Patent ID: 8392056

Claim:
A method for providing diagnostic capabilities to legacy vehicles having analog connector assemblies that output analog signals relating to vehicle health, comprising the steps of: providing a hand-holdable universal diagnostic interface unit having a connector on one end of the diagnostic interface unit adapted to directly mate with an existing analog connector on the vehicle and a connector at the other end of the diagnostic interface unit to output digital data, the universal diagnostic interface unit adapted to be directly attached to the existing analog connector on the vehicle, so as to connect to the analog connector without using a connector cable; directly attaching the diagnostic interface unit to the existing analog connector assembly without using a connector cable by using the connector at the one end of the unit, the diagnostic interface unit carrying specialized signal conditioning circuits, a processor and a digital-to-analog converter coupled to the processor; providing the processor with algorithms to be able to diagnose and prognosticate present and future problems relative to the vehicle and to provide an output of the diagnosis or prognosis information; and, providing the output from the processor through the connector at the other end of the diagnostic interface unit.