Summary of Open-source ELM327 OBD adapter
This open-source ELM327 OBD-II adapter interfaces with a car's diagnostic bus supporting multiple protocols like SAE J1850 PWM/VPW, ISO 9141-2, and CAN. Built around the NXP LPC1517 Cortex-M3 microprocessor, it offers precise signal handling, low power consumption, and flexible firmware programming via USART or CAN. Variants include Bluetooth and USB versions, using Beken BK3231 and FT230XS chips respectively. The project includes schematics, firmware, and PCB data, released under GPLv3, suitable for DIY OBD-II interfacing and development.
Parts used in the Open-source ELM327 OBD adapter:
- NXP LPC1517JDB48 ARM Cortex M3 72MHz processor
- FT230XS USB to UART chip (for USB version)
- Beken BK3231 Bluetooth module (for Bluetooth version)
- 8-pin OBD-II J1962 Connector
- State Configurable Timers (integrated in LPC1517 for signal handling)
- J1850 Bus components (for PWM and VPW protocols)
The adapter allows you to interface with your car’s OBD-II bus. It provides you a serial interface using the ELM327 command set and supports all OBD-II standards:
- SAE J1850 PWM
- SAE J1850 VPW
- ISO 9141-2
- ISO 14230-4
- ISO 15765-4 CAN
Hardware
The adapter kit schematic is shown here. It is built around NXP LPC1517 Cortex-M3 microprocessor with 64 kB program memory, but can accommodate another chip from same family like LPC1549 with 256 kB if required. The NXP chips has a ROM-based bootloader that supports loading a binary image into its flash memory using USART or CAN. All the software is written in C++ for NXP LPCXpresso IDE which is essentially using GNU toolchain for ARM Cortex-M processors. However, it can be compiled with other pre-built GNU toolchain, like GCC ARM Embedded or even with Keil uVision IDE.
The Highlights
- NXP LPC1517JDB48 ARM Cortex M3 72Mhz processor
- 64kB Flash, 12kB RAM, 4kB EEPROM
- Using NXP sophisticated State Configurable Timers to do the precise signal handling for J1850 PWM and VPW protocols
- CAN FIFO buffers for handling some not-strict ISO-compliant ECUs
- Botloader for initial firmware programming
- Low power consumption
See building the adapter firmware from the source code. Or, if you just want to program the firmware check the programming the Adapter with Flash Magic. Also, you might consider ELM329 AllPro adapter. It is year 2018 and most likely you need only CAN protocol.
A release is available:
- AllPro Github repository
- allpro-hex.zip — the prebuilt firmware
The software and other materials in allpro-src.zip is released under GPLv3. If you want to reuse the source code in your commercial products, contact me for a commercial license.
The printed circuit board data are available separately:
- allpro-mfgr-data.zip — Gerbers, drill files
The OBD-II Cable Connector
The adapter uses eight pin connector to link up to vehicle’s OBD-II J1962.
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Bluetooth AllPro
Bluetooth version of AllPro adapter is ready-to-use fitted to “de-facto” standard OBD connector case and paired with SPC-CA v3.0 Bluetooth module based on Beken BK3231 chip. Apparently Beken bought the license for old ARM9E-S core with a substantial discount for their Bluetooth SOC. The core goes back to year 2004. You will need a debugger to program the device though.
Here is the popular Android Torque application output:
USB ELM327
This version of AllPro adapter is ready-to-use fitted to “de-facto” standard OBD connector case and paired FT230XS USB to UART chip. Here is the schematic.
The FTDI chip is crystal-less with the synchronization for this oscillator can be taken from the USB data stream itself and clocking Cortex processor as well. It also providing 3.3V from internal VREG.
Source : Open-source ELM327 OBD adapter
