01-04-2024, 06:44 PM
This is a good thread to provide some more info about DTCs. We got a couple..."quirks" of OrBit we will call them...things that are getting addressed now as we near the time when we stop calling OrBit a "beta" and it grows up into a real software, version 1.0 ;-)
Code status - DTCs are read from the car with a "mask" which defines what type of codes you read (confirmed codes, pending codes, failed tests, not yet run test, current failed test...etc) It's not adjustable with OrBit today, but it will be soon. In the process of getting ready for that, reviewing code reading, I noticed OrBit is essentially reading "pending codes" where I probably intended originally to read only "confirmed" codes. That probably explains the difference between VDash and OrBit. Initially I am going to just correct this ahead of adding the ability to control the code reading options. I think this has gone on for so long since most codes in "confirmed" status are also in "pending" status, so the overlap is large, but it's not exact, some codes are only in a single status.
Code description resolution - It seems pretty common that folks encounter the "Unable to find description..." for codes when reading with OrBit. This is something beyond just code resolution, it has to do with the databases OrBit uses to resolve codes for each module. Improving this has been on the table for some time, as I have quite a bit more info compiled that is inside the module databases that OrBit uses for reference. It is tedious work to process the data files I have for use by OrBit. I did some of this work over Holiday break at the end of December, the incidence of a code not having a description should be going down. I plan to get everything I have available currently, into OrBit by the end of Q1, so a code not having a description should be rare.
IMAY2023, when you got some time, can you send me a message at support, with any info or an example of DTC details from another tool or something? As far as I know, the actual code data does not return date and time info with the response to DTC request. For specific cases, there would be some other DID that can be read from an ECU for the last code set, last date/time a code was set, I am not aware of a universal way for that for any DTC. I can investigate, I'd like to improve code reading and add this if it is a thing!
It's not out of line to say OrBit is not the greatest diag tool ;-) 99% of customers are buying for config. I want to improve the diagnostics though, I anticipate existing and new customers are going to care about this more as keeping the cars on the road with DIY tools is becoming more important and exactly the type of thing someone who would buy a config/coding for their Volvo, would also want to do.
Code status - DTCs are read from the car with a "mask" which defines what type of codes you read (confirmed codes, pending codes, failed tests, not yet run test, current failed test...etc) It's not adjustable with OrBit today, but it will be soon. In the process of getting ready for that, reviewing code reading, I noticed OrBit is essentially reading "pending codes" where I probably intended originally to read only "confirmed" codes. That probably explains the difference between VDash and OrBit. Initially I am going to just correct this ahead of adding the ability to control the code reading options. I think this has gone on for so long since most codes in "confirmed" status are also in "pending" status, so the overlap is large, but it's not exact, some codes are only in a single status.
Code description resolution - It seems pretty common that folks encounter the "Unable to find description..." for codes when reading with OrBit. This is something beyond just code resolution, it has to do with the databases OrBit uses to resolve codes for each module. Improving this has been on the table for some time, as I have quite a bit more info compiled that is inside the module databases that OrBit uses for reference. It is tedious work to process the data files I have for use by OrBit. I did some of this work over Holiday break at the end of December, the incidence of a code not having a description should be going down. I plan to get everything I have available currently, into OrBit by the end of Q1, so a code not having a description should be rare.
IMAY2023, when you got some time, can you send me a message at support, with any info or an example of DTC details from another tool or something? As far as I know, the actual code data does not return date and time info with the response to DTC request. For specific cases, there would be some other DID that can be read from an ECU for the last code set, last date/time a code was set, I am not aware of a universal way for that for any DTC. I can investigate, I'd like to improve code reading and add this if it is a thing!
It's not out of line to say OrBit is not the greatest diag tool ;-) 99% of customers are buying for config. I want to improve the diagnostics though, I anticipate existing and new customers are going to care about this more as keeping the cars on the road with DIY tools is becoming more important and exactly the type of thing someone who would buy a config/coding for their Volvo, would also want to do.