Fuse location

[coryl]

Does anyone know where the fuse is located and what it's labelled as to data link OBD connector on a 2008 2.5i?

I was solar charging through the OBD port and when I went to start the car it initially wouldn't turn over but did so on the second attempt. CEL came on immediately as did the solid traction control (unable to turn it off), and the cruise control light started blinking. I got only the P1560 code which is a back-up voltage circuit malfunction code. My code reader wouldn't register the code until I started the engine. I think that I've blown the fuse but can't figure out the location of it on this car.

Thanks for any help.

[coryl]

Anyone know what the B stands for in the EGI + B? That fuse is blown.

Edited August 5, 2017 by coryl

[coryl]

I changed that 7.5A EGI + B fuse and the car starts on the first turnover now. CEL/traction control/cruise lights are gone. I'd still like to know what the B stands for if anyone can tell me?

[GeneralDisorder]

Download the FSM and look at the schematic.

 

Don't hookup foolish devices to your OBD port. Solar charging through the OBD? Really? What's the point of this? I can think of no good reason to hookup anything to that port unless you know what you are doing. Please refrain.

 

GD

[Gloyale]

I changed that 7.5A EGI + B fuse and the car starts on the first turnover now. CEL/traction control/cruise lights are gone. I'd still like to know what the B stands for if anyone can tell me?

 

12v "battery" power.  Meaning always on, not Ig. switched.

 

 

Download the FSM and look at the schematic.

 

Don't hookup foolish devices to your OBD port. Solar charging through the OBD? Really? What's the point of this? I can think of no good reason to hookup anything to that port unless you know what you are doing. Please refrain.

 

GD

 

 

Agreed.  The power tap in that circuit is for operating a scanner, not to charge the battery.  As evidenced by the 7.5 amp fuse, the lowest in the whole car IIRC.  You Cigarette lighter is not a charge port either.

 

If you want to charge the battery, hook up your charger to the battery.

[coryl]

Thank you  Gloyale for your information. After I posted this, I found I had a break/short in my charger cord...which I've been using for many years to save the expensive batteries on my Evo and on my Subaru. I'm upset that Subaru has the injector fuse connected with battery. OMG who does that???? I spoke with my fiend who is an electrical engineer and who worked with mitsu, and he said to me that he didn't see any issue with me charging through the OBD port saying that it is grounded. I will continue  to charge my batteries  by OBD port, but will always now look for any breaks.    

[Gloyale]

Thank you  Gloyale for your information. After I posted this, I found I had a break/short in my charger cord...which I've been using for many years to save the expensive batteries on my Evo and on my Subaru. I'm upset that Subaru has the injector fuse connected with battery. OMG who does that???? I spoke with my fiend who is an electrical engineer and who worked with mitsu, and he said to me that he didn't see any issue with me charging through the OBD port saying that it is grounded. I will continue  to charge my batteries  by OBD port, but will always now look for any breaks.    

 

The ECU needs a connection to +12v from battery to retain learned fuel/timing maps in memory.

 

The OBD II port cannot be "grounded"  It may have a pin that connects to ground.  But the entire connector itself is not "grounded.

 

At any rate.....by conectiing there, you are applying whatever weird wave of solar voltage through the connector and in parallel to whatever other devices are on that circuit before it goes through any fuses.  So you have no protection for the ECU and other items on that circuit if your charger pushes too high voltage

 

It's the weakest rated circuit in the car amp handling wise, and also the most sensitive being as it's the ECU backup supply.  Why on earth would you risk hooking some random voltage "backwards" through it with no fuse protection for the other devices on that circuit?

 

Charge should go straight to battery, through a heavy gauge wire and fuse.  Not parallel to the ECU unfused, M'kay?

[GeneralDisorder]

Very foolish. But whatever - you were warned. They harvest replacement computers for guys like you in junk yards every day so fly on Kennedy.

 

GD

[coryl]

Hey Gloyale,

Thanks.

I understand what you're saying. Everything worrys me because I love my cars and their safety...they're my children.

The first time I solar charged through the OBD was when I purchased (from Ebay) a solar charger from VW who used solar chargers to bring all of their cars  here to prevent battery failure on arrival to North America. VW wouldn't charge through their OBD ports if they felt that they would damage them? My friend from Mitsu agrees.

That said, I didn't like the idea that they were unregulated ,so I agree with you, and so when I found a charging system that regulated the voltage I purchased it. This system has saved my batteries and have kept them like new since. The only issue I had was blowing the 7.5A fuse when I charged for over 12 hours in direct sunlight with a broken cord which I only realized after I started this post

I've been charging through the OBD port for over 6 years. There's just nothing better.

[heartless]

a VW is not a Subaru - we do not know how their cars are wired - they may be different.

 

I am in agreement with Gloyale - the OBD port is for an OBD reader ONLY.

 

If your cars are sitting for so long that you are worried about the batteries dying, you should look into getting a proper battery maintainer and hook it up properly.

[Gloyale]

I've been charging through the OBD port for over 6 years. There's just nothing better.

 

Nothing wrong with solar charging.  Just don't be lazy.  Just pop the hood and hook up to the battery.

 

You should not be "charging" by backfeeding any circuit in the car.  This is like trying to supply your house with water by hooking up the neighbors hose to your garden faucet.

 

The cicuits are made to handle just the one or 2 items in the circuit.  With the wire gauge getting smaller as it branches out to each smaller and smaller load.  OBD port is a TINY load.  It's not a circuit that's designed to handle more than a few amps required by scanners.

 

Personally I think all this is silly.  You should not really ever need to use a supplemental charger to tend a battery unless the vehichle is sitting for months.

 

This is just using gadgets for the sake of feeling gadgety.

[coryl]

Gloyale, my cars often do sit for months at least a few times a year. I used to lose expensive batteries frequently ($350-$500 each). I live in an end unit town home, and in the spring, summer, fall, I have everyone in these units beside me coming through my yard to go through their back yards which makes it impossible to hang extension cords across my property from my electrical outlet to my Subaru which is the car that sits outside...in the winter it's a different scenario as no one and their children crosses my property and so I do not solar charge my Subaru (and also because of the snow on my windshield) and because I want a more precise charge to keep my battery at full. My Evo gets the garage, but it's very difficult to charge to the battery as the battery is in the trunk so it has been charged through the OBD port always...when I'm away for months I do charge my Evo directly to the battery with a higher amp charger because it's not driven. My chargers are 3.5 amps maximum through the OBD port or higher 7.3 amps (Subaru)and 15 amps (Evo) when charged directly to the batteries (when I'm away in winter). I keep the amps to 3.5 to the OBD on both Evo and Subaru through the OBD. I've done this for over 6 years now with no issues at all until I over charged the Subaru with the broken cord and was solar charging on a full 12 hour sunny day when I started this post.

I agree with you. I don't want to put a huge amount of amps through my OBD but I can tell you that 3.5 isn't a problem from so MANY years of experience. In the end of the worst extreme...I blew a fuse. I keep a few extra fuses on board now. Don't think I'll need them since I now keep an eye on any broken cords and will immediately replace them. 

Edited June 6, 2018 by coryl

[crazyman03]

I think the point of the rambles on this thread are that the ODB port isnt intended for that function. I'll agree on both ends of the topic. 

Sure - you are only pushing what? 3 amps through it? the 12 or 14ga wire should be more than capable of handling that. And being as there is a device that was designed to do it through those means says that it can be done.

Can vs Should are 2 very different topics though. Obviously you can. Heck, why not? The the argument though is should. There is a lot that can go wrong. Hopefully you arent going to gloss over my post but let me explain.

First off, fuses work best at the source of power. if there is a problem with the wire (ie, a short) the wire has to arc long enough to pop the fuse. Without going into how fuses actually work, Basically the heat has to be generated long enough to break the line at the weakest link - the fuse. That short could have caused the wire from your ODB port to melt and/or catch fire. (That type of problem, Id want to be the farthest away from my ECU as possible)

 

I know the first thing you are going to say after reading that - "Well, my charger has a fuse in it, that would have popped before anything like that would have happened". Sure it would have. But did it? is it rated to the wire you are pushing power into? Fuses/breakers are designed to be the weakest link. Manufacturers/you choose them to save both the device and the wire. Usually they are rated to be just below the wires max load.

 

I say all this because I have repaired way too many cigarette lighters because people used those nifty "jump boxes". Sure they were designed to be plugged into it - why would they sell it? But again, the argument isnt can you, its *should* you. There is way too much going on under that dashboard.

 

Personally (and especially) if this is something that is a permanent go-to for tending your batteries, I would find a more permanent solution that can go to the battery and yet be solar. Radeon has a neat little charge controller and panel combo that I use. You can make your own permanent solution that you can just plug the panel in wherever you want it to be and do it the way you really should. 

Thats all, Thats all anyone is really saying here. From one car guy to another car guy that makes things work the way they need it to. We're just trying to help. 

 

-Justin

 

 

 

[Subaru Scott]

This is my suggestion:

Run a dedicated, fused 20 amp circuit to your lighter socket. This is a modification you should want to do anyway so you can charge your phone without having to put your keys in.

I do this immediately on every car I buy, so it can work like it used to in the good ol days. 

Then, buy a FUSED lighter plug for your charger, and fuse it to the wire size of the charger itself.

Using the OBD port for charging is sketch-o-rama!