I've been using the AccessPORT for a few weeks now and I love it except the fact it only seems to work when it feels like it...

If I forget to follow the exact procedure of put the key to the off position, plug the AP in, THEN turn the car on (ie I plug in the AP with the car running) sometimes the AP will never turn on until the next time I drive the car. If I accidentally try to plug in the AP when the key is in the ACC position the AP will enter its "I'm not even going to power on until the next time your drive your car" mode.

I've had one occasion where I plugged in the AP with key in the off and it will just show the first splash screen indefinitely. Even if I unplugged the AP for a considerable amount of time it would not progress past this screen until the next time I drove the car.

I'm not sure the period of time that needs to elapse for the "next driving session" to happen but it is definately more than a few minutes.

It seems like the "lost connection to the ECU" problem lots of other people have but this seems to happen way more often than I would like since I'm relying on the AP to be my water temp gauge. It happens maybe once or twice in an hour drive ever few driving sessions. Unplugging and plugging it back in will fix this normally but sometimes it will never be able to reconnect.

Is this just a nasty blemish on an otherwise superb product or is my unit defective? It seems to work MOST of the time but I'd like a reliable product.

 

Here is a guess.
Are the connector pins in the CAN/ODB2 port snug?

I had issues in the past running a CanScan and it would just disconnect. I found the socket pins would intermittantly connect. I also had this issue like what you describe here.

I took a very small flat head and very gently bent the socket pins toward the center of the CAN port. It's a important device to you and the car. Be careful.

So far after doing this i have had no connection drops. that was 2 years ago

This is aimed at anyone that may use this info to possibly resolve this tpe of connection issue.

(disclaimer, I don't know what peoples invidual skills are. If you feel unconfortable in doing something, DON'T. get someone you trust to do it.)

 

There are some temperamental units out there - especially of the last generation with the separate dongle.

What Factor describes here is a viable procedure - just be careful.

It seems that the dongles are not particularly tight and some OBD ports might have recessed or off-center pins.

 

Also check the pins on the bottom of the AP if you have the last gen without the dongle. Specifically check the top left pin -- is it pushed in?

This can happen if you plug the wire to the AP upside down because one pin hole is blocked off in the cable but if you aren't super-careful, it'll still easily slide in upside down and push that pin in.

Happened to me. Waiting on Cobb to repair it.

 

Crap! Really? I hadn't tried that.
That sucks.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I've done a decent amount of testing based on it.

I have version 2b (with the solid obd2 cable) and while getting the connection issues I have verified many times that the cable is plugged in securely. Removing the obd2 port from the stock holder and having it dangling, then messing with the wire will not cause it to randomly disconnect from the AP. Likewise, I am positive I am plugging in the AP cable correctly with the snap in the back, also playing with the cord from this side won't cause the problems I'm talking about either.

I have inspected the obd2 port and all the female connections look fine to me.

I don't think the unit itself is defective either since I have not had any problems with the random disconnects and power offs while connecting it to my computer.

Would putting conductive gel on the pins on the port which actually have wires fed to them be a bad idea to ensure that the dongle is actually making solid contact?

 

I wouldn't recommend trying it lol

Good news is Cobb fixed it and it's back in my hands now, so I'm all good for the tuning day!

 

Check the male port on the bottom of the AP, specifically the top left pin. This is the one I was talking about being accidentally pushed in.

 

Hey Wulf, how long did it take for you to get your repaired AP back in your hands? Mine is also temperamental (does not always turn on, gets random ecu disco). Usually when its not hot (the AP) I can plug it into an already running car and it works (but not always), but with the latest Cobb news, I'm worried if I should just send it in for repair so I have a brand new working unit that will hopefully last the life of the car. Seems like my problems are similar to a lot of other users and probably not that big of a deal, but like I said, with the discontinuation of the Cobb AP at the end of this month, just has me a little worried. (And yes I know they said they will still support the 1 year Man. Warranty, so I have till the beginning of next year, April, to send it in for repair if this information is correct).

BUT….either way, once I fix this invisible vacuum leak I supposedly have but can’t seem to find (and my AP logs for the last week don’t seem to support it anymore….very strange but will be starting a new thread on this issue), I will be holding onto this unit till Jeff gets out to the east coast and dyno tunes my car Then maybe the correct thing would be to send it in, get a new unit, re-flash my fully tuned 8, and then lock it away in a safety deposit box vacuum sealed until I need it again when/if I ever go FI. So many things to ponder with just on simple, but major, news announcement.

Any suggestions, comments, questions, answers (esp from Wulf if you dont mind) or ridicules are welcome!!!!

 

After bending the male pins on the OBD2 dongle of the AccessPORT approximately the width of the pins towards the center (a few mm) my random disconnects have not returned. I did still have an issue one day since then when I plugged the AP in once the car was already running for ~30 seconds and it didn't power on. I tried disconnecting/reconnecting with various time intervals but again nothing worked. After a few minutes plugged in with no power it booted up however so I'll take what I can get

Otherwise big thanks to 09Factor for this fix tip and if you haven't tried it it may help to alleviate most of your issues like it did for me.

*Note: My AccessPORT male pins on the dongle were perfectly straight prior to bending

 

It took about a week from when Cobb received the AP to ship it back.

 

Nice, well thats 2 votes for that so I think I will very gently try it, have a long trip this weekend (well 3 hours each way long), will be the perfect time to see if the disconnect problem is gone. Thanks both of you for the info!! (and slap myself for only reading the thread about 10 times and NOT seeing that particular part )

Well thats not bad at all!!! Sounds like another good idea then to send it in once I've finished tuning for refurbishment. Then Ill put it in the vault and hide the key!!!!!

 

So it looks like I spoke too soon. Over the weekend I had several ECU communication problems and two instances where the AccessPORT failed to power on once plugged in after starting the car... guess I have to send it back to Cobb.