Did anyone have any problems buying a cheaper Lexia 3

[Rosanbo]

I am thinking of getting a Lexia 3.

It would be good to have a sticky post on this board about what version is the latest version and what versions have gone before. And what year they changed. Pictures of the assembled article with leads and pictures of it connected to a car and being worked with. Explaining what leads come in the kits and what each lead is used for i.e. on the website below I see S.1279 module £29 sold out, maybe the Lexia 3 has replaced it. Was there a Lexia 1 and a Lexia 2 ?

I have done some searching on this forum and found that a guy called Jim is recommended..and this is his website..
http://www.easydiagnostics.co.uk/shop/4 ... EN-PEUGEOT
His price £118 But ebay possibly same thing from £40

But new version A.1281 Z , ebay listings that say this reference are minimum £100

But I found ali express same code A1281.Z = £55
Ali Express

Right now I'm most tempted by the ali express source. That was the first one I found in google search maybe I can find others too.

Anyone know when the A1281Z version became available from Citroen?
This ebay listing shows the original Citroen part is called A1281.Z
The reason I ask is because if in 2013 when my car was sold the A1281 was not available that means I would not need that chipset on my lexia 3

What do you guys think? Lets get some discussion going about how much yours was? Where you bought it? Was it described as A1281Z ? And if it worked?

[GiveMeABreak]

I think you are misunderstanding what a Lexia is to be honest.

The diagnostic hardware part is a clone device of the original Actia unit used by PSA. This is the VCI that facilitates the communication between the Laptop and the vehicle’s diagnostic port. The latest revision of the unit is a Revision C board to communicate with the newer vehicles.

As for ‘versions’ this generally relates to the software part which is called Diagbox. Diagbox contains both encapsulated versions of Lexia (Citroen) and Peugeot Planet 2000 (Peugeot), and will launch the version most applicable to your vehicle.

As to where to buy one from? That is entirely your choice. Not all clone devices are the same. The cheaper ones may not contain all the hardware components to talk to the latest cars, you get what you pay for.

The A1281.Z is the latest hardware unit.
The S1279 module is a completely separate add on interface which is needed for some commercial models and some vehicles shared with Fiat.

Many individual members here have bought from Easydiagnostics, as they are a U.K. based company and provide good telephone support if needed. Again, your choice. There is a discount code for members, see the main sticky topic.

As for use, there are plenty of videos out there showing various operations.
As for leads there is only one you need, that is the connection from the VCI to the Diagnostic port and the other end to the USB of your laptop. The others are for compatibility with earlier vehicles.

There is already plenty of information here and in the merged Lexia and Diagbox thread if you perform a search.

[xantia_v6]

I can't comment on other vendors, but I bought one last year from: https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/2016-New ... Title=true It has worked perfectly with our 2011 Peugeot 308.

[Rosanbo]

I can't comment on other vendors, but I bought one last year from: https://fr.aliexpress.com/item/2016-New ... Title=true It has worked perfectly with our 2011 Peugeot 308.

Oh, hey, good to know, thank you. And cheaper at £44 inc. Did you get it delivered to France or NZ? Did you have to pay customs duty?

[Rosanbo]

The diagnostic hardware part is a clone device of the original Actia unit used by PSA. This is the VCI that facilitates the communication between the Laptop and the vehicle’s diagnostic port. The latest revision of the unit is a Revision C board to communicate with the newer vehicles.

Yep, not confused, I got that.

It would help if there was a sticky for beginners. A lot of people are starting from scratch. Searching for useful info is not easy, I know because I am having to do it now....and as you can see, a lot of unanswered questions arise. A single walk-through of boxes and software mentioning the different versions of each and when they are needed would be very useful.

As for ‘versions’

There are definitely versions of the box too. It would be nice if it was all explained and how to recognise the latest version in listings, i.e. "Rev C" "A1281.Z" "Full Chip" 921815C And the leads they have. There are some with 9780.Z5 ? I have noticed some (the latest) have the round connector on the unit and some have the OBD2 connector on the unit. The ones with round connector then have an adapter cable Round > OBD2. I have seen both versions with the latest chipset. I have also read that there is new firmware version, the latest being V4.3.5.
Can anyone say if when you connect your laptop can you see the firmware version number V4.3.3 / V4.3.5. ?

I'm wondering about this round connector....Are manufacturers allowed now to not have an OBD2 connector? Has the standard been changed to a round connector? The round connector is being described as "The latest PSA connector" or is it just that Citroen has decided to add an additional diagnostic port alongside the OBD2 ?

As to where to buy one from? That is entirely your choice. Not all clone devices are the same. The cheaper ones may not contain all the hardware components to talk to the latest cars, you get what you pay for.

Yes but it is how to recognise them and knowing what they do that is important. And informing people of alternative sources....and if we can build a thread like this one with people saying, yes I bought direct from China....with this result....it would be a useful record for newcomers.

Anyone know why some including easydiagnostics have a 12v battery clip cable, looks like it goes to USB and OBD2 ? EDIT, I now think this is the "CAN clip" or "ISO cable" also the "SAE J1850" for pre 2001 cars.


Hmmm, apparently you can see the version number on screen... see here Version V4.3.2. This is not my picture, not my red circle, I am referencing the V4.3.2. in this picture.


.
.
.

[GiveMeABreak]

Firmware versions are applied automatically by the diagbox update version you choose to install. The latest is not always better and will depend on what you intend to do with the tool. Later versions lose more manual telecoding in favour of online server telecoding when programming ECUs, which you can’t do without a paid PSA token.

That last screenshot is not Diagbox. That is a separate utility to check firmware and upgrade downgrade the firmware manually which should not be needed. It also shows the serial number of the Actia clone, this is not the ‘version’.

The cables are the same. There are no changes- they use the standard OBD II diagnostic port. You are getting confused with the intermediary connection from the Actia to the OBD lead.

There will NEVER be a list published of all the software update versions here. Bulletins are only sent to the dealers and authorised repairers paying large sums for leasing the tools and software updates. You should also be aware that there are no procedural user manuals - these are unofficial versions of the software modified for the likes of the DIYer - so don't expect to find one. A dealer will have invested in sending their techs to PSA training courses regularly to keep abreast of the updates.

I think a cautionary note here given your current level of understanding should you decide to invest in one - these are cloned versions of a dealer-level diagnostic tool - there is no official support (except that which may be offered by your supplier). As such you should be aware that they are not for playing about with or experimenting - there is no 'undo' or default value fall back on these. Once a change is made you cannot undo it unless you know the pre-existing value of a parameter.
So avoid anything that you are not sure of, as changing a single parameter can be enough to put the car in an unusable state.

As I mentioned there are resources and videos of instruction in some functions out there if you look for them, but beyond the scope of this Forum to collate here given the hundreds of vehicles and thousands of procedures relating to Diagbox that are involved.

[Rosanbo]

The cables are the same. There are no changes- they use the standard OBD II diagnostic port. You are getting confused with the intermediary connection from the Actia to the OBD lead.

I can see the Original Equipment Actia -latest version- A1281.Z has a round connector - and there is an adapter lead to OBD2
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322287884291

I can see only the latest clones have this same connector (some listing say "latest PSA connector") and adapter lead to OBD2.
Previous clones all have only OBD2.

All of this implies that the Original Equipment used to have an OBD2 on the box.
If it is the case I am wondering why PSA changed it to a round 30 pin connector with adapter lead.

And if PSA has always made them with the round connector...why?...What is the round connector used for?

I think a cautionary note here given your current level of understanding should you decide to invest in one

Yep, this is why I read as much as I can on a new subject and ask a lot of questions.

[GiveMeABreak]

The 30 pin round connector is still supplied for older vehicles and some trucks prior to OBD2, but mostly superfluous for vehicles from 1996 on.

[MikeT]

The round connector allows connection to other breakout harness adapters for more granular and focused diagnosis for all of the various ECU's, subsystems and harnesses.

[Rosanbo]

The round connector allows connection to other breakout harness adapters for more granular and focused diagnosis for all of the various ECU's, subsystems and harnesses.

Thanks for replying.

The round plug on the Actia is Male, Are there any identical female round plugs on the cars? If not where/what are these other "breakout harness adapters" ?

There are different pins in use, on the left is the Actia/Lexia 3(MALE), on the right is the OBD2 cable (FEMALE) (supplied with the newer Lexia), all the OBD2 pins are present on the Actia plug but then there are some more on the Actia, which are for something else.

[xantia_v6]

Here is an example of a breakout harness: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/CITROEN-C1-IMMO ... Sw6MNaSQR2 or https://www.ebay.ie/itm/GENUINE-NEW-PEU ... Swt4xaaa7l

There have been dozens of them specialised for different models and functions, but as they are expensive and not often used, only a few dealers ever bought them. They occasionally come up for sale as models become obsolete.

[Rosanbo]

Ok, great, I only need to get one with OBD2, I wouldn't be going anywhere near leads like that.