Home Diagnostics

Reading the Engine Management System

The EEC-V was never intended as a home servicing item - it is intended purely as a Main Dealer accessible part and those Garages who have access to the multi thousand pound diagnostic kit such as the FDS 2000 and the more recent WDS.

However, the heart of the diagnostic equipment is simply a computer - the equivalent of a 32-bit processor in the case of the EECV, and most enthusiast owners will have access to a laptop - even purchasing one is not going to cost more than a couple of hundred pounds.

The communications port for the EEC V is located  in the coin box located to the lower right hand side of the steering wheel. Open the box and look on it's roof and you will see a plastic clip cover. Pull this down and the 16 pin connector is revealed.

Now connecting to this requires a connector, an RS232 convertor and some suitable software. The US has many suppliers of such equipment and we are currently evaluating a couple of options which should be available for around two hundred pounds or less.

Using the Laptop computer (286 or higher, DOS or Windows) the OBD II connector is plugged in and the software establishes communications with the EEC-V. The user can then select the required parameters and set up the digital dashboard to show the values of the sensors. On the left menu are pages of tests and diagnosis to assist in identifying faulty components - as the major difference between the OBD II tool and the WDS system used by the Ford Dealers lies in it's fault tree diagnosis that enables any Ford mechanic to use it.

The software reads the communications from the EECV which includes the ability to read the values from every sensor that provides data to the EEC. In my case a recent failure of a Pressure Transducer on the EGR resulted in a bill of two hundred pounds for a 50 pound component. Having the ability to read the sensor values as well as the fault codes would have halved the overall bill.

The units also possess a logging function that enables you to drive the car and record the data for later replaying on the PC - and this has turned out to be a very useful diagnostic tool.  In 2005 the VE software was updated so that an ISO/PWM combi lead can also read the ABS diagnostics system, too.

Examples of the use of this tool are on the menus on the left. Start with the OBD FAQ page, and then use the Using OBD menu for examples and test scans. Detailed troubleshooting a trouble code is on OBD In Detail .