OBDII Readers

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rusty_tlc

rusty_tlc

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forum.ih8mud.com
4/10/13 I moved these post from Semlins Noob thread because it seems like a discussion worth it's own thread and it was de-railing Simons thread. - Rusty


You m might take a l look at the blue tooth OBDII reader I got. IMHO it is a great value, also try to find an electronic copy of the FSM and keep a copy on a thumb drive in the truck so you can look up codes.

Sent via the ether from my candy bar running ginger bread
 
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rusty_tlc said:
You m might take a l look at the blue tooth OBDII reader I got. IMHO it is a great value, also try to find an electronic copy of the FSM and keep a copy on a thumb drive in the truck so you can look up codes.

Sent via the ether from my candy bar running ginger bread
Click to expand...

bluetooth sounds cool. which model? i have heard the $20 ones are pretty slow and finicky.

i do have a clunky old obd2 reader in the basement i got when we got the honda and never used. i'll need to see if it works.
 
The "Torque" App is a Droid app. I don't recall what phone you carry Simon. Also, I encountered an issue that the bluetooth transmitter remained on while my truck was parked for a week and it bled my battery. Keep an eye out for that. It could be because I was using a splitter so I could leave the scan gauge hooked up and only use the bluetooth app from time to time. I ended up unplugging the ELM327 and will just plug it in when I feel the desire. The phone interface is pretty :cool: though.
 
thanks for the heads up. i will carry it in the console. i just figured out how to bluetooth synch my iphone with the clarion deck phone function in the hundy and bluetooth sucks the iphone battery dry really fast even after i leave the car so i have to turn the setting off

dunno which obd2 app but i have to assume there is something for the iphone.
 
went to the iphone app store at lunch. there are several free obd2 apps that look to have driven the pay apps out of business. there is one optimistic dude selling a set of individual instrument apps for $5 each.
 
Hugh Heifer said:
The "Torque" App is a Droid app. I don't recall what phone you carry Simon. Also, I encountered an issue that the bluetooth transmitter remained on while my truck was parked for a week and it bled my battery. Keep an eye out for that. It could be because I was using a splitter so I could leave the scan gauge hooked up and only use the bluetooth app from time to time. I ended up unplugging the ELM327 and will just plug it in when I feel the desire. The phone interface is pretty :cool: though.
Click to expand...
It must be something in your set up, we left the ELM plugged into my sons Cherokee for a couple of weeks with no issue. This time of year he only drives it once a week or so just to keep the batteries charged. It's easy enough to remove it when not in use though.
 
rusty_tlc said:
It must be something in your set up, we left the ELM plugged into my sons Cherokee for a couple of weeks with no issue. This time of year he only drives it once a week or so just to keep the batteries charged. It's easy enough to remove it when not in use though.
Click to expand...

maybe power to the cherokee's obd2 port is ignition switched, but always hot on a cruiser.
 
yooper said:
This thread led me to a couple options.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/514420-cheap-obd-ii-bluetooth-scan-tool-iphone.html

I'm seriously happy with my ScanGauge though. I have no use for a BlueTooth/phone solution...
Click to expand...
Doesn't the ScanGauge cost around $100 - $170?
The Supermini ELM 327 cost $15 and another $5 for the app so $20 out the door.

There is absolutely no comparison between the ScanGauge user interface and Torque. It's like comparing DOS to the current version of the Mac OS.

If you already have a ScanGauge and are happy with it that's great, in it's day there were no other options. But starting fresh I can't see investing that kind of money in a product with a 2X16 char display when there is a much better and less expensive option.
 
semlin said:
maybe power to the cherokee's obd2 port is ignition switched, but always hot on a cruiser.
Click to expand...
That is a possibility, I would just unplug it when not in use to be safe. :meh:
 
rusty_tlc said:
Doesn't the ScanGauge cost around $100 - $170?
The Supermini ELM 327 cost $15 and another $5 for the app so $20 out the door.

There is absolutely no comparison between the ScanGauge user interface and Torque. It's like comparing DOS to the current version of the Mac OS.

If you already have a ScanGauge and are happy with it that's great, in it's day there were no other options. But starting fresh I can't see investing that kind of money in a product with a 2X16 char display when there is a much better and less expensive option.
Click to expand...

They are different things.

The ScanGauge is always on and installed on my steering column. It gives me a bunch of gauges I don't otherwise have and collects data all the time, every time I drive, with no input or work from me. I'm not going to take the time to turn on the app on my phone and set up a BlueTooth link every single time I drive.

It would cost me more than $100-170 to buy an Android phone so I could use Torque. ;)

:meh:
 
yooper: I assume you know about the tranny temp mod for Scan Gauge II for some 100's? Works on my '99.
 
yooper said:
They are different things.

The ScanGauge is always on and installed on my steering column. It gives me a bunch of gauges I don't otherwise have and collects data all the time, every time I drive, with no input or work from me. I'm not going to take the time to turn on the app on my phone and set up a BlueTooth link every single time I drive.

It would cost me more than $100-170 to buy an Android phone so I could use Torque. ;)

:meh:
Click to expand...
You are correct they are different things. Torque allows you to have custom gauges in analog and digital on a high res screen, ScanGauge does not.
Torque can log data, ScanGauge cannot.
Torque uses the android devices accelerometers and GPS to collect and compare information ScanGauge..... well you get the idea.
Torque will log data and GPS coordinates so you can look back and see just how hot your trans got going over the pass.
I haven't fully looked at all the features yet but there are things like MPG calculations etc. that I feel would have some real world use.
The graphing function also looks to be interesting at the least.

If you use a dock in the car for your phone launching Torque takes a second or two. My phone has a user defined button I could dedicate to the Torque App, but for the most part I'd only use it on trips or when I was doing diagnostics. IMHO that comes out to a wash between the two.

You do not need a Android phone to use Torque, any Android device with Blue tooth will work. So you could get a cheap tablet which would do everything SG does plus a lot more. And you could install a GPS program, and do everything else a WiFi enabled Android device can do.

Again, if you already have a ScanGauge and are happy with it there is no reason to change. If you are shopping it's worth looking at technology that isn't ten years old.
 
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