Crosswind

Just curious here. Why is everyone offering the diesel versions (520d/C220 CDI) for permits? Is it because the permit garandiyas are stingy or are the diesel ones actually cheaper?

OT but I kind of take offense to that. I thought Geelys were nothing but POS until I used a 5-year old Geely for a while. It does have its own issues with the plastics coming out but I am kind of impressed with it. Value for money I feel.

No idea about your Mazda mate, but chances are it might work with the Protege, it being a car targeted for Asian market. Cheers It all depends on the way the ECU of the car is designed, not the software. Perhaps the Alto and the Vitz runs different keywords or word-sizes, which Rumesh88 above, has been trying to crack.

Call Unit#d Mot#rs and ask. Is it that difficult?

It's just a Lancer EX with a different body. Specs are same as Lancer EX 1.8 I think

Pitbull was diagnosed with cancer after this

I would go for the Wira without hesitation. Why? The model is newer, this model was manufactured till about mid2000s, so it will be easier to get spares. Mechanicals are compatible with Lancer. Wira is a very rugged vehicle, very suitable for our roads. The car has already depreciated so there's nothing much to worry about resale value. Seriously Protons are the most underrated cars in Sri Lanka. You actually get much more car for money with a Proton. But it looks like a JCB molested a Lancer and gave birth to a deformed child. Edit: Many typos corrected.

@Trinity - my comments shows how much I know about Hondas - irrespective of whether they got 2 wheels or 4 wheels. SInce nearly 24 hours have passed i'll reveal the answer. The bike I posted is a CZ Jawa 250. It was made in former Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). The 50 bikes I was talking about, were imported to Sri Lanka as CKDs back in 70s during the communist era (Czechoslovakia was also a communist country). They remained in storage for about 7 or 8 years before being assembled (yes they were assembled in Sri Lanka from CKDs) and sold. Unfortunately I havent seen any on the Sri Lankan roads recently. If anyone sees one of those, do let me know. I would love to purchase one. Here's a pic (of a 175CC variant) Floor is open to anyone who likes to post.

If no one is replying to this, it probably means no one is sure. Pls call RMV and ask http://www.motortraffic.gov.lk/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=166&Itemid=169〈=en

Its not a Honda. You are probably talking about Triumph Thunderbird. This one has similar desgn cues to some Triumphs of the era, but this is not a triumph. It's not a very well known brand. Edit: To avoid any confusions, let me give some more hints. This one is a two-stroke, 250CC

I haven't seen any of these recently on the roads. About 50 of these were brought to Sri Lanka in the late 70s/early 80s. Here's a tip: One unique feature about these bikes was the fact that the same pedal was used to kick-start and shift gears, causing many confusions!

Why does this tiny voice keeps whispering 'guerilla marketing' in my ear?

In all fairness, some of those scanners which support many vehicle types, are fairly expensive (I am talking about millions of rupees). These el cheapo scanners are relatively new to the market. Keywords or word size (number of bits) could also be different. For example. some cars (like the Focus) gives 11-bit CAN outputs while some cars give 24-bit CAN outputs. Perhaps if u can find a pin-out diagram, that should give a clue. I don't know if this sounds downright stupid but, you could try a brute-force analysis to get the outputs and analyze them. Sorry for the computer jargon.

Ignition timing will affect your optimum performance and also emissions. As far as I know, it depends on cylinder positions, VVT timings, fuel type the vehicle is designed for. Its preset by the manufacturer. This gives more information: http://autospeed.com/cms/title_Getting-the-Ignition-Timing-Right/A_109132/article.html You will probably need to check it with manufacturer figures to find out whether there's any problem in it. Those who are seriously in to ecu tuning and remapping may use this info. You just made me realize that neither I nor any close associate actually owns a JDM car. It's all Euros, B/N imports to SL from Japan or Koreans! So I can't verify that. Maybe if I come across a guinea pig, I'll post the results. There are also non-ELM 327 based scanners on ebay such as this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/OBDII-OBD2-EODB-JOBD-diagnostic-1-3A-wireless-Bluetooth-/370453129152?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item5640ba27c0&vxp=mtr If there's a will, the Chinese will find a way to build a cheap scanner Cheers mate. May need to do minor edits on the post though.

I tried Torque Free. It's functionality is very limited. That's when I came across Scanator, which gives nearly all necessary functions. And its free so why not use it? With the PC I have tried Scanmaster ELM. It's not free but we have ways to make them free

... CONTINUED FROM EARLIER POST Ignition Timing Advance Can be used to verify the idle control. Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure The difference in air pressure between the engine's intake manifold and atmosphere. 40 is just about the average. Intake Air Temperature Oxygen Sensor Output Voltage A very useful test which can indicate a range of problems from a faulty O2 sensor to cylinder head The fluctuation below is normal Ehow.com has a nice guide on troubleshooting a car using this data, which is available here: http://www.ehow.com/how_7473709_test-oxygen-sensors-voltage-meter.html There are number of other tests in the same section, which I have not given here. The bottom line is, with the above tool and google, one can be fairly good at troubleshooting problems indicated thru the ecu of a car… and save some money in the process. So those are some of the tests you can do with Scanator. Do remember that this DIY doesn't cover how to do the tests exactly and how to interpret results. And here are some FAQs which I can think of: 1. I don’t have an Android phone. Can I use this device? Yes, if you have Bluetooth in your computer. If not, you can get a cheap Bluetooth adapter like this one Off eBay or Unity Plaza. I'll be doing another DIY on how to use the scanner with a laptop/PC 2. I’m Steve Jobs’s love slave. Can I use this device? You probably can, but with some other software, not Scanator. I have never touched an iPhone in my life so can’t help you. 3. Can I buy one of those scanners in Sri Lanka? I‘ve seen some guy advertising them in a classifieds website. If 3500 bucks isn’t too much for you (compared to $15) then you might as well get one locally. Disclaimer: The content herein should be followed at user’s discretion and should not be regarded as expert advice. Subsequently if there is any harm caused to any of your possessions, including but not limited to your car, pet dog or girlfriend, neither Autolanka.com nor the author can be held responsible. Web reproductions are allowed (provided Autolanka.com has no objections), but the source “Crosswind @ Autolanka.com” needs to be acknowledged.

... CONTINUED FROM EARLIER POST Absolute Throttle Position Absolute Throttle Position is the position the throttle is closed. The more the throttle is closed the less the percentage is shown. This screenshot is taken at idle on a cold start. 16% seems to be a bit high by I need to monitor this when the engine is warm. Perhaps a tune-up is necessary. Any comments on this will be appreciated. Barometric Pressure Barometric pressure changes with the weather and with altitude. Since it affects the density of the air entering the engine and ultimately the air/fuel ratio,ssome computerized emissions control systems use a barometric pressure sensor so that the spark advance and EGR flow can be regulated to control emissions more precisely. You can't get any more normal than 100kPa in Colombo Calculated Load Value Indicates percent of peak available torque. It is correlated with engine vacuum. Often used to schedule power enrichment. This is taken at idle on a cold-start. Not sure exactly what this indicates on a vvt engine. Need to look this up. Commanded Equivalence Ratio Commanded equivalence ratio is used to determine the commanded air/fuel ratio of the engine. For conventional oxygen sensor vehicles, the scan tool should display 1.0 in closed-loop. Control Module Voltage Voltage input to the ECU. 12-14V is normal. Commanded Evaporative Purge Displays 0% when no purge is commanded and 100% at the maximum commanded purge position/flow. Engine RPM Needless to say what this is Engine Coolant Temperature Engine coolant temperature derived from an engine coolant temperature sensor or a cylinder head temperature sensor Fuel Level Input Indicates the nominal fuel tank liquid fill capacity as a percent of maximum Fuel System Status Should be in closed loop

... CONTINUED FROM EARLIER POST Starting Scanator: Connecting the phone to the device using Bluetooth Click on scan for devices button in Scanator and when it detects the device, it will ask you to pair it. Now I’m about to tell you the world’s worst-kept secret. The usual password for any Bluetooth device on earth is 1234. If it doesn’t work, try 0000. Note: Forum member Vishkid noted that the PIN can vary from 0000/1234/5678/6789 etc but it's generally a 4 digit numeral combo of a simple pattern, so try all this if you get stuck. Now it’s paired Scanator Home Screen: Click on the device (OBDII 11:22:33:AA:BB:CC) to start the program Let’s Try each feature: The first icon gives the check engine status (DTCs recorded in the car) There is a clear button for DTCs as well. Since I don’t have any DTCs, I cant demonstrate the clear feature. But its as simple as pressing the Clear button above. Scanator Tests: Please note that this section only demonstrates the available options on Scanator. It doesn’t go in to detail about how to perform a test (For example, some tests need to be done while the car is running. Some needs to be done after the engine has thoroughly warmed up). Some of the interpretations are extracted off various internet sources, which are too numerous to mention. Scanator is a program written by a Mexican company. There are some functions which are Mexico-specific (like the list of garages) ... TO BE CONTINUED (due to image posting limits)

My pastime these days, is trying various affordable car scanning tools. The keyword here is ‘affordable’ for the average car enthusiast. I’m trying these out mostly in my Ford Focus and whatever car that I can get hold of Based on my experience I thought of writing down a set of DIYs. Comments and corrections are highly appreciated (especially on how to diagnose faults using these, as I am still on a learning curve). Here’s the first one: Scanning a car using a Bluetooth scanner and an Android Device (using Scanator software) Intended Audience for this DIY: Noobs What you need: A Bluetooth-supported OBD scanner (read steps 1 to 4 on how to get one) An Android Smartphone/Tablet (I will be using my Galaxy Tab) A car that supports your device (if the YOM of your car is pre-2000, most likely you will not be able to use any of the cheap tools on ebay) Total Damage: If you already own an android device, you should be able to get the scanning equipment for Rs. 2500 – 3500 Step 1: The first step is to find out the interface type and the protocol that is supported by your car’s ECU. Uncle Google will be helpful for this. You can also check the car manuals but most of us don't possess them anyway. While there is plenty of information for European cars on Google, you may need to search a bit harder for JDM cars. I typed “Ford Focus OBD2 Protocol” on Google and this is where I landed: As you can see, the Focus runs a CAN-Bus, which is also known as ISO15765-4. Just did a search for Fiat Grande Punto and I discovered it runs the same protocol. So I typed “Toyota Axio OBD2 protocol”. Well… all I got was a lot of gibberish like this one http://www.mycarforum.com/index.php?showtopic=2640512 I am not going to waste time to read that and figure out! In short, find out the connector type and the protocol before you embark on this. The protocol may be something like: ISO15765-4 (CAN), ISO14230-4 (KWP2000), ISO9141-2, J1850 VPW, J1850 PWM etc. Step 2- Finding a suitable OBD-2 reader for your car on eBay: Go to eBay.com to find a suitable reader. I searched for a Bluetooth ELM327 OBDII reader for the Focus. If you are a brave soul, you can also try aliexpress.com And I selected something like this (not the exact same item. Just an example) Because it supports CAN-BUS TIP: Ignore the list of supported vehicles on the seller’s page. It’s just not comprehensive. Go by the protocols instead. Step 3 – The World Wide Wait: Within 2-3 weeks time, you should receive the package. Customs won’t be too bothered because it will look like a computer peripheral for them. If by a remote chance you get summoned to customs, just say its a device for computer jilmaart. Step 4 – Getting Scanator: TIP: Throw away the CD that comes with the scanner. Go to Google Play Store with your Android Device and search for Scanator You can also download other software like Torque Lite. There was also a Ford-specific software which I simply ignored, because I got a better one on my laptop. Step 5 – Let’s do it!: Connecting the device to the car: Find out where the OBD connector is. It may be in the engine bay or in the fuse box in some cars. In a few other cars (like the Grande Punto), it may be hidden by a plastic panel. As always, uncle Google will help you to find it. In case of the Focus, it’s just at 4 O’Clock from the steering wheel. Apparently this is where Toyota Corolla has it: http://codes.rennacs.com/photo-gallery/TOYOTA-EFI-21-Photos.php TIP: When you plugin the device, a red indicator should light up. If the device is faulty, you will probably not see any lights or get some nonsensical outputs. Until the device is confirmed to be working, do not leave feedback on eBay TO BE CONTINUED (I had to break the DIY to multiple posts because of image posting limitations)...

Its a DKW Junior.

Now let's see... We didn't win an Olympic medal yet again, we didn't win the T20 either but we all danced to Gangnam style, Cali officially became p*wned for the second (or is it third?) consecutive year, the world ended (can't recall how may times), we had a few alien invasions, few colourful rains, Italians started scratching their heads on how to meet the demand of Lambos from Sri Lanka, Arabs started protesting against their leaders, Sri Lankans started protesting against everyone who protests against their leaders, FUTA became HUTA, more evil moderators were born, a very expensive Sri Lankan flag went to space... things can only go up in 2013! Happy new year everyone!

Edit: 2 guys beat me to it!

check in any insurance yard. u can get one without the registration