[avr-chat] AVR and Hardware For Reading Automotive On-Board Diagnostics Connector?

[Robert L Cochran]

Is there an AVR that is especially good for reading data from an
automobile's on-board diagnostic (OBD) connector? Is there already
hardware that can do this: a cable for plugging into the OBD port, and a
board which can read the codes coming from the port? By automobile, I
mean an automobile built for the North American market. I assume that
the OBD connector varies in style and pinout from country to country?

I know my auto mechanic has a device weighing 25 kilograms with a long
heavy cable terminated by a fat connector that plugs into my OBD port,
reads the trouble codes, and displays them on a screen. That is pretty
much what I want to do, along with intelligent matching of what the
codes probably mean, but I want the smallest possible form factor.

Thanks

Bob Cochran
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA