Did you buy and install the Paccar DAVIE4 diagnostic program, but can't get it to work on 2016 and later Peterbilts and Kenworths? Does it identify the vehicle, but won't display codes or data items?
If so, this post may help.
Thank you for checking this post out. It outlines the frustrating process I went through and the lack of help and information available.
Getting help to get the program to work, proved as frustrating as the solution was simple. Hopefully this post will keep someone else from having to go through the same process I did.
Here's the story.
DAVIE4 was downloaded from the Paccar site, installed, and licensed.
After installation and updating the program, I tried it on a 2016 Kenworth tractor. The program successfully identified the vehicle, and the "vehicle check" button seemed to scan. This brought up a home screen with options for diagnostic functions as shown below. Note at the bottom of the screen, the vehicle vin and engine model.
When the "vehicle check" button was clicked, the following screen appeared. Note the red connection blocks indicating no connection between the engine and aftertreatment system, to the program.
Clicking the vehicle icon on the upper left took me back to the home screen with the diagnostic options. When the "monitoring" button was clicked, this screen came up. The options were grayed out, and when any option was clicked, nothing happened.
Obviously there was a functionality problem.
I called Paccar tech support, and their answer was that I was using an older Nexiq interface, and that the program required the newer Nexiq2. I bought the new interface and installed the drivers for it. The results were exactly the same. I checked again for updates to Davie 4 and Nexiq drivers.
Another call to tech support had them conferring with software engineers, who came up with the idea that it was a problem with the vehicle I was connected to. I explained that between myself and another tech, we had tried it on several Paccar products, with the same problem every time. They indicated I should hook up to another truck and see what happened. I did so, with predictable results. The next tech support person I talked to suggested I attend a class on how to use the program.
Over the next several weeks, when I had a chance to work on it, I repeated calls to tech support, called the company we bought the license from several times, rechecked the laptop settings per the installation guide, and was promised calls back that never happened.
Every call to tech support started the same way. "What version of Davie4 have you got?" "What interface are you using?" "What are the interface settings?"
One support person had me send him a log file and he and two others requested a screenshot of the grayed-out page. I asked if they could hook to my laptop remotely and look at things, they said they couldn't do that. I had a feeling they didn't know how.
I finally gave up on DAVIE tech support and called support for the interface manufacturer, Nexiq. The tech there connected to my laptop remotely and had the answer literally in 20 seconds. "You aren't using a crossover cable." he said. A what? He explained that starting in model year 2016, Paccar (and Volvo) moved powertrain traffic from CAN 3 to CAN1, so a cable is needed to reposition the powertrain data to be readable to the interface. He gave me a part number for the Nexiq cable, (#406004) and said a version is offered by Paccar and other manufacturers. Shown below is a similar one we bought on eBay for $70.00.
Follow this link: crossover information for more information on the change and several more cable options. The first part of the page concerns the newer green connector. If you scroll down you will find information and crossover options for the newer Paccar products.
When the cable arrived, I connected to a 2016 Kenworth and the program finally worked. The vehicle connection page came up showing a connected truck as shown below. The orange box between V CAN and connector means there are codes present.
So, that's my story on this problem. In retrospect, I maybe should have pursued the possibility of a connectivity problem earlier, but we just haven't worked on that many late model Paccars at our shop, until lately.
I would think that somebody, maybe the company we bought the license from, Paccar tech support, or the software engineers, should have been able to offer the answer in short order. Especially four years after the change. I often had the feeling that they were more interested in getting me off the phone, than actually helping.
Also surprising was the fact that myself and another tech looked online for a possible solution, and found no information on the problem, and very little on DAVIE4 in general.
So I hope this post helps somebody, and so long until next time.
Bruce
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