Mack 6-Pin Diagnostic Connector Question

[bryanhunt]

So I can't seem to get anything of J1587 in any Mack with a 6-pin diagnostic connector (most of the trucks I have to work with are 96-02 CH613s with E7s). There is a 5th pin that I don't see in any brands with cat or cummins engines so I'm wondering if any of you guys knows what it does, or what you have to do in order to get the J1587 link to work in a Mack. I see that you can buy a special cable for about $200 nexiq but I don't really want to buy if its as simply as connecting the 5th pin to power, ground or a resistor you know?

[rhasler]

So I can't seem to get anything of J1587 in any Mack with a 6-pin diagnostic connector (most of the trucks I have to work with are 96-02 CH613s with E7s). There is a 5th pin that I don't see in any brands with cat or cummins engines so I'm wondering if any of you guys knows what it does, or what you have to do in order to get the J1587 link to work in a Mack. I see that you can buy a special cable for about $200 nexiq but I don't really want to buy if its as simply as connecting the 5th pin to power, ground or a resistor you know?

Pin A-Serial link (+)

Pin B-Serial link (-)

Pin C-12 volt (+)

Pin D-Accessory Relay (+)

Pin E-Chassis ground

Pin F-Not used

[ThaddeusW]

Just a question, but what does a PC based diagnostic tool cost?

I quickly looked into the J1587 protocol and it appears it uses RS-485 as the physical link layer which can easily be converted to an RS-232 signal. It would not be too hard to develope a program to read write data to the port and get engine diagnostic codes and other data.

[rhasler]

Just a question, but what does a PC based diagnostic tool cost?

I quickly looked into the J1587 protocol and it appears it uses RS-485 as the physical link layer which can easily be converted to an RS-232 signal. It would not be too hard to develope a program to read write data to the port and get engine diagnostic codes and other data.

A subscription to volvo/Mack PTT is $450.00. The recommended communication device is somewhere around $600.00 if I remember correctly. There are aftermarket communication devices that seem to work pretty well (based on my limited experience with them). The problem is that PTT is "glitchy" when using it on older trucks (VMAC I, II, and III). New trucks (US 2010 emissions) are converting to HDOBD, which uses J1939 protocol. I think all manufacturers had to have a compliant engine by 2010. Mack doesn't have an HDOBD compliant engine at this time, all of the MP engines are partial HDOBD. The D13 475 is the compliant engine manufactured by volvo, which puts Mack in the clear. By 2013 the MP engines will be full HDOBD. Reading codes from the J1587 datalink on a 2010 or newer truck will not give any emission codes because those codes are transmitted on J1939. Along with HDOBD there is legislation, I believe it is called "Freedom to Service", that requires manufacturers to make available to aftermarket suppliers certain information so that repairs and tooling can be obtained through venues other than the dealer/distributor body. There is currently an aftermarket scan tool called the HD Reader that reads faults from J1587 and can be used on all makes of heavy trucks utilizing J1587 protocol.

Sorry Thad, long answer to a short question

[theakerstwo]

For the older E7 engine you can use prolink . To get a prolink you can go to ebay and go into tools and search for prolink. Some times there is some gtood deals on there.I* have got lot of prolink ideams from ebay.

[ThaddeusW]

A subscription to volvo/Mack PTT is $450.00. The recommended communication device is somewhere around $600.00 if I remember correctly. There are aftermarket communication devices that seem to work pretty well (based on my limited experience with them). The problem is that PTT is "glitchy" when using it on older trucks (VMAC I, II, and III). New trucks (US 2010 emissions) are converting to HDOBD, which uses J1939 protocol. I think all manufacturers had to have a compliant engine by 2010. Mack doesn't have an HDOBD compliant engine at this time, all of the MP engines are partial HDOBD. The D13 475 is the compliant engine manufactured by volvo, which puts Mack in the clear. By 2013 the MP engines will be full HDOBD. Reading codes from the J1587 datalink on a 2010 or newer truck will not give any emission codes because those codes are transmitted on J1939. Along with HDOBD there is legislation, I believe it is called "Freedom to Service", that requires manufacturers to make available to aftermarket suppliers certain information so that repairs and tooling can be obtained through venues other than the dealer/distributor body. There is currently an aftermarket scan tool called the HD Reader that reads faults from J1587 and can be used on all makes of heavy trucks utilizing J1587 protocol.

Sorry Thad, long answer to a short question

No that is a great answer. J1939 uses CAN bus instead of RS-485. Both are serial multi-drop networks. RS-485 is commonly found in industrial automation systems linking PLC's, process control devices, user interfaces and computer controllers. CAN (Controller Area Network) is a bit more modern implementation developed by Bosch in 1983 for use in microcontrollers. Its pretty common and open so again a simple USB-CAN adapter could be used.