Why Can't the Vehicle Management Office Read the OBD of Pajero V97?
3 Answers
The reasons why the vehicle management office cannot read the OBD of Pajero V97 include instrument malfunction and dust on the OBD interface. Instrument malfunction: If the vehicle management office cannot detect the OBD, it may be due to instrument malfunction. In this case, a new instrument can be used for replacement. The OBD inspection at the vehicle management office involves using an OBD diagnostic tool to read the vehicle's OBD fault information and related data to determine whether the vehicle passes the inspection. Dust on the OBD interface: You can check if there is dust on the vehicle's OBD interface and clean it before connecting. For early low-end models, the onboard ECU system may not have emission monitoring functionality. Please upgrade the system at a 4S shop for data updates.
Last time I took my Pajero for the annual inspection, I also encountered an issue where the OBD couldn't read data. Later, I figured out that there are mainly three common problem areas. First, check if the power supply to the OBD port is normal. In that 16-pin port, pin 16 is responsible for the power line. If the voltage is below 10 volts, it won't work—just poke it with a multimeter to check. Second, see if any of the port pins are bent or corroded, especially since SUVs often run on rough roads and get shaken up a lot. Third, it's about the ECU communication protocol. Some older Mitsubishi vehicles use the ISO9141 protocol, while new devices default to KWP2000. If they don't match, it's a dead end. Someone in our car club solved it by flashing the ECU. If you don't want to bother, just go to a Mitsubishi specialist shop—they have all the right equipment.
I specifically asked the inspection line technician about the DMV equipment reading the Pajero's OBD. Apart from hardware issues like rusty connectors or broken pins, the biggest headache is actually the software protocol version. Japanese cars particularly like to use their own modified communication protocols. For older models like the V97, you needed specialized diagnostic computers back then to read all the data. If the new model scanners can't automatically recognize it now, you have to manually select the 'Mitsubishi-MMC' communication protocol. Also, check the 10A fuse for the ECU in the fuse box—it's located in the black box on the left side of the engine bay. If it's blown, the entire OBD system will be dead. I recommend testing it yourself with an OBD scanner before going; even the 30-yuan ones from Taobao can read fault codes.
