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First, verify that you have the correct COM port selected in the Edit→Options menu as described below in the "Which COM port" section. The "port currently owned" message means that some other application has that COM port opened. Often this is a Palm HotSync manager or something like that running in the background. Most of those applications have a way to disconnect themselves from or disable their use of the COM port.
Edit→Options
Basically, if you're getting the timeout message, then it means the application has located a valid COM port, sent a command to the ECU, but did not get a reply back. Something between the application and the ECU is not working properly. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things between those two endpoints that might be causing the issue.
If you search for "command timeout" on the forums you will see a huge number of possible causes. We've seen everything including OS configuration issues, bad serial ports on the laptop, wiring issues in the car, blown fuses in the fuse/relay box under the hood, problems with the ECU itself, a damaged adapter, etc., etc. It can sometimes be very difficult to track down the source. But there are a few basic things you can try to get started.
First you have to figure out for sure which COM port to use. In general, you should be able to pull up the Windows Device Manager for this. Right click on My Computer, select Properties, go to the Hardware tab and click on Device Manager. Now, expand the Ports (COM & LPT) tree node and you should see something like this image:
My Computer
Properties
Hardware
Device Manager
Ports (COM & LPT)
That should tell you for sure which COM port you should be using in DSMLink. Once you know that, you enter that COM port into DSMLink (Edit→Options→Config) and try again. If that's still not working, then at least you know you have the correct COM port selected and there's no need to go swapping around with that. If you don't even see your USB/DB9 adapter listed in device manager as illustrated above, then you'll need to start debugging why your adapter driver isn't properly installing itself.
Edit→Options→Config
If your laptop has a built-in DB9 serial port (i.e., you're not using a USB/DB9 adapter), then the COM port you'll want to use will be something like the plain Communications Port (COM1) port listed in the diagram above. In that case, you'll also what to check to make sure the select COM port isn't actually a built-in modem or IRDA port or something like that.
Communications Port (COM1)
It's rare, but sometimes the timing of laptop can make a difference on 2G connections. To test this, try adding the following to your dsmlink.prefs file (located in C:\Program Files\DSMLink)
dsmlink.prefs
C:\Program Files\DSMLink
interByteDelayMillis=40 interCommandDelayMillis=40 cmdReplyTimeoutMillis=1000
After you add those things, bring up the DSMLink application again (it must be down when you make those additions to the dsmlink.prefs file) and try to connect.
If you get desperate and need to confirm that the basic wiring in the car is correct, use the following information to buzz out the connections between the OBDII adapter and the ECU. Note that the image below is of the connector in the car, not the DSMLink adapter.
Pin 16 can be pulled from ECU pin 80 (connector B-56, Red-Blue) if needed. Pin 5 seems to just be a chassis ground point. You can get information on ECU connector pin locations from the ECUWiringInformation page. If pin 16 does not show power (it should have 12v at all times when measured against pin 5), the fuse powering this pin may be blow. The same fuse power the key illumination ring, the lights in the rear view mirror, the foot light under the dash and even provides battery backup power to the ECU. It's labeled in the shop manual as dedicated fuse #11. You can locate this under the hood in the main fuse box. Looking down at the fuse box standing in front of the car, fuse #11 and #12 are grouped together in a yellow clip located in the lower left hand corner of the fuse box.
You can also do a basic check against the diag pin (pin 1) of the OBDII connector. Check the voltage on the car's OBD-II pin 1 without the DSMLink adapter attached. It should be something like 5V or higher. If not, something is grounding it. That can make the ECU behave oddly, prevent DSMLink communications, and may mess with your locks.
Please use care when checking the diagnostic port pins. If you jam the typical multimeter probes into the pins, you can stretch the pins to the point that they may not make proper contact with the DSMLink connector.
!!1G notes
!!!!USB adapter The goofy 1G ECU baud rate makes this platform very sensitive to which USB/DB9 adapter you can use. Our users have reported only a few that actually work properly. You can get more details from the USBToSerialAdapterInfo page.
!!!!Red power wire Some early 1G cables had a separate red power wire. Please confirm that this wire is plugged into a powered fuse box port. The cable does require that this wire be connected to a 12v power source as listed in the install instructions or else it simply will not work.
!!!!Diagnostic port wiring When all else fails, check the basics. Here's some information posted to our forums related to basic checks you can perform on the 1G diagnostic connector in the car. First, make sure the car's ignition is turned on when you're trying to connect DSMLink. Examine the cable for any broken wires at the car end. With the ignition on, measure the voltage on pin 10 of the car's diagnostic connector (connects to the DSMLink cable's pin that has a white wire) with no cable attached. It should be about 4.5V (3.5V for a 1990 ECU). Measure the voltage on pin 1 of the car's diagnostic connector (connects to the DSMLink cable's pin with the green wire). It should be pulsing, indicating diagnostic info. Check that pin 12 of the car's diagnostic connector (connects to the DSMLink cable's pin with the black wire) has continuity to ground.
!!General
It can be *immensely* helpful if you can find someone in your area that has a known working setup and start swapping parts or just trying your laptop with their setup to try to isolate where the problem most likely is.