[BobSaabit]

Bought a clone Tech II last May (chinesecardiags.com). I used it a couple times and it worked fine. It's been sitting since. I went to use it today and it won't display anything at all on the screen. I tried powering it from the cigarette lighter and the wall wart and I still got nothing at all.

I have a message in to the Chinese support... but any ideas on what to try in the meantime? Any tricks to get one to power up? An internal fuse perhaps? I could really use it right now (of course!).

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Mimmi]

There is no traditional fuse in (original) TECH2. I doubt that chinese clone have it either.

 

[Mimmi]

Have you double checked all pins in connectors?
Check car OBD port pins also.

 

[BobSaabit]

If I plug the wall adapter power (120v) into the Tech II, it should power up even without a vehicle connection, correct?

 

[BobSaabit]

SO..... maybe I misunderstood Tech II operation. Now that I have it hooked to a working car, it's fine.

I thought that it would always power up, even if not connected to a car. But, it wouldn't. It's OK now.

 

[Mimmi]

Ah. TECH2 do not have internal battery (like Hirsch iPRO do).

 

[Saabaus]

Should power up when connected to 12v via the barrel connector - need to do that to run loop back diagnostics. Is your 12v supply good and the right polarity.
I would need to double check but I seem to recall a SMD fuse in the VCI.

 

[Saabaus]

Yes circled in red just above the power socket. There is also another one just to the left of power socket but I think that is just for power via the OBD port

 

[BobSaabit]

Should power up when connected to 12v via the barrel connector - need to do that to run loop back diagnostics. Is your 12v supply good and the right polarity.
I would need to double check but I seem to recall a SMD fuse in the VCI.

It works when connected to the vehicle, now that the vehicle is working. But connecting to the wall plug power or the cigarette lighter power gets me nothing on the screen. So you're saying that should at least power it on, correct?

 

[Mimmi]

Have you tried connect AC power/cig power to main cable connection?

 

[harri99]

It is possible that in those cigarette lighter cables included fuses may be broken. There is a fuse inside and in my both cables those fuses blow every time during connection. Cables are pure cheap crap. My clone works in car when I connect 12v AC/DC power to main socket in VCI-unit and the main cable via Candi to OBD-socket. That way I get the car data loaded. I have other problems with communication between Tech2 and TIS2000 in PC. That is another story.

 

[BobSaabit]

Have you tried connect AC power/cig power to main cable connection?

It is possible that in those cigarette lighter cables included fuses may be broken. There is a fuse inside and in my both cables those fuses blow every time during connection. Cables are pure cheap crap. My clone works in car when I connect 12v AC/DC power to main socket in VCI-unit and the main cable via Candi to OBD-socket. That way I get the car data loaded. I have other problems with communication between Tech2 and TIS2000 in PC. That is another story.

OK, thanks guys. I went back through my tests. It seems that the cigarette lighter wasn't working when I tested due to my other odd electrical problems (now fixed). It now powers up with that adapter. That got missed in my panic testing trying to figure out the cars other issues... and then finding the Tech II not responding.

The AC wall adapter doesn't output any power at all when tested with a meter. So, what I thought was the most reliable test was the least reliable. I will see about getting another wall adapter.

 

[harri99]

In Finland we must change that wallplug to AC/DC power. If You have changed the wallplug too, have You connected it right?

 

[Mimmi]

It is possible that in those cigarette lighter cables included fuses may be broken. There is a fuse inside and in my both cables those fuses blow every time during connection. Cables are pure cheap crap. My clone works in car when I connect 12v AC/DC power to main socket in VCI-unit and the main cable via Candi to OBD-socket. That way I get the car data loaded. I have other problems with communication between Tech2 and TIS2000 in PC. That is another story.

So you have bad chinese clone.
Both my TECH2 works just fine.

 

[jvanabra]

Both the 12vdc and wall ac adapter that came with my clone died. With maybe 3-4 uses on each of them. I made new ones from better parts and they've been totally reliable. I actually used a little buck/boost circuit on the 12v one so that I would always have 12v even if the power source is faulty. My motorhome is an OBD1 7.4l so there is no power on the diagnostic port... fortunately there is a 120v ac plug right on the dash... but point is I always need external power when using the Tech 2 on the Southwind.