DRB III Emulator in a Virtual Machine

AndyA

2006 TJ X
Supporting Member
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Tucson, AZ
This how-to will show the steps to set up the DRB III Emulator on your PC using a Virtual Machine (aka 'VM'). One of the limitations of the emulator is that it must not have internet access, which means it can't be installed on your PC (unless you want to switch off internet access, and I'm sure you don't). The options are to use a dedicated PC or a VM.

These instructions are not mine, I have cribbed them from multiple places on the internet and put them together in one place.

Use the contents of this how-to at your own risk! You could damage the Micropod 2 and/or your vehicle. You have been warned.

Purchase a Micropod 2 clone from here. They are $129 at the time of writing and they are shipped from China so they take a week or two to arrive:

https://www.obdii365.com/wholesale/witech-micropod-2-diagnosis-programming-for-chrysler.html
1. Download and install VMWare Workstation 16 Player

https://www.vmware.com/content/vmwa...layer/workstation-player-evaluation.html.html
2. Download the Windows 7 32-bit ISO from here:

https://archive.org/details/Windows7SP1ENGAIOx86x64

3. Get a Windows 7 Professional 32-bit product key from here:

https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmanager/activate-windows-7.html

4. Create a new VM called "Windows 7 Scratch 32-bit" using the ISO and the product key. Set the memory to 2GB by customizing the machine.

All the following steps are in the VM.

5. Download and install the Chrome browser

6. Search the web for KB3138612 from Microsoft, download, install and reboot.

7. Check for Windows updates to get the service packs. Install all of the updates Microsoft offers.

8. Optional: install VMWare Tools. Not needed but makes life a lot easier. For example once installed you can resize the VM window and drag and drop files from your PC to the VM desktop. Download the ISO from here:

https://packages.vmware.com/tools/esx/latest/windows

and mount as a CD drive in the machine settings, then run the installer.

9. Close the VM and make a copy of it called something like "DRB III Emulator". Keep the scratch version somewhere safe in case you need it again as a new starting point.

Screenshot 2023-06-29 191225.jpg


10. Start the new VM.

11. The CD that comes with the Micropod2 clone may not have the DRB III emulator on it. There are reports that they stopped including it, however someone on another forum has uploaded the contents of their CD here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xwM8T0_tKyh2JUrNtP2ib-yYt1fIuqDs/view?usp=sharing

Here are the file listings in case you don't want to download from that link but rather search elsewhere for the same contents:

31/05/2023 21:16 <DIR> .
31/05/2023 21:16 <DIR> ..
16/12/2017 03:50 <DIR> DRBIII emulator
21/02/2017 21:39 8,673,298 WiTECH Install video.exe
16/12/2017 03:48 <DIR> wiTECH_Install_17.03.01
16/12/2017 03:47 <DIR> wiTECH_Install_17.04.27
1 File(s) 8,673,298 bytes
5 Dir(s) 216,727,408,640 bytes free

Directory of D:\DRB III\wiTECH_Install_17.04\wiTECH_Install_17.04.27

16/12/2017 03:47 <DIR> .
31/05/2023 21:16 <DIR> ..
08/10/2015 13:47 18,509,368 AdobeAIRInstaller.exe
08/10/2015 13:45 17,090,992 jre-6u45-windows-i586.exe
28/09/2016 02:28 174,466 Read me.pdf
24/05/2017 19:45 806 wiTECH_Install_17.04.27 Software and considerations.txt
20/05/2017 08:09 829,910,936 wiTECH_Install_17.04.27.exe
5 File(s) 865,686,568 bytes
2 Dir(s) 216,727,408,640 bytes free

Directory of D:\DRB III\wiTECH_Install_17.04\DRBIII emulator

16/12/2017 03:50 <DIR> .
31/05/2023 21:16 <DIR> ..
11/12/2017 22:02 22,295,360 Drb Enhanced Emulator Setup 01-11-2017.exe
02/09/2016 05:38 17,232,785 Drb Enhanced Emulator Setup 09-02-2016.exe
11/02/2017 02:14 22,254,701 Drb Enhanced Emulator Setup 18-01-2017.exe
07/09/2017 22:22 22,294,004 Drb Enhanced Emulator Setup 22-08-2017.exe
02/09/2016 05:37 16,228,666 DRB III Emulator Setup 1.09.0001.exe
02/09/2016 05:39 3,856,592 DRB Stub Installer.exe
02/09/2016 05:39 3,856,672 Enh DRB Stub Installer.exe
7 File(s) 108,018,780 bytes
2 Dir(s) 216,727,408,640 bytes free

Directory of D:\DRB III\wiTECH_Install_17.04\wiTECH_Install_17.03.01

16/12/2017 03:48 <DIR> .
31/05/2023 21:16 <DIR> ..
08/10/2015 13:47 18,509,368 AdobeAIRInstaller.exe
24/05/2017 20:05 293 Install .txt
08/10/2015 13:45 17,090,992 jre-6u45-windows-i586.exe
28/09/2016 02:28 174,466 Read me.pdf
18/12/2016 08:41 827,030,864 wiTECH_Install_17.03.10.exe
5 File(s) 862,805,983 bytes
2 Dir(s) 216,727,408,640 bytes free

12. Unzip and copy the folder wiTECH_Install_17.04 to the desktop of the VM.

13. Go into the folder wiTECH_Install_17.04.27

14. Complete steps 5 to 20 from http://blog.obdii365.com/2018/06/16/install-drbiii-emulator-for-micropod-2-on-windows-7/ but using wiTECH 17.04.27 instead of 17.03.01.

If the stubs fail to update (steps 15, 17 and 19) then this doesn't seem to be an issue.

15. Connect the Micropod 2 to your PC and make sure it appears in the device manager as "Ethernet Gadget".

Screenshot 2023-06-29 191159.jpg


16. In VMWare Player click on the Player menu -> Removable Devices -> Ethernet Gadget -> Connect. Do not choose the option to automatically connect the device to the VM in the future, that only causes USB problems.

Screenshot 2023-06-29 191915.jpg


17. Complete steps 21 and 22 from http://blog.obdii365.com/2018/06/16/install-drbiii-emulator-for-micropod-2-on-windows-7/

18. In wiTECH check Work in Standalone Mode then Next

Screenshot 2023-06-29 203709.jpg


19. Click on Work Off Line then Finish.

Screenshot 2023-06-29 203743.jpg


20. Close wiTECH

21. Complete steps 23 and 24 from http://blog.obdii365.com/2018/06/16/install-drbiii-emulator-for-micropod-2-on-windows-7/

Creating the shortcut:

Screenshot 2023-06-29 192247.jpg


Internet disabled:

Screenshot 2023-06-29 192139.jpg


22. Run Drb Enhanced Emulator Setup 22-08-2017.exe

23. Complete step 25 from http://blog.obdii365.com/2018/06/16/install-drbiii-emulator-for-micropod-2-on-windows-7/

Here is what the browser window looks like when you click on the shortcut:

Screenshot 2023-06-29 192432.jpg


then the DRB III Emulator application will appear on the taskbar:

Screenshot 2023-06-29 192442.jpg


At this point Chrome can be closed.

Some (most?, all?) Micropod 2 clones have a circuit board flaw. There is a chip variously marked as "27 TI MAP", "55 TI MAP", "65 TI MAP", etc. that has a pin which should be connected to ground but isn't. This flaw stops the PCI bus from being accessible. The result is that the PCM can be seen but not other modules.

Fixing this required some delicate soldering. There are a couple of different ways but I decided to solder a wire from pin four of the chip to a point where there is ground.

Here is the board before modification. The red box is the pin that needs grounding.

TI Map Pin.jpg


Here is the board after modification. I've added a wire from the pin to the nearby capactor.

IMG-9824.jpg


A DRB III manual can be found here:

https://www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/DRB_3_Features_Menus.pdf

Some screenshots.

Screenshot 2023-06-29 191347.jpg


Screenshot 2023-06-29 191741.jpg


Andy
 
Can you just install it on a dedicated laptop that you keep off the 'net? (And WHY do you have to do that?). Retired IT guy here...
 
Can you just install it on a dedicated laptop that you keep off the 'net? (And WHY do you have to do that?). Retired IT guy here...

Yes you can but I didn't want to allocate a laptop just for this when I already use virtual machines. Also seems like a waste of a laptop for something I likely won't need to use unless I have a problem with the Jeep.

You have to keep it off the internet because some of the components (e.g. Adobe AIR) are aggressive at updating themselves and the updates do not work with the emulator.

Andy
 
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Yes you can but I didn't want to allocate a laptop just for this when I already use virtual machines. Also seems like a waste of a laptop for something I likely won't need to use unless I have a problem with the Jeep.

You have to keep it off the internet because some of the components (e.g. Adobe AIR) are aggressive at updating themselves and the updates do not work with the emulator.

Andy

Excellent explanation. I have more laptops lying around than I know what to do with, I'll look into converting one of them. I have a couple of VMs for various things, but why add the complexity when I have several surplus laptops?
 
Excellent explanation. I have more laptops lying around than I know what to do with, I'll look into converting one of them. I have a couple of VMs for various things, but why add the complexity when I have several surplus laptops?

Note that Windows 7 32-bit is recommended but I did see one person say it works with Windows 10 (32-bit I presume). Best to stick with Windows 7 if you can as the entire process is finnicky.

Andy
 
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Lots of info can be read out. I'm not sure if any of this relates to mapping though. Here are some examples.

Andy

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If you look at item 49, you see the intake air temperature to be at 176F. This is read by the sensor in the intake manifold. This is very high, and reduces the efficiency of the engine, AFAIK.
 
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If you look at item 49, you see the intake air temperature to be at 176F. This is read by the sensor in the intake manifold. This is very high, and reduces the efficiency of the engine, AFAIK.

That's pretty typical from what I've seen, for a TJ sitting at idle in hot ambient conditions. It'll cool down to the 120-130s while moving.

Some things I notice:
Cam crank difference of 8.2 deg vs cam crank learned of 3.2. is this indicative of an OPDA that's been replaced without performing the cam/crank relearn?

5V from battery temp sensor with a -83F reading must be what it sees on vehicles not equipped with the sensor (like mine).

I'd love to know if there's a way to pull some of these extra parameters using third party tools like the torque app. I might be able to use it to be more certain of my diagnosis of my fuel level sender having a dead spot, vs an issue in the harness, but the fuel level parameters aren't among the prepopulates values.
 
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I'll be watching this closely - should be a huge help to those who like to tinker. Would love to see TCM info as well - maybe maybe ? 🤞
 
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I bought the micropod2 and followed the instructions in this thread, but on a $35 laptop from ebay instead of a VM. It works.

PXL_20230722_170030709.jpg


I only did it this way because the only laptop I own is an issued one from my employer and I dont want to be jacking around with it in the garage, etc. But it's a hilarious reminder of how big and heavy even modestly sized laptops were in the windows 7 era.
 
If you use a virtual machine like Oracle VM VirtualBox with no browser in it will that protect if from automatic updates?
 
I bought the micropod2 and followed the instructions in this thread, but on a $35 laptop from ebay instead of a VM. It works.

View attachment 443444

I only did it this way because the only laptop I own is an issued one from my employer and I dont want to be jacking around with it in the garage, etc. But it's a hilarious reminder of how big and heavy even modestly sized laptops were in the windows 7 era.

Yay! Did you make the hardware modification and can you access the cluster module?

Andy
 
If you use a virtual machine like Oracle VM VirtualBox with no browser in it will that protect if from automatic updates?

It's nothing to do with the browser, you need to turn off internet access in the virtual machine so some of the components can't automatically update in the background. Andy