DRB III Emulator Review: works on Micropod 2. I managed to make the Enhanced DRB III Emulator work with a micropod 2 clone on V17.04.27 Witech with Windows 7 32 bits all offline mode and no subscription. First install Witech then install the DRB emulator and then the enhanced one.
A DRB-III Scan Tool is an expensive device that, in conjunction with the electronics on a number of automobiles, may be able to diagnose a variety of problems that may be plaguing your vehicle.
Electronic Diagnostics
All cars produced after Jan. 1, 1996 have been required to utilize OBD-II (On-board Diagnostics) to electronically report vehicle problems upon being scanned. Different vehicle manufacturers require unique tools to be able to scan and diagnose error codes.
DRB-III
When associated with vehicles, DRB stands for Diagnostic Readout Box. The DRB-III Scan Tool is a device supported by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brand vehicles to interface with the car's electronics and interpret errors. As of January 2011, it is the newest incarnation of the device, with DRB and DRB-II preceding it.
Use
The DRB-III Scan Tool is able to read OBD-II error codes, including those for various engine parts and parts focused on emissions. Using a DRB-III Scan Tool when a 'Check Engine' light is on may prevent your vehicle from enduring further damage. As of January 2011, DRB-III Scan Tools may cost approximately $6,000 to $7,000.
- old jeep on a hill image by Roman Barelko from Fotolia.com
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Posted byTinkerer2 years ago
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This is a project I started a while ago but kind of lost interest in. I started reverse-engineering the DRB-III scanner tool, or rather an emulator for it, which requires very expensive hardware to use. This scanner is used by Chrysler(/Dodge/Jeep/etc) dealerships/technicians when working with Chrysler vehicles that don't use CAN bus, which covers most of their late-90s to mid-00s vehicles which primarily use J1850 VPW. The basic idea for my project was to put the features of this expensive scan tool into the hands of anybody that owns a relevant vehicle and a cheap standard USB/Bluetooth/WiFi OBD-II scanner.
What I've mostly done so far is create a PC program, DRB DB Reader, that can read the proprietary database file (a non-standard binary format) used by the DRB-III emulator program. This is far from complete and is not user-friendly (currently it's just a text/console interface with commands), but it's very promising. 'TX' (command) entries can be searched and have a variety of information, including (usually) the bytes to send on the bus for the command.
There's no compiled exe release of the program or readme yet, I'll get that set up today or tomorrow. In the meantime, the basic jist is this:
- Build in Visual Studio 2015
- Put 'database.mem' file in the same folder as the built exe. You can find this file in either the DRB-III Emulator program setup (free to download here) or in the Chrysler wiTECH or StarSCAN software. I won't bundle or directly link to this file to avoid any potential copyright problems.
- Type in e.x. 'txsearch decklid' to search commands.
There are a few problems I currently face with this project:
- Not everything is in the database file. Some things, such as the TCM Pinion Factor programming, are in program code. I've made some progress on that using IDA to decompile the emulator, but it's not easy.
- I'm testing this on my personal vehicle (2000 Dodge Intrepid). I cannot afford to brick an ECU, so I am only willing to go so far with testing. Some examples: I've figured out how to unlock ECUs for things like flashing, and I've found commands for VIN, SKIM, and RKE programing, but I can't fully test these because they could very well leave my car inoperable.
- I haven't found a reliable Bluetooth OBD-II scanner, which is really annoying. Working without wires is much more convenient (and user-friendly), but every scanner I've tried suffers connection drop-outs after a while. An AT MA will only last a few minutes before the data starts to become garbage, but regular usage still has drop-outs every 5 to 10 minutes. I have tried with 5 different devices, both laptops and smartphones, which all suffer the same results, so the issue is definitely the scanners' end. USB scanners works flawlessly.
TL;DR: Chrysler can kiss my ass!
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