Quote Originally Posted by oslinux View Post
Hi all!
I've built an OBD to SERIAL decoder using the schematics found on the ELM 320 Datasheet, i will link this to a pic by the serial port, but first i have to try it with a simple pc serial connection, i've a question for you before i proceed:
It's there a way to ruin the ECU of the car, if there's something wrong in the circut?
It's there a way to ruin the ECU of the car by the OBD port?
What do i have to check and re-check again before plugging the cable in the obd, and before i'll connect the ELM320 to the PC/PIC ?
Thank you!
Luca
P.S. I don't want to burn my ECU!!!
Nobody wants to fry an ECU, and I asked myself that same question before I plugged in my ELM327 circuit to all my vehicles...
A vehicle's ECM and OBDII port and all that related circuitry are pretty robust, meaning they can handle a lot of stuff thrown at it, shorts, opens, power on a grounds, grounds on a powers, power on a signals, ground on a signal, signals shorted to other signals...etc...
As long as you don't start throwing 120VAC into anything and stay with good ol' 5v logic, I'd say that no matter what you can possibly mess up, your ECU will survive a decent screw up on your part (at least mine did with me! shorted 12v line to ground once, blew fuse, ECU lived, grounded out J1850 bus, lived, put straight 12v on a K-line, lived, haven't killed anything yet).