[NTLUG:Discuss] new to list, have a question

[Steve Baker]

Clay Ramsey wrote:
> Anyone know the switches to use when un-tarring the tarball for the
> diag. software?  I'm a bit of a newbie, so it's less than intuitive (for
> now ;)).  The documentation only says to unpack the tarball.  

There's probably a point-n-click way to do this - but I'm a command line
kind of guy.

First, make a directory to dump stuff into, cd into that place.

If the tarball is named with '.tar.gz' or '.tgz' extensions then it needs
to be uncompressed as well as unpacked - so use:

     tar xzvf whatever.tar.gz

  x == eXtract files.
  z == uncompress a gzipped tarfile
  v == verbose (you don't need this)
  f == unpack from a File (as opposed to the default tape drive or some such nonsense!)

If the tarball is named with just '.tar' then it's not compressed - so omit the 'z'.

If it ends with something else - then it probably needs to be uncompressed BEFORE it's
untarred (as a separate command) - but that's not likely to be the case with something like this.

99 times out of a hundred, your next command will be:

    ./configure

...then:

    make install

(which you may need root privilage to do).

> My truck is a Chebbie 1500, so it's nothing exotic.  I just want to be
> able to hear what the sensors are telling computer.  And of course, take
> corrective / preventive action!

Freediag can tell you the codes (presuming you can either build or buy
the special serial port cable + electronics).  You can also buy cables
(and free software) for various PDA's - which may be more convenient than
having a laptop balanced on the passenger seat while you drive!

Finding out what the codes *mean* is a different matter.  As I said, there
are some standard ones that California State law mandates so that emissions
control officers can do emissions diagnostics no matter what kind of car it
is.   The rest tend to be kept semi-secret by the manufacturers in order that
they can encourage you to use their licensed dealerships rather than a shade-tree
mechanic.   However, for most kinds of car, many of them have been figured out
or 'leaked' so you can often figure them out by surfing car enthusiast sites.

My MINI uses a Siemens ECU - and searching for other cars that have Siemens
ECU's showed up some codes I couldn't find by searching MINI web sites - so
you can see that you may need to be quite devious to figure out what you
need to know.

If that's all you want, there are also some hand-held diagnostic units
that just plug directly into the OBD-II port and do nothing but read out
diagnostics and let you reset error codes.  I've seen these under
$100 - tp put that in context: Some of the serial port adaptors for
laptops can run to $75.   If you can build an adaptor yourself (it
comprises some sort of voltage regulator and level shifter) it'll be
cheaper - but you still need the OBD-II connector which is something
unlike anything I've ever seen on something other than a car.

BTW: One **VERY** important thing is that you NEED to use something
battery operated.   A laptop or PDA is fine - but don't do it with
the laptop's battery charger plugged into the wall outlet - and never
use a regular PC.

---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
HomeEmail: <sjbaker1 at airmail.net>    WorkEmail: <sjbaker at link.com>
HomePage : http://www.sjbaker.org
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