2HundyJTex
SILVER Star
I’m using iPhone with VeePeak OBDCheck BLE Bluetooth scanner ($34) and OBD Fusion App ($10) for iOS, with Toyota codes upgrade as an in-app purchase ($15). With 3 other Toyota & Lexus vehicles, this was a bargain.
DIY Smartphone Scan Gauge - OBD Fusion (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TeCKis300
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- Thread starter
- #182
Looks like the other guys got you on the Apple side. I'm an Android guy.
Hey, quick question for you since I have 4 Lexus vehicles in the house. When I go to buy the PID packs it asks me to choose a year. Does it make any difference? My LX is a 2016, but my other cars are a 2016 LS, 2018 RX, and 2021 GX. I'm thinking to buy the 2016...even though all four of my cars are different years, the 2016 model year for each model would be the same generation as mine. I guess if I had to I could just fork out an additional $15 for each year, but buying one year instead of four would save me $45. Any help is appreciated...TIA.
You’ve got nearly the whole alphabet!
There will likely be at least slight differences between each year, so ideally you’d have all 4. That said, I’d think you could start with one and see if that year gets you what you want for others.
After having at least a dozen different European cars for half a dozen different manufacturers, the decline in build quality and durability is shocking. After the last 150 Prado/200 LC, gone are the cars that you could buy and hold onto a car for a couple hundred thousand miles. Taking advantage of the insane pandemic car prices to trade in every car for a Lexus was one of the best decision I've ever made. Goal is to have these last until someone figures out an EV-equivalent of a 200 series...otherwise I might have to have the GX and LX buried with me for the next life.
Before my LX, I had an L405 2014 Range Rover Autobiography...what an interior, but mechanically what a piece of garbage. Owned an L322 Autobiography before it, and I still can't believe how much the build quality fell over a single generation. Land Rover build quality combined with the complexity of modern cars is a terrible combination...If people knew what they were actually buying, I don't think JLR would still be in business. It's a scary thought that something like the plug-in hybrid full-size Range Rover with a turbo 2.0L I4 exists (fun fact: it was just a cool $150k for this drivetrain in the top-spec Autobiography trim).
But back on topic - for anyone who's curious, I actually bought the 2016 enhanced Toyota pack and just edited each of my vehicles in OBD Fusion to a 2016 instead of the actual model year. Since the 2016 model year is the same generation as my 2018 RX and 2021 GX, it looks like it gives me access to the enhanced pack for those cars as well.
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Post in thread 'DIY Smartphone Scan Gauge - OBD Fusion'
DIY Smartphone Scan Gauge - OBD Fusion - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/diy-smartphone-scan-gauge-obd-fusion.1269979/post-14236665
2HundyJTex
SILVER Star
I agree with this and @achillar30 idea of buying the 2016 first. I haven’t tried it on my 2021 GX yet, but it read a number of the codes on the 2103 RX, not all, but enough to figure out what was going on. The main PIDs are the most common anyway.
2HundyJTex
SILVER Star
I finally had time to fiddle with this recently on a long road trip while someone else was driving. On my 2018, the digital dash readout (and radial dashboard) speedo is the same as the “GPS Speed” on the OBD. However, the “Vehicle Speed” is lower. The GPS Speed is accurate.
Interestingly, the dash displays a figure that’s always rounded up. For example, with GPS Speed = 71.1, the dash displays 72.
Is that on the stock tire size? I’m on 33’s (stock 20” wheels with 275/60R20 Michelin Defenders) and at 70 mph via GPS the Speedo is reading around 72. Based on the online tire size calculator, it should’ve been 74.
I know most speedos read low, but I was expecting much more of a difference in my case. Surprised to see so much of a difference in your screenshot as well, especially if you’re using stock sized tires.
2HundyJTex
SILVER Star
Nope. I’m on 275/65r18 - BFG Trail-Terrain (661 revs/mi).
Depending on what you want to monitor you’ll likely need to buy multiple. I think even the transmission PIDs for the 2008-2015 LC/LX are different than 2016-on
Much thanks to both you and @lx200inAR for posting your dashboards. I also shamelessly copied and restructured to fit my needs:Your post reminded me to post my dashboard (shamelessly copied) that I’ve been tinkering with.
View attachment 3208668
Obviously I was going down a hill when I snapped this.I added high and low indicators plus some color bars in the gauges [per @linuxgod post in March on this thread ] Formatted specifically for an iPhone 13.
Pm me if anyone wants the custom export.
Left (or top) is the dashboard in action and right (or bottom) is its default state. I was not towing for the action shot, which is why the gear is 6th on my 6-speed (I don’t tow above 4th, maybe 5th on flatland with no wind and TC lockup). A couple notes on the readout:
Vehicle, Sensor, and Display:
I'm driving a 2013 Land Cruiser using the OBDLink MX+ port reader paired to an iPhone 13 with iOS 16.6: This OBD2 hardware comes with the OBDLink app and Toyota-specific PID pack (if using a generic OBD2 port sensor, you'll need to purchase the OBDFusion app and the PID pack). This hardware and software was designed to work together. If you are using a different hardware/software setup, this dashboard may behave differently (i.e., perhaps there may be some lag, etc.). If you are driving a different model (outside 2013-2015 range Land Cruiser), this may also need some tweaking. As best as you can, double-check to make sure the readout is accurate for you before towing with it.
Gage Ranges:
I've done my best to research the tolerance ranges (green, orange, red) for each gage. Every limit has some basis in various posts I've read here on MUD, but a lot of that data was ultimately subjective to a small extent. This is how I tried to set it up:
- Green: Operating with no stress (no action needed)
- Orange: Operating under stress but within tolerances (action: start monitoring and consider if driving adjustments can be made to get back into green)
- Red:
- Lower end: Operating under stress at limits (action: must adjust driving to get back into orange)
- Upper end: Damage zone - Check engine light likely on from exceeding manufacturer monitoring thresholds (action: pull over ASAP - depending on issue, leave vehicle running to cycle fluids or turn off to prevent further damage).
I've also set all gage needles to go from left to right; for me, it's easier to understand at a glance where the readings are if all the needles are moving in the same direction.
TC Lockup:
I played around with this at first, then tried to reset it to the original (copied from @lx200inAR ). It still seems to show lockup accurately, as I can feel the subtle engagement/disengagement when the light is on/off at times, but the "code" may be worth double-checking if you're a stickler.
EGT:
I don't believe there is a PID for exhaust gas temp. I'm monitoring temp just ahead of the cat (bank 1, sensor 1). It's much hotter than EGT should be (standard for catalyst), but I think the temp is at least proportional to EGT (hence the alpha prefix, or @). I was in the orange towing ~5k lbs up a moderate grade, and dropped back down to green on the decent, so anecdotally it does seem to behave like EGT and likely does correlate.
IGN Advance, Misfires, and Knock:
While I do know what all these PIDs are, I'm still fuzzy on how exactly I should read these values while towing. These are unmodified from @lx200inAR 's specs.
Master Cylinder Pressure over Time:
I added this graph to display how often and how hard I'm braking, specifically for going down grade. While arguable useful, it's not necessary, and I think it takes a lot of memory to show. If you are experiencing some lag, excess battery use, phone heat, etc., you may want to delete this display and see if that helps (also, see the note above about my hardware/software setup).
A note on diagnostic networks and other PIDs:
At first I tried to also show tire pressure and temp, but then realized that those values were on another diagnostic network and where not available while tapping into the main network. If you are adding new displays, I'd recommend connecting up to your vehicle to ensure those PIDs are available before configuring: That would have saved me a lot of time.
I've linked my dashboard file below for those who would like to try it out (via iCloud file share):
iCloud - https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0e5mEnjIvAK9QDpfw4Ie3d9EQ#IH8MUD_FS
If you can't or don't feel comfortable using iCloud Drive, let me know and we can figure out another method. If you can't figure out how to import the dashboard, there are some troubleshooting post earlier in this thread that helped me out.
If you find anything to be out order or otherwise have any recommendations for improvement, please feel free to share them so I can make adjustments. It took a lot of work just to get this off the ground, but I'm sure there are some things that could be tweaked for the best readout (I take no offense!)
And finally, a bit of philosophy: I'm towing to ultimately have a fun trip. I set up this monitoring to minimize stress and/or potential for any un-fun or un-safe aspects. I did not set it up to fret over at every moment: If anything, it could be considered a distraction while towing if I'm not in the right headspace. Our rigs are extremely capable tow vehicles designed to take the stress, so long as they're not overloaded, driving at a reasonable speed, and up on regular maintenance. There are multiple folks here on MUD that have towed heavy and regularly for years with no major issues encountered: I know this because I extensively crept on many of their profiles for any nugget of advice before getting on the road with my trailer. I bought a Land Cruiser for its reliability, and refusing to trust it (within reason) would defeat the whole purpose of that purchase. Don't let fretting over TC lockup or other metrics put you in a ditch, mentally or actually!
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I may add your EGT gauge. Understanding why my LC bogs down when towing and running 87 octane is still a challenge of mine. After 2-3 tanks of 91 it behaves fine, but on every trip if I’ve been running 87 at any point in the trip I have 300 miles or so where I often find it hard to maintain 65 without dropping down a gear. It’s not an ethanol issue, it’s definitely timing getting retarded, but I’ve never been able to clearly interpret why from the ignition advance or knock correction values.
- Thread starter
- #195
I'd agree it's related where the engine is backing off timing (and power) as a result of learning. Add KCLV (Knock Correction Learn Value) to your dash. This should be the clearest indication of timing compensation. It's a learned value where the ECU will advance until it sees some detonation. Based on your symptoms, I would expect to see a relatively lower KCLV values on 87. And relatively higher values with 91. The number isn't static exactly and does change with elevated heat and load, but it is a longer term trim value.
Not that the LC requires 91, but you're using the vehicle in a very stressful manner of high load and high rpm. With tuning experience from my track days, the engine is heat soaking with elevated oil, coolant, and overall temps that it's pulling timing. Many cars with factory 87 octane tunes can benefit from higher octane fuels, as they are less volatile and resistant to pre-ignition under longer durations of extreme throttle like accelerating down the back straight or towing. Stuff normal cars don't see.
This could also be related to fuel system vapor/boiling issues in that the fuel is so heat soaked that its elevated heat and vapor pressure is contributing to the pulled timing.
I have KCLV at the bottom left. I generally see values of 18-19. This is during a high stress climb towing.
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Yeah KCLV is somewhere in the 14-18 range IIRC when I was watching it before. I’ve just never quite understood the actual impact.
Hoping some can help and that this is the correct thread. Ive for awhile been trying to figure out why my auto-leveling headlight self check on start up stopped working. I was told by VEEPEAK that the OBDFusion software app I have should be able to read if there are any errors in the controlling ECU. I have purchased the additional diagnostic pak for my model truck. BUT, I cant figure out how to see if there is an error. Ive sent an email to the app c/s and VEEPEAK said they could not help.
Can anyone here walk me through it?? Thanks for any help!
Can anyone here walk me through it?? Thanks for any help!
Under Settings-> Vehicle Editor there is an “Advanced Networks” option. On my LX it looks like Network E is the one that has the headlight ECU in it. I’d try switching to that and then running diagnostics.
There are definitely warnings that say not to, but I do it all the time, so let your conscience guide you.
