History
Since 1996, governments have required manufacturers to install an OBD communication port to allow everyone, not just the manufacturer, to diagnose cars.
This measure allows garages or yourself to repair your own car.
Location
If your car was built after 1996, then there should be one.
There is no requirement for the exact location, but the connector must be within 3 feet of the steering column.
Look under the dashboard and look for a trapezoidal connector like the one in the photo included.
The connectors can be white, Black, brown and in some cases pink (audi, VW, Porch).
Use a flashlight and check directly below (close to your knees), and at the bottom left of the pedals (Audi, VW, Porch).
Some manufacturer on a small door, Kia, Hyundai, Toyota, on the other is on the side near the door frame (BMW).
Each vehicle is different
Tesla
At a certain time Tesla installed OBD ports, then stop.
If your Tesla doesn’t have an OBD port, we suggest using an external USB battery or to install a retrofit cable to plug your instrument.
(See image of the connections below)
Typical connection for a Tesla without an OBDII port
IMPORTANT NOTE
Battery selection is important,
PLEASE ENSURE THAT THE BATTERY CAN POWER A DEVICE AT THE SAME TIME AS IT RECHARGES
To test it, connect the battery to the charger, connect your instrument to the battery.
If the instrument starts to flash, this model will work in your car.
Example of Tesla compatible TripLogik Power supply
Models that cant power your instrument at the same time it is charging are not compatible with the required application.
TESLA or cars built before 1996 or the type of vehicle is not a car?
If this is your case, you can purchase a special adapter cable called a retrofit cable directly from the Triplogik online store.
Please read more about how to update your car with a retrofit cable -> TripLogik OBD Retrofit Cable.
Buy a retrofit cable here Buy retrofit Kit
This option must be installed by a technician as it is not designed to be installed as a consumer product.
Alternatively, you can contact Triplogik technical support who will guide you according to your use and help you find a proper place in your area to have it installed.
This retrofit cable will provide you with a standard format OBDII connector where you can plug in the constant 12V power supply as in any other car that has an OBD socket.
Take note that this will not give any communication with your car’s computer.
If your car was built after 1996 then it should have one.
This cable provides you with a two-wire plug to be installed by most car dealers or aftermarket car stereo outlets.
It is basically connected to a constant 12V of the car battery, protected by a fuse.
The main purpose is to provide a place to connect the TripLogik power supply and let the TL1000 be ON all the time.
BMW
Some BMW SUV and sedan (between 2016 and 2018) have a difficult access to the OBD due to the plastic design that surrounds the connector. This is not a bad or incompatible cable fault.
When installing the cable slightly forces the plastic in (push the plastic ta make space) to insert the cable.
As the connector has a cable designed coming out on one side, it is pressed on the side, making it difficult to pus in all the way.
The cable design outlet allows the connection in cars that have small access doors in front of the connector.
The cable is small enough for the door to close, but there can always be an exception like in this case.
Technical information of OBDII
This connector are several "pins" or contact including a 12Volts DC power supply and communication with the car computer.
TripLogik socket contains only 3 contacts, the positive (12Volts DC) of the battery and two negative contacts of the battery.
As there is no other physical connection, there is no possible communication with the car computer.
If your dealer claims, this can damage your car
Please read the following information about the OBD connection.
Can the TL1000 drain my battery?
Plug in Can OBDII power supply affect my car’s computer cars?
Can TripLogik Drain my battery
Can TripLogik affect my car computer?
Note:
We know some dealers may tell you that you can’t plug an instrument into that port. That’s not true.
This is precisely the reason why the authorities demanded a standard connection for all manufacturers in the industry.
In the U.S. this law is called "Right to repair act". It was put in place precisely to ensure that you have the right to do your repairs and not become a slave to a manufacturer.
Technical Note to Dealer
It should be mentioned that there are cell phone chargers and other poor quality devices that use too much power.
There are also products specially designed to change the performance of cars by changing the computer settings.
In both cases, the manufacturer may ask you not to use them for fear of damaging the car.
TripLogik has been designed with electronic parts of "Automotive" type to be well below the maximum parameters of electric consumption is less than 50ma in standby mode and 80 ma in alert mode.
The power supply is self-protected against overconsumption, that is, if you plug in something other than a TL1000, the power supply will stop working and will not be able to consume more than 80ma.
This one is also protected in case of short-circuit.
Thousands are used all over the world for over 10 years, we are very confident to have a reliable product and compatible with all cars that have an OBD port.
CR:RM