Relocating OBDI Diag Connector

[adsm08]

So I have been kicking the idea of relocating the diagnostic port on my truck inside the cab. I am the kind that prefers function over form and frankly I don't find having my DLC in the engine bay, buried under the fuse box and air box, tangled in a bunch of wires to be all that functional. Especially when a lot of my problems occur when I am driving and I want to see what the sensors are doing when I am driving, not standing in the driveway playing with wires.

I have a few spare harnesses around, ones that I have mostly for wire and connectors, and so I have the plugs to just splice a DLC in to the harness inside the cab, and leave the original in place in the engine bay. I was just wondering if anyone else has tried this before.

 

[Javarod]

So I have been kicking the idea of relocating the diagnostic port on my truck inside the cab. I am the kind that prefers function over form and frankly I don't find having my DLC in the engine bay, buried under the fuse box and air box, tangled in a bunch of wires to be all that functional. Especially when a lot of my problems occur when I am driving and I want to see what the sensors are doing when I am driving, not standing in the driveway playing with wires.

I have a few spare harnesses around, ones that I have mostly for wire and connectors, and so I have the plugs to just splice a DLC in to the harness inside the cab, and leave the original in place in the engine bay. I was just wondering if anyone else has tried this before.

Can't say i've done it, but there's no reason it won't work. If it was me, i'd go and build an extension cord, one end plugs into the existing connector and merely runs it to the cab, that way i can unplug it and plug the diagnostic tool in under the hood ifn i want.

 

[adsm08]

Well I would still be able to plug the scanner in under the hood as well. I am thinking of running new wires and tapping them in near the PCM connector, rather than removing the existing OBD connector. Then I would bring it out near the middle of the vehicle for easy access, but still away from the pedals.

 

[exbass94]

Can't say i've done it, but there's no reason it won't work. If it was me, i'd go and build an extension cord, one end plugs into the existing connector and merely runs it to the cab, that way i can unplug it and plug the diagnostic tool in under the hood ifn i want.

You wouldn't even need to build an extension cord, you can just buy one pre-made.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EVYH36/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[RangerSVT]

Run the wires from the DLC mounted in the cab and solder them to the DLC mounted in the engine bay, or solder them to the DLC wires at the pcm, and heat shrink. Butt connecting will add to the resistance and will throw values off. You won't have an issue running dual DLC's, as long as both are not used at the same time


SVT

 

[Javarod]

Well I would still be able to plug the scanner in under the hood as well. I am thinking of running new wires and tapping them in near the PCM connector, rather than removing the existing OBD connector. Then I would bring it out near the middle of the vehicle for easy access, but still away from the pedals.

You could, but ExBass94 (and when were you a fish?) shared what i was thinking of, except running that through a firewall might be tricky. Basically you maintain the factory plug under the hood and plug into it when you want an under dash connector, or keep the extension plugged in until you need to test under the hood, that way you get the both of best worlds without modifying anything.