation CD and boot from the CD to begin the installation. Depending on the laptop you might have to press F12 or F8 during boot to boot from a CD, otherwise enter the BIOS (DEL or F2 in most cases) and change the boot order so that CDROM comes before the hard drive.

Before you go doing any of that though go to the laptop manufacturers website, look up the model number and check that there are Windows XP drivers for it. Assuming there are you'll want to download those and put them on a USB thumb drive or burn them to a CD/DVD so you can install them after installing XP. You'd also want to update XP to Service pack 3 and install the latest windows updates.

What version of Diagbox did Jim supply you ? If you're having trouble getting it working on Windows 7 32 bit you might try downloading version 7.02 / 7.06 from here:

http://www.auto-professionals.co.uk/sho ... p?tid=2391" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have one of Jim's Lexia interfaces and I've just upgraded my software to 7.06 from the above download link and it was very quick and painless, easier than V6.30 that Jim originally supplied me which was a much more manual installation process. I'm using Windows XP mind you. Might be worth a shot before going to the trouble of reinstalling the whole operating system.

[Andy F]

Long over due update.

Lexia all set up working fine on an old laptop now, gone back to Windows XP and worked fine.

I have used it to clear a whole load of faults on brothers Xsara and finally read the codes on my mother in laws C3 HDi 16v which has had the engine management light for more than a year. got P2137 so can finally start investigating in a meaningful way.

Thanks for all your help and i hope to be of assistance on the Lexia supersticky.

Cheers Andy

[Mandrake]

Glad to hear you got it to work

I'm sure you'll find it very handy, I certainly find mine very useful, even on a Xantia that doesn't have nearly as many ECU's as more modern cars!