I don’t use Melcodiag but posts on the JPDiag indicate that best results are with USB v1.4 Elm327 with the FTDI chipset. The one sold by Lonelec fits the bill.You will see cheaper versions advertised as FTDI but you will find they are actually Winchiphead driver CH340. https://www.lonelec.co.uk/Car-Diagnostic-Code-Readers/ELM327-OBD2-USB-Interface
I'll post this guide again here in the event that it has been overlooked. MelcoDiag Guide for Windows 8.1 This guide will walk you through the steps necessary to get the MelcoDiag software up and running on a PC running Windows 8.1. It may work in a similar manner on other Windows operating systems as well. In this example we’re going to connect to a 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale with a Mitsubishi ECU. You’ll need the following items to get started: 1. MelcoDiag 2. A computer 3. DUCATI Diagnostic 4 pin OBD2 connector for Ducati Panigale 4. ELM327 USB Cable OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner with FTDI FT232RL Chip PIC18F25K80 v1.4 Downloading MelcoDiag: We’ll start by downloading MelcoDiag on your computer running Windows 8.1. Some internet security software may prevent this application from being downloaded on to your PC. Should you have any problems it’ll be necessary for you to temporarily disable your antivirus/internet security software. 1. Go to jpdiag.akress.com. 2. Locate MelcoDiag at the bottom of the page… click download. 3. A dialogue box will appear asking if you would like to run, save or save as… click save as. The downloaded file will be saved as MelcoDiag. I saved this file in my downloads folder. 4. View your downloaded files… select MelcoDiag and open the file. 5. You’ll see the MelcoDiag application and an application extension listed… select the MelcoDiag application and open. 6. A dialogue box will appear referencing zipped folders… click extract all. 7. Another dialogue box opens telling you what folder the extracted files will be placed in… click extract. 8. With extraction complete, select the MelcoDiag application once again… click run as administrator. 9. The user account control window opens asking if you want the publisher to make changes to your computer… click yes. 10. The MelcoDiag icon will appear on your taskbar… click to open MelcoDiag. If you choose, return to your downloaded files, select MelcoDiag and create a shortcut to your desktop. 11. Double-click on the MelcoDaig desktop icon and the MelcoDiag welcome screen will appear. The MelcoDiag icon will appear again on the taskbar as well. 12. Click on the taskbar icon and a dialogue box will open indicating that no serial port has been detected… click OK. 13. Now the main MelcoDiag application window appears. At this point you can click through the tabs and get an idea of what MelcoDiag has to offer. 14. Click to close the program and the window collapses and the MelcoDiag icon disappears from the taskbar. 15. The MelcoDiag software has now been successfully installed on your PC. 16. If you disabled your antivirus/internet security software at the start of this procedure you can now activate it once again. Required Cables: The two cables that are required to utilize MelcoDiag can be found on Ebay. I don’t believe that all versions of the ELM327 cable will function with MelcoDiag… purchase v1.4 as described below or v1.5. The other cable will allow you to connect the ELM327 cable to the CAN bus adapter on your Panigale. Let’s discuss the two cables briefly. 1. The ELM327 USB Cable OBD2 Diagnostic Scanner with FTDI FT232RL Chip PIC18F25K80 v1.4 by OBD Innovations will come complete, with easy to follow instructions (Figure 1). You’ll download the drivers from their website, extract the downloaded files and verify that the drivers were successfully installed by plugging the device into your computer. I purchased this device on Ebay but you can visit OBD Innovation’s website directly if you choose. 2. The DUCATI Diagnostic 4 pin OBD2 connector for Ducati Panigale…I purchased this cable on Ebay as well (Figure 2). There was some confusion on JP’s website with regards to the cabling used to attach to different ECU’s. Some users indicated that they fried their ECU’s because they used an incorrect cable. I don’t know what cables were used or which ECU’s they were trying to connect to. If you want to check this cable before installation you may proceed as follows. Refer to (Figure 3) below. Using a multi-meter verify that you have continuity between the following points: · CAN Bus Connector Pin 1 to OBD Connector Pin 16 · CAN Bus Connector Pin 2 to OBD Connector Pin 4 and Pin 5 · CAN Bus Connector Pin 3 to OBD Connector Pin 6 · CAN Bus Connector Pin 4 to OBD Connector Pin 14 If your cable has checked out okay then you’re ready to move on and connect to your bike. Connecting to your Bike: To access the CAN bus connector on an 1199 Panigale proceed as follows: 1. Remove the seat from your bike. Once the seat has been removed you’ll see the black box unit (BBS) mounted in the subframe. You should be able to locate the CAN bus connector in the subframe just behind the BBS. Note:The Can bus connector on your vehicle may be found in the lower portion of the tool compartment. I changed the location of the connector on my bike. 2. Carefully pull it through the opening in the top of the subframe and remove the cap covering the connector. 3. Take the two cables that you purchased and connect them to one another. 4. Connect the end of the cable with the CAN bus connector to the CAN bus connector on your bike. 5. Plug the USB end of the cable into an available USB port on your computer. The red LED on your ELM327 diagnostic scanner should be lit. 6. At this point it’s a good idea to check the COM port that will be utilized in your computer. You can look in device manager to see which COM port is being used. If you’re unsure how to open device manage… open the Windows control panel, type in “device manager” in the search box in the upper right-hand corner and select device manager. Now scroll down until you see Ports (COM & LPT). Click on the arrow to the left to expand this field and note the COM port that’s listed. Refer to (Figure 4). 7. Turn your ignition key to the “ON” position. Do not start your bike. 8. Double-click on your MelcoDiag desktop icon to open MelcoDiag. 9. With MelcoDiag open now look at the COM port box located to the right of the Connect button. Click on the COM port that you verified in step 6 (above) to highlight it. 10. Below the Connect button select the year of your bike. As a side note… my bike is a 2012 Panigale, so naturally I placed a check next to the 2012 option. After clicking on the connect button the information pertaining to my bike appeared with the exception of the VIN information. I corresponded with JP and was instructed to place a check next to the 2013 and up option instead. Upon doing so all the information was displayed correctly. 11. I allowed the baud rate to remain at its default value… 38400. 12. Click on the Connect button. Connecting to your bike should only take a matter of seconds. You should notice several LED’s on your ELM327 diagnostic scanner intermittently flashing on and off as communication takes place. Information specific to your bike will soon appear in the MelcoDiag window. 13. Turn your attention now to the box in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. 14. Place a check in the box next to debug information for report and registration. 15. Place a check in the appropriate box to indicate if your oil service light is active. 16. Place a check in the appropriate box to indicate if your desmo service light is active. 17. Enter the make/model and year of your bike in the box provided. 18. Select write report. A dialogue box will open when the report is written. It only takes a couple of seconds. You don’t have to do it now, but if you want to view the information contained in the report at a later time proceed as follows: a. Look in your downloads folder b. Locate Melcodiag c. Double-click to open d. Locate Melcodiag.exe.debug e. Double-click to open A text file similar to the one shown in (Figure 5) will appear. 19. Click Get License. A screen capture of MelcoDiag just before I clicked on Get License in (Figure 6). 20. After clicking on Get License a new screen will open as shown in (Figure 7). Enter your bike information (year and make/model), your email address, and click on Send. Information specific to your bike is shown on the clipboard… just leave it as is. 21. Be patient… after properly submitting my information JP responded with the license within an hour. I don’t know what the average wait time might be to acquire a license once your information has been properly submitted, but be patient and give JP an opportunity to respond. If several days pass and you haven’t received your license I would then suspect that there’s a problem somewhere and you should follow up with him. 22. Return to the MelcoDiag main screen. 23. Click the Disconnect button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen to disconnect. 24. Turn your ignition key to the “OFF” position. 25. Disconnect the cable from the USB port on your computer and the CAN bus connector on your bike. 26. Place the cap back onto the CAN bus connector on your bike and position the connector back into the subframe. 27. Reinstall the seat on your bike. License Activation: JP will send you an email with the license file attached. Once you’ve received your license file proceed as follows: 1. Download the file into your downloads folder and do not rename it. 2. Now, locate your license file in your downloads folder. Left click to select the file, then right click and choose copy. 3. Next, locate MelcoDiag which should also be in your downloads folder. Left click to select the file, then right click and choose paste. Your license has now been copied into your MelcoDiag directory. You’re done… let’s put it to the test. I hooked up my cables, powered my bike’s ignition to the “ON” position and opened MelcoDiag. Since my bike had the desmo service light illuminated I decided to see if I could reset this service indicator. I selected the Resets tab in MelcoDiag, located the appropriate reset button and successfully reset the service indication. Note: If you expect to connect to your bike and use this software for an extended period of time it would be advisable to purchase and utilize a battery maintainer to preserve your battery.
