On-Board Diagnostics, or OBD, in an automotive context, is a generic term referring to a vehicle’s self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems give the vehicle owner or a repair technician access to state of health information for various vehicle sub-systems. The amount of diagnostic information available via OBD has varied widely since the introduction in the early 1980s of on-board vehicle computers, which made OBD possible. Early instances of OBD would simply illuminate a malfunction indicator light, or MIL, if a problem was detected—but would not provide any information as to the nature of the problem. Modern OBD implementations use a standardized digital communications port to provide realtime data in addition to a standardized series of diagnostic trouble codes, or DTCs, which allow one to rapidly identify and remedy malfunctions within the vehicle.

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PC-based OBD analysis tool that converts the OBD-II signals to serial data (USB or serial port) standard to PCs or Macs. The software then decodes the received data to a visual display. Many popular interfaces are based on the ELM or STN1110 OBD Interpreter ICs, both of which read all five generic OBD-II protocols.

In addition to the functions of a hand-held scan tool, the PC-based tools general offer:

• Large storage capacity for data logging and other functions
• Higher resolution screen than handheld tools
• The ability to utilize multiple software programs adding flexibility

The extent that a PC tool may access manufacturer or vehicle-specific ECU diagnostics varies between software products as it does between hand-held scanners.

While a moderately priced cable/adapter may be used with free software (such as Opendiag,Freediag,and pyOBD), the cost of some professional OBD software may match the cost of advanced hand-held tools

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