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RAVCAB

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Are there any Australian forum members who can point me to an OBD reader that will read an Australian RAV4 (1999 vintage)? I bought a cable that adapts to the Toyota plug in the engine bay, but my OBD reader is for OBD2 only it seems.

Australian RAVs of this era are OBD1 only, unlike American RAV4s which are OBD2 compliant I believe.

So, can anyone recommend an OBD1 reader that can be plugged into a 1999 RAV4, Australian delivered example.

Cheers, Frederick (NSW Australia)
 
#5 ·
The Actron CP9690 is said to have cables for both OBD1 and OBD2 vehicles, and is supposed to work on Toyotas from 1984 (1989?) to 1995:
167684

I think the green rectangular connector above is the one for a 1990s OBD1 Toyota. Detail in the Actron CP9690's user manual shows a DLC1 connector that looks like the OBD1 Rav4's. Download the manual here:

Home | Actron

actron.com actron.com

Unfortunately it's over $150 at every site I checked. Also while by far most of the reviews at Amazon for this tool's use on OBD1 Toyota are positive, some are not. The tool still seems a little if-fy for an OBD1 Toyota.
 
#6 ·
OK, I’m puzzled. I thought for OBD1, there wasn’t really such a thing as a reader. Not like an OBD2 reader, anyway. For reading OBD1 codes, simply install a jumper across the TE1 & E1 terminals, and count the blinks of the CEL.

Right?
 
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#7 ·
Huh, I’ll be darned! That reader Elle linked to can read OBD1 codes on some makes, including Toyota. See page 60 in the manual, here. It mentions that it can’t erase OBD1 codes. I believe one could also use the jumper method to read them. And to erase codes, pull/reseat the EFI fuse.
 
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#8 ·
BMR said:
OK, I’m puzzled. I thought for OBD1, there wasn’t really such a thing as a reader. Not like an OBD2 reader, anyway. For reading OBD1 codes, simply install a jumper across the TE1 & E1 terminals, and count the blinks of the CEL.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought. Yet I found code readers and scanners with connectors that absolutely look like they plug in fully to the DLC1 connector in the engine bay of the Rav4.1. On the third hand, does this mean there is some sophisticated circuitry in the code reader/scanner?

In the attached service manual section, instructions are given for reading various codes by jumping various pins in the engine bay DLC1 connector and reading blinking lights et cetera on the dash. No doubt BMR and many of us know this routine well, from earlier Toyotas. The service manual says to use Special Service Tool (SST) 09843−18020 (uh huh). The latter SST is a couple of wires and pins as follows:
167693

​
From chatter on toyotanation.com about reading OBD1 codes though, I do wonder if the Actron CP9690 amounts to "a paperclip in a fancy container," as one fellow put it here: OBD1 Code Reader

I would be using the same jumper method BMR and many internet sites describe. I have used this method on a 1992-ish Toyota pickup truck. No big deal. It works great.

I am not sure DLC1 will blink out codes on U. S. distributed Rav4.1s. The latter topic has come up a few times here.
 

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Discussion starter · #9 ·
Thanks for the feedback. I'll take a closer look at the Actron CP9690.
A local Aussie mechanic was able to read my RAV4 (picture attached) but his unit cost mega bucks to acquire. Thing is, the codes are not in the usual format. Perhaps this is an OBD1 format?

Code 99 - I have no idea what this means
Code 21 - upstream O2 sensor has since been replaced
Code 52 - knock sensor not yet replaced, but intend to do so
Image
 
#10 ·
Yes, OBD1 gives you two digit error codes. I have no idea what the 99 error means.
 
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#12 · (Edited)
RAVCAB said:
Code 99 - I have no idea what this means
Click to expand...
The net has much information on OBD1 trouble codes. Try googling more extensively next time? Here's what I turned up: An [OBD1] code 99 may indicate a communication issue between the ECU and the immobilizer system. I do not think U.S. distributed Rav4.1s have, as an option, a Toyota factory installed immobilizer system. I am not sure whether other countries' Rav4.1s have "immobilizer systems."

Currently "immobilizer system" refers in part to one of those high tech ignition keys with a transponder that does not let the vehicle start unless the correct high tech ignition key is used. It's an anti-theft device. Some posts on Code 99:

forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/9qq75159#:~:text=The%20immobiliser%20will%20be%20a,ECU%20and%20the%20immo%20system.

www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/125860-99-fault-code/

Someone else who got a Code 99 when jumping the DLC1 pins in the engine bay of her 1998 Rav4: www.troublecodes.net/toyota/

I would focus on fixing the cause of the other two codes. They're relatively serious trouble codes.

For a Rav4.1 whose codes are readable only using OBD1 tools, I suspect Code 99 may be gobbledygook having to do more with the scanner's technology than the Rav4.1 design.
 
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Elle_Rav4
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