OBD1 Scanner

So Ive been looking around for a scanner for my 95. I have one that will show some live data for OBD2 but not OBD1. Im not looking to spend thousands of dollars on one. Every time I try to search for one all i seem to get is code readers or OBD2 scanners which I do not need. I can use the one I already have to read codes. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Look for a snap on mt2500. They can be had reasonably and they can do up to 2000 obd2 with the correct cartridges.

skylark said:

Look for a snap on mt2500. They can be had reasonably and they can do up to 2000 obd2 with the correct cartridges.

Click to expand...

Exactly. I love my brick, the mt2500's nickname.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

i had a 95 firebird it had a obd1 cpu with obd2 connection.are the trucks like that?

My Chinese knockoff Tech 2 was just over $350 with a case, one 32 meg Linear Flash card, CAN-DI and all the cords/adapters the real thing came with from HP/Bosch/Vetronix. I scarfed up several fresh flash cards on evilbay so I could burn a couple extra binary images to the cards.

The Tech 2 with the GM NAO 33.004 burned to a 32meg Linear Flash Card supposedly covers 1991-2013. The latest flash isn't always the best... there are several older Tech 2 flash images that probably have better mid 1990's control and diag coverage. I have a couple different GM NAO images burned to 32meg Linear Flash Cards on a steam powered HP NX7400 laptop circa 2003 that came with a Cardbus/PCMCIA slot. Once you have one copy on a flash card the Tech 2 will duplicate it faster than you can burn it on a laptop. I have eight cards and only four different flash images.
I have talked to a 1994 K2500 with the 12 terminal ALDL diag socket that people like to mistakenly call OBD1, 1995 Corvette with the J1962 ALDL port, 2000 GMC C2500, 2005 Silverado 2500HD and a 2009 Impala with an LS4. Not sure how much of the pre-1994 stuff it handles in comparison to the old Tech 1A and it's a fact that 2011-2013 coverage gets a little spotty in comparison to the MDI and GM GDS but 1994-2010 is pretty solid OEM coverage.

Anything from 1987 to 1994/1993 or so you're better off with the Snap On MT2500 brick or a Cheap $80 Dell D620, D630, D820, or D830 laptop with a 1320 electronics ALDL interface and Tuner Pro or WinALDL. I believe the Snap On MT2500 brick gives you bi-directional control similar to the old Tech 1A for the 1993 and earlier ALDL rigs... WinALDL and Tuner Pro do not.

blacksport said:

i had a 95 firebird it had a obd1 cpu with obd2 connection.are the trucks like that?

Click to expand...

Yes. The 1995 Corvette and the 1995 trucks had the 16 terminal SAE J1962 jack setup as an ALDL jack rather than the old 12 terminal Metripack 280 ALDL jack. I believe this was to meet California OBD I regs that required the use of the new J1962 jack that was tapped as the jack to be used in the upcoming federal OBD II standards. 1994 & 1995 California emissions rigs were the only ones that had true OBD I. Everything else 1995 and prior is GM (Pontiac, Olds, Buick, Chevy, GMC, Opel, Holden, ...) ALDL. ALDL wasn't very standardized. Every ECM group had its' own odd little quirks in the serial communications stream and some cars used non-standard data pin/terminal-positions in the connector... (You've probably seen the Pin E ALDL adapters for the Tech 1/1A). There's probably more to the story but that's the bare bones.

Here's the Tech 2 Clone thread on the SAAB boards.
https://www.saabcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=fb99db4307addace1153b31677b46ff9&t=260738

Here's the same kind of thread on one of the Corvette boards.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forum...07838-clone-tech2-purchased-very-pleased.html

And f course the SAAB guys put up a Tech 2 WiKi with a Tech 2 locator similar to the *** Com locator the VW guys assembled on Freds' TDI board.
https://www.tech2wiki.com/doku.php

i used tunerpro for my firebird that plunged up to the car an then you had a male/female usb cord that go's to a laptop i think i have the diagnostic plug in my tool box/

skylark said:

Look for a snap on mt2500. They can be had reasonably and they can do up to 2000 obd2 with the correct cartridges.

Click to expand...

My '2500 has a 2006 cartridge. Support ended in 2009.

Mine won't boot properly; it works eventually but takes a long time to start. I see a newer-model scan tool in my future.

Schurkey said:

My '2500 has a 2006 cartridge. Support ended in 2009.

Mine won't boot properly; it works eventually but takes a long time to start. I see a newer-model scan tool in my future.

Click to expand...

I'll be darned. I might have to see if I can find one.

They're not as popular on eBay as they once were.

The typical combo is an 80 1/2-to-1999, plus a 2000-up "programmable" cartridge.