Vetronix mts 3100 mastertech User manual

MTS 3100 Mastertech®
Operator’s Manual

This entire document and all information contained herein are proprietary, confidential, and exclusive trade
secret property of Vetronix Corporation, and shall not be reproduced, duplicated, or copied in whole or in
part, or made available to any person, firm, or corporation without the prior written permission of Vetronix
Corporation.
Vetronix Corporation
Copyright © 2007
Manual P/N 08002923 Rev. B
Tech 1, Tech 1A, and Mastertech®are registered trademarks of Vetronix Corporation
Printed in USA 05/07

FCC Compliance
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference when the equipment is operated in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and
can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual,
may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference
will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged
to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
• Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Foreword
The Mastertech Multi-Function Tester and associated Program Card(s) are designed for use by trained
service personnel to diagnose and repair automotive electronic systems. Every attempt has been made to
provide complete and accurate technical information based on factory service information available at the
time of publication. However, the right is reserved to make changes at any time without notice.
To familiarize yourself with the Mastertech and Program Card capabilities and how to use them, please read
through the operator's manuals before putting the Mastertech and program card(s) to work. The tools are
designed to reduce time-consuming reference to manuals as much as possible. Once familiar with the tools
and their operation, you will be able to spend more time diagnosing and less time reading.
The Mastertech Multi-Function Tester and Program Card(s) provide the following capabilities:
• Data scan functions
• Bi-directional serial data commands
• Meter measurement functions
• Oscilloscope
• Operate as the center of an automotive diagnostic system
• Shop management functions
• Math functions and unit conversions
• Timer functions
• Future expandability

Mastertech 3100 Operator’s Manual TOC-1
Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
USING THE MASTERTECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Screen Displays in this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Location of Vehicle ECUs and Test Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Tester Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
WARNINGS, CAUTIONS, NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Operating Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Data Memory Retention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
WARRANTY AND REPAIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Repair Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Vetronix Service Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Taking the Product Back and Recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
2. DIAGNOSTIC CAPABILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
MASTERTECH KIT OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
The Mastertech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
3. MASTERTECH KIT COMPONENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
MASTERTECH FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
PROGRAM CARDS AND CARTRIDGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Program Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Tech 1 Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
I/O Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
KEYPAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
MASTERTECH KEY FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
DISPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
DATA LINK CONNECTOR AND CABLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
VEHICLE ADAPTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
POWER SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
BATTERY BACKED OPERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
BATTERY BACKED MEMORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
BEEPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
LEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
INSTRUMENTATION PORT AND DEVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
DIAGNOSTIC TEST LEADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
RS232 PORT AND RS232 PORT DEVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Remote Host Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

TOC-2 Mastertech 3100 Operator’s Manual
MASTERTECH CHARACTERISTICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
4. ACTIVATING THE BATTERY BACKED MEMORY . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
5. GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
INSTALLING A PROGRAM CARD OR CARTRIDGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Program Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Tech 1 or I/O Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
CONNECTING THE TESTER TO THE VEHICLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
POWERING THE TESTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Vehicle Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
AC 12-Volt Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
TURNING THE TESTER ON AND OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
POWER-UP DISPLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
HELP SCREENS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
6. USING THE PORT CONNECTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
RS232 PORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
INSTRUMENTATION PORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
DIAGNOSTIC TEST LEADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
7. FINISHING UP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
CLEANING AND STORING YOUR TESTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
8. BATTERY CHARGING AND REPLACEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
NICAD BATTERY PACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Charging the Battery Pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Replacing the NiCad Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
LITHIUM BATTERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Replacing the Lithium Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
A. UNDERSTANDING RS232 COMMUNICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1
RS232 Interface Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
B. IF YOU ARE HAVING A PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Blank Screen When Tester Is Turned On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Error message is displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Printer cannot print by pressing Sand PSkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Mastertech Does Not Pass All Self Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3

Mastertech 3100 Operator’s Manual TOC-3
Mastertech Fails to Power Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
C. GLOSSARY AND ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
INDEX .............................................................................................. Index-1

TOC-4 Mastertech 3100 Operator’s Manual

Mastertech 3100 Operator’s Manual Page 1-1
1. INTRODUCTION
USING THE MASTERTECH
The Mastertech Operator's Manual lists the diagnostic capabilities of the tester and describes the hardware
components contained within the Mastertech kit.
The Mastertech Operator's Manual also describes how to connect the hand-held tester to the vehicle and how
to operate the Mastertech. The Mastertech must be used in conjunction with a diagnostic application
program card or TECH 1 cartridge. TECH 1 cartridges are automotive diagnostic application cartridges that
can be used in the TECH 1, TECH 1A, and Mastertech testers.
The program card and/or TECH 1 cartridge operator's manuals provide directions for connecting the related
components to the Mastertech and the vehicle, and operating instructions for the test modes available in the
program card or cartridge. The program card and cartridge operator's manuals should be used in conjunction
with the Repair Manual for the vehicle being tested.
SCREEN DISPLAYS IN THIS MANUAL
The data shown in the screen displays in the Mastertech Operator's Manual is sample data for illustration
purposes only and may be different from the data displayed when different vehicles are tested.
The sample displays in this manual are full screen displays that are available when using a program card with
the Mastertech.
Tech 1 Displays
If you are using a TECH 1 cartridge in the Mastertech without a program card installed, menus and data
screens are displayed on four lines with 16 characters on each line. Graphic displays such as Bar Charts, Line
Graphs, and Oscilloscope displays are not available.

Introduction Warnings, Cautions, Notes
Page 1-2 Mastertech 3100 Operator’s Manual
Enhanced Displays
Most TECH 1 cartridges can be used in conjunction with a program card which enables the tester to display
data in full-screen Enhanced Mode. Graphic displays such as Bar Charts, Line Graphs, and Oscilloscope
displays are available when operating in Enhanced Mode. The Enhanced Mode is explained in the program
card operator's manual.
LOCATION OF VEHICLE ECUs AND TEST CONNECTORS
For the location of vehicle Electronic Control Units (ECUs) and Data Link Connectors (DLCs), refer to the
Repair Manual and the electrical wiring diagram for the vehicle being tested.
TESTER KEYPAD
In the Mastertech and Program Card Operator's Manuals, the number, symbol, word, or abbreviation on the
Mastertech keys are indicated in boldface type and enclosed in a box. For example, 8,A, P, E
and X. When two keys are shown together, hold down the first key while pressing the second key. For
example, PXmeans to press and hold the Pkey, then press the Xkey.
WARNINGS, CAUTIONS, NOTES
In the Mastertech and program card manuals:
• WARNINGS indicate there is a possibility of injury to you or other people.
• CAUTIONS indicate the possibility of damage to the component being repaired.
• NOTES providing additional information are separated from the text but do not appear in bold.
Refer to the Repair Manual for the vehicle being tested for further Warnings, Cautions, and Notes.
OPERATING PRECAUTIONS
WARNING! When performing any checks with the engine running in an enclosed space
such as a garage, be sure there is proper ventilation. Never inhale exhaust
gases; they contain carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless, extremely
dangerous gas which can cause unconsciousness or death.
CAUTION
CAUTION! Do not use the Diagnostic Test Leads to check voltages higher than 20
volts. (Don't plug the Diagnostic Test Leads into a standard AC wall
outlet). Also, the Diagnostic Test Leads should be kept away from high
tension secondary ignition wires when the engine is cranking or running.