Tucker Smith

Is there a way to possibly install a newer ecu of a newer model or do a bypass of any sort to get an obd 2 port in your car? I have a 95 4 runner does not have the port I have a check engine light that pops on every other day but usually goes away but if I get a day where it’s on and I have a chance to find out what it is to possibly fix it can I wire in an obd2 or buy an ecu or something to fix this I tried the wiring for the stock obd1 but check engine light will just come on and stay on till the next day I have not found the code for this if there is one and in all honesty it has taken me 4 hours to finally get all procedures done for the obd 1 and I would appreciate if you have any input on avoiding the headache for the future!
aswell would love to be able to avoid headache when out on the trails also

scope103

Welcome to YotaTech.

Well, let's see. You'd need a new, custom designed, computer. You'd need a whole new set of sensors. New harness. You might need to get the new system NHTSA approved, or you might be able to get around that. Then to get anything out of it, you'd need a code reader. (And you'd have to somehow verify your custom system was catching all the codes correctly.)

Or you can stick with what we've all got, and use a paper clip. (I'm not sure what you were doing for 4 hours; maybe you had to look through your desk for a paperclip?)

Is your problem that the CEL is intermittent? Most important codes are stored, so you can still read them even after the CEL has turned off.

Incidentally, you don't REALLY need a paperclip; any piece of wire (or gum wrapper) will work. Which is a little easier to find "on the trail" than an OBD-II code reader.

Tucker Smith

Well what I meant was instead of remembering all the codes and I already have a reader I can just keep in the car I had it in my 98 durango and has always helped me but the reason why I asked about if there was a way to just wire in one or bypass that cause I struggled the first time around with it I just bought it off craigslist and hadn’t done much to it yet other than remove weight fix trans leak and change a bad alternator. I just wanted to find out if going that extra mile for something to be quicker and a little less painful. Also took my 4 hours cause the guy had relocated the fuse box I needed to jump the 2 and when I finally got around to being able to do the connection I didn’t know if it was working because of the lack of knowledge I’m 19 haven’t worked on many cars and am still learning I’m not using that as an excuse but coming to a vehicle which I own and is my only vehicle now I didn’t want to destroy the truck by plugging 2 ends together with a paper clip cause our teachers at school totally recommended sticking a paper clip in an outlet! It was a genuine question thanks for the feedback I will continue to use the paper clip now that I’ve found where everything goes I marked both holes with a red sharpie and still haven’t figured out about the one code that pops on every other day for me the only thing it does is turn it on if it isn’t on and if it is on it doesn’t do anything else but turn off and turn back on once. I didn’t bother looking for what the flashes mean yet cause I don’t think that that is even a code. But thankyou for the knowledge I will use tomorrow as I go try again!

Friedpickle

Hi Kelly I hope this finds you well but I believe I may have one of those unicorn 1996 model 2wd sr5 automatic 3.4 with an obd1 made in the first month of 1996 but my real question is why I might be having a hard time pulling the codes. When I jump the 2 plugs that I need to and then turn on the ignition the engine light just stays on and does not blink as I believe it should. I am chasing a misfire at cold start and it’s hard without the codes.

EDIT—i just went do double check and I found my obd2 port hiding behind the dash disconnected from the mount 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

really wanted to think my truck was cool lol

thanks, Colin