Dodgy obd2 connector?

[Kevwilliam@24]

Hi all first time poster and attempted user of "Forscan" sorry if this is a long boring post.
I originally signed up for the 2 month free trial to use Forscan on my 2010 Euro4 2.2 Transit 115.
I picked up an
FORScan OBD2 Code Reader ELM327 Scanner Adapter USB Diagnostic from ebay.
to make the connection or atleast try to
The first time connecting (once installing all drivers ect) it popped up that the "obd2 tool" was not compatible with my vehicle, but then went on and showed a list of DTC's but couldn't reset any of them.( for abs sensor and rear parking sensors)
I've tried numerous times to connect the obd2 reader via my laptop and it won't let me do anything apart from see what DEC'S their are
I purchased the extended version of forscan to see if this would allow me any joy but now it's not connecting at all and if it dose connect the laptop to the reader its coming up about key not been turned on so can't connect to vehicle(or something along those lines) sorry I forget easily and forgot to write it down
Have I bought a dodgy obd reader or am I doing something totally wrong.
Me and technology are a definite nono as I struggle with focusing after a few minutes and can't always relate to words when read/get confused so easily
Thanks for taking the time to read my post

[Andyfocus]

if thiers no switch then it can only read half of the car and wont connect properly as it requires the other canbus to communicate before toggling the switch , so yes and no about it been dodgy depending on the insides ,check the thread from years ago about bad / clone elm readers.

[Kevwilliam@24]

if thiers no switch then it can only read half of the car and wont connect properly as it requires the other canbus to communicate before toggling the switch , so yes and no about it been dodgy depending on the insides ,check the thread from years ago about bad / clone elm readers.

thanks for the reply, their is a switch on the side of the diagnostic conector.
i did search to see if anyone else had encountered this but came a blank
i will have another look see if i can find the post youve mentioned. thanks

[tractmec]

if thiers no switch then it can only read half of the car and wont connect properly as it requires the other canbus to communicate before toggling the switch , so yes and no about it been dodgy depending on the insides ,check the thread from years ago about bad / clone elm readers.

thanks for the reply, their is a switch on the side of the diagnostic conector.
i did search to see if anyone else had encountered this but came a blank
i will have another look see if i can find the post youve mentioned. thanks

Hi all first time poster and attempted user of "Forscan" sorry if this is a long boring post.
I originally signed up for the 2 month free trial to use Forscan on my 2010 Euro4 2.2 Transit 115.
I picked up an
FORScan OBD2 Code Reader ELM327 Scanner Adapter USB Diagnostic from ebay.
to make the connection or atleast try to
The first time connecting (once installing all drivers ect) it popped up that the "obd2 tool" was not compatible with my vehicle, but then went on and showed a list of DTC's but couldn't reset any of them.( for abs sensor and rear parking sensors)
I've tried numerous times to connect the obd2 reader via my laptop and it won't let me do anything apart from see what DEC'S their are
I purchased the extended version of forscan to see if this would allow me any joy but now it's not connecting at all and if it dose connect the laptop to the reader its coming up about key not been turned on so can't connect to vehicle(or something along those lines) sorry I forget easily and forgot to write it down
Have I bought a dodgy obd reader or am I doing something totally wrong.
Me and technology are a definite nono as I struggle with focusing after a few minutes and can't always relate to words when read/get confused so easily
Thanks for taking the time to read my post

Dodgy? From E bay? I would bet on it!
Any thing purporting to be ELM327 these days is likely a cheaply made clone of the original ELM327, if they even used the original ELM specs. The original ELM327 chip is out of production and sales as of ~2020 and many of these clones sold online are not even a good imitation of the original!

If it has an external switch it is most likely to be miswired (HSCAN and MSCAN wired incorrectly) or mislabelled(HSCAN swapped with MSCAN if they are even labelled) and the Switch must be in HSCAN for proper initial connection!

FORScan's Connection parameters(Gear Icon/Connection Tab: Connection type set to FTDI and not using auto connect) should also have the ELM327 Specific MS-CAN Support settings set to use HS/MS switch!

FORScan has not recommended using these external switched or ELM based clone adapters for quite some time hence the disclaimer message you got when you first connected!

My advice: Send this back if you can can and use the refund and probably not much more money to obtain one of the recommended
FTDI(ELM type)adapters from the Manufacture's links on this page: https://forscan.org/download.html

[Kevwilliam@24]

Thanks once again for the helpful reply, the unit I got has a switch but no label on it to say which side the switch is on(HS/MS which confused me even more as didn't know which position was supposed to be on before attempting to connection
If that makes sense
I will contact the seller again and state I want a return/refund and get one without said switch.
Could you please tell me once I get the new connector will forscan automatically accept it or would I have to change settings?
Sorry to be a pain and asking what might be stupid questions 🫣
Thanks for your help I do appreciate it

[tractmec]

Thanks once again for the helpful reply, the unit I got has a switch but no label on it to say which side the switch is on(HS/MS which confused me even more as didn't know which position was supposed to be on before attempting to connection
If that makes sense
I will contact the seller again and state I want a return/refund and get one without said switch.
Could you please tell me once I get the new connector will forscan automatically accept it or would I have to change settings?
Sorry to be a pain and asking what might be stupid questions 🫣
Thanks for your help I do appreciate it

If you are going to get another adapter, do yourself a favour and go here: https://www.obdlink.com/products/obdlin ... m-forscan/! Do some reading and find a vendor in your area(Amazon in UK or Europe should have these) if the cost of obtaining it from the US is high!
Or look at this UK link: https://www.bmdiag.co.uk/forscan-diagno ... vlinker-fs, for a vLinker FS which uses all the same drivers(but may need vLinkers installer) and is also firmware upgrade-able but unfortunately you might have to use their driver installs if your currently installed drivers do not work and do some Polish Translations as the company is located in Poland and instructions are only in Polish!

FORScan did much of their testing with these adapters and had much input into Their development!

Chances are good that if your "Dodgy" E Bay adapter used FTDI drivers then the EX adapter will be already set up! The connection parameters I use for my old OBDLink ElmScan5 are shown in the attached .png file and should work for an EX adapter and the only exception or difference for an EX adapter would be to set the MS-CAN support to "Auto" and Check the box for "Check and Update the adapter's Firmware" The EX is chip firmware Update-able and I would bet most of the E bay clones are not!

Hopefully this was not just more confusing?