Towing with the 8 speed transmission question

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Ah ok I see what you guys did. Two gauges, one overlaid on the other. I changed mine to light up green, and adjusted the ranges to match what I looked up in my earlier post.

Here's the dropbox link to my dashboard. You can save it to your dropbox or icloud account and then load it into your OBD Fusion

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com


1614877948545.webp
 
linuxgod said:
I see "Status of the Shift Status / Lo or Hi". Seems like that's saying 4Lo or 4Hi, not torque converter locked/unlocked?
Click to expand...

I’m using OBDLink as my app, which looks exactly like OBDFusion (I have OBDFusion as well but OBDLink “came with” my adapter and I don’t see any difference).

Here’s the actual PID...keep in mind it may be different for a different MY.

45FCAAFA-F6B9-47E9-A2A6-645A7AB96CEC.webp
 
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linuxgod said:
Ah ok I see what you guys did. Two gauges, one overlaid on the other. I changed mine to light up green, and adjusted the ranges to match what I looked up in my earlier post.

Here's the dropbox link to my dashboard. You can save it to your dropbox or icloud account and then load it into your OBD Fusion

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com


View attachment 2602978
Click to expand...

I attempted to import this into OBDLink, but it won’t import. It’s the same file type (.stg) and I even renamed it to follow the OBDLink convention but it won’t import. I did import it into OBDFusion and will give it a try. Here’s a link to my OBDLink dashboard:

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com
 
catastrofe said:
I attempted to import this into OBDLink, but it won’t import. It’s the same file type (.stg) and I even renamed it to follow the OBDLink convention but it won’t import. I did import it into OBDFusion and will give it a try.
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Yeah it's OBD Fusion-specific. Every app has a different format.
 
catastrofe said:
Thanks. I think your gear display issue is the PID you’re using. I’m using the one under the ECT section. You’re using something from the ABS section. Switch it and you’ll be set.
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Could be. I think OBD Fusion has added a bunch of PIDs, or at least more showed up the last time I scanned the system. I updated to a new iPhone recently and there are definitely a lot more Toyota PIDs than I first saw a couple years ago.
 
Glad to see where this thread has gone. Very informative! I'll have to check out my OBDFusion that I've had on my phone.
 
vegasfj40 said:
Glad to see where this thread has gone. Very informative! I'll have to check out my OBDFusion that I've had on my phone.
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FYI if you haven't done so you'll have to spend the $9.99 to get the Toyota Enhanced PID pack to make use of most of the useful PID.
 
linuxgod said:
Ah ok I see what you guys did. Two gauges, one overlaid on the other. I changed mine to light up green, and adjusted the ranges to match what I looked up in my earlier post.

Here's the dropbox link to my dashboard. You can save it to your dropbox or icloud account and then load it into your OBD Fusion

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com


View attachment 2602978
Click to expand...
Would you mind sharing how you managed to get it to light up to show your TC locked?
This is what I got set up, I tried following what the person before you posted for OBD Link and I'm going to say its a user error on my part for not figuring this out.
Screenshot_20210328-214120.jpg


edit: I believe I figured it out and just had to change it to a radial dial then checked the fill box for value. That right?
 
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afgman786 said:
Would you mind sharing how you managed to get it to light up to show your TC locked?
This is what I got set up, I tried following what the person before you posted for OBD Link and I'm going to say its a user error on my part for not figuring this out.
View attachment 2631823

edit: I believe I figured it out and just had to change it to a radial dial then checked the fill box for value. That right?
Click to expand...
Yes, I think. You basically set up two gauges like you did, but one goes on top of the other.
  1. My TC lockup gauge is a radial with no text and with the "ring" acting as the needle. It will light up when =1 and will go dark when =0. I think size was 20x20
  2. My gear selection gauge is also radial (now) and will display the gear. It's slightly smaller than the TC lockup gauge and position directly on top of it. I think size was 18x1
 
afgman786 said:
Would you mind sharing how you managed to get it to light up to show your TC locked?
This is what I got set up, I tried following what the person before you posted for OBD Link and I'm going to say its a user error on my part for not figuring this out.
View attachment 2631823

edit: I believe I figured it out and just had to change it to a radial dial then checked the fill box for value. That right?
Click to expand...

Make sure the gauge “on top” has a clear background, which I believe is 00000000. This allows the “bottom” gauge to show through.
 
catastrofe said:
Twin sons of different mothers...

I’ve been towing in S6 based on the manual and comments regarding reduced heat when the TC is locked. I just got my OBD reader configured and will compare “S6” vs “D” for transmission temps. From what I’ve seen so far (not towing) the TC locks just as often in “D” as it does in “S”

View attachment 2602295
Click to expand...
I’m going back through this thread dorking out on all the tech aspects of the obd scanner dashboards and couldn’t help but notice your camp chairs... are those the Nemo stargaze chairs and, if so, how do you like them?
 
Artie said:
I’m going back through this thread dorking out on all the tech aspects of the obd scanner dashboards and couldn’t help but notice your camp chairs... are those the Nemo stargaze chairs and, if so, how do you like them?
Click to expand...

Yes, they are, and we love them. Definitely a premium price point, they’re so versatile. We use them as dining chairs around the campfire, and to just hang out while reading. The reclining and swinging/rocking feature is awesome.
 
Great thread! I'm new to towing and just finished towing an OPUS OP4 (~3,000lbs) trailer from Bozeman to Denver (~650 miles). I have stock suspension w/ 285s and a REDARC Tow Pro Elite.

Teton Pass gave me some troubles...at least I think it did. Stopped at the top and there was an awful smell for a few minutes and went away. Any thoughts on what the smell was from? I'm guess it was the overheating tranny; but its almost like residual fluid was burning or something.

Heading up, I thought I would want to keep it in lower RPMs (~2,500rpms) instead of 5,000rpms. In fact, there was a point where I had to go higher RPMs because I couldn't maintain speed at lower RPMs. Based off @linuxgod excellent write-up it sounds like I want higher RPMs to keep the transmission fluid moving more rapidly. Completely opposite of my intuition to lower stress on the transmission.

Ambient temp was around 45 deg F; so I probably could have done more damage. Taking it to the dealer to have them check the fluids to make sure everything was topped off.

I've since ordered the OBD2 sensor and will get my gauges set up. I plan to two up I70 heading west from Denver, which make the Teton pass look like a mole hill. So hoping I can figure this out before I burn out the tranny. Thanks in advance for the help!
 
torg82 said:
Great thread! I'm new to towing and just finished towing an OPUS OP4 (~3,000lbs) trailer from Bozeman to Denver (~650 miles). I have stock suspension w/ 285s and a REDARC Tow Pro Elite.

Teton Pass gave me some troubles...at least I think it did. Stopped at the top and there was an awful smell for a few minutes and went away. Any thoughts on what the smell was from? I'm guess it was the overheating tranny; but its almost like residual fluid was burning or something.

Heading up, I thought I would want to keep it in lower RPMs (~2,500rpms) instead of 5,000rpms. In fact, there was a point where I had to go higher RPMs because I couldn't maintain speed at lower RPMs. Based off @linuxgod excellent write-up it sounds like I want higher RPMs to keep the transmission fluid moving more rapidly. Completely opposite of my intuition to lower stress on the transmission.

Ambient temp was around 45 deg F; so I probably could have done more damage. Taking it to the dealer to have them check the fluids to make sure everything was topped off.

I've since ordered the OBD2 sensor and will get my gauges set up. I plan to two up I70 heading west from Denver, which make the Teton pass look like a mole hill. So hoping I can figure this out before I burn out the tranny. Thanks in advance for the help!
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Yes, let her spin. Less stress for the motor and transmission, and everything in between.

That said, I wouldn't be concerned about anything. I travel through the mountains and Rockies often, in 100* weather. The 200-series is robust even towing almost 8k worth of trailer.

Couple things that can help is to not hot stop after a hard pull. Especially extended grades that have you really putting down power for long durations where everything is heat soaked. Sometimes it's not possible for the tranny, but it's always good to keep at least the engine idling to keep fluids circulating. Other item is proactive maintenance, tracking closer to the severe duty cycle service intervals for fluids, and you're good to go.
 
TeCKis300 said:
Yes, let her spin. Less stress for the motor and transmission, and everything in between.

That said, I wouldn't be concerned about anything. I travel through the mountains and Rockies often, in 100* weather. The 200-series is robust even towing almost 8k worth of trailer.

Couple things that can help is to not hot stop after a hard pull. Especially extended grades that have you really putting down power for long durations where everything is heat soaked. Sometimes it's not possible for the tranny, but it's always good to keep at least the engine idling to keep fluids circulating. Other item is proactive maintenance, tracking closer to the severe duty cycle service intervals for fluids, and you're good to go.
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Thanks for the response. What do you think the smell was? Is that normal?
 
That smell is your rig letting you know that you are doing man s***. JK - it's normal. Could be a combination of a lot of factors. Brakes being one.
 
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