Bluetooth OBD Logging - anyone tried it?

[kinkyafro]

This bluetooth obd dongle has been catching my eye recently. Along with the rapidly expanding selection of Android Apps that would supposedly connect to it.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.16921

I know it would be a poor relation to Evoscan but for cost and convenience - slap the dongle in your obd port and run an app on your phone whenever you want to view engine stats it seems like a winner.

So...

Has anyone gone down this road?

Did it work?

what can't you log that you can in evoscan?

Cheers,

Rich

[Turbo_Steve]

My understanding was that ODB support on JDM DSMs was...er....sparse at best!

[kinkyafro]

My understanding was that ODB support on JDM DSMs was...er....sparse at best!

I thought OBDII compliance for all late 90's and on cars was mandatory? Or was that a Euro/America thing?

[wintertidenz]

The OBD won't work on our cars.

[foxdie]

Not strictly true.

You have 2 options that I can see;

1. You can buy a generic Bluetooth OBDII adapter and either modify it so that pin 1 bridges to pin 4 or modify the OBDII connector on the car to do it with a switch (which some people do so they can read faults without a cable)
2. Build your own Openport 1.3U cable with a Bluetooth Modem Module instead of the FT232 chip

Attached you'll find some schematics to build your own Openport 1.3U cable that interfaces via USB, hopefully these'll help you make your own solution.

Hope these help,

[Turbo_Steve]

It's a Euro/America thing, dude - one of the many reasons the UK Imported VR4s remain "grey" imports.


Fox - that won't give you ODB code, though, it gives you MUT. I'm not even sure it runs at the same speed, and you're making a big assumption that the dongle is "just" a wireless serial cable. Assuming it has fixed baud rate etc (in complicance with ODB) then you're stuffed, as I am fairly sure MUT runs much faster

[foxdie]

I would have presumed it common sense not to rely on the more advanced features such as EcuFlash over wireless anyway, doing it over wired there's always some risk you could cock up your ECU, but doing it over wireless is inviting trouble.

The more basic features though, they don't really use a high bitrate. That particular Bluetooth Module supports 115 KBPS but this one supports the full 3 MBPS speed.

You say I'm making a big assumption, but the specs for the FT232 chip that typically comes in an Openport 1.3U cable (and indeed most OBDII cables) states that it's maximum data transfer rate is 3 MBPS.

I hear what you're saying regarding the fixed baud rates, but the data sheet for that Bluetooth module above states it supports non-standard baud rates

[Turbo_Steve]

All that holds if it's JUST a bluetooth serial port, but not if it's got some embedded ODB logic. I couldn't see anything on the device in the original post that would preclude there being onboard firmware that interprets \ compresses \ whatevers the ODB stream. Rendering all other protocols null.

That said, I suspect it IS just a "chip-in-a-box" and will probably do something.

What value it is, I have no idea....probably worth a punt for a few squid

[foxdie]

All that holds if it's JUST a bluetooth serial port, but not if it's got some embedded ODB logic. I couldn't see anything on the device in the original post that would preclude there being onboard firmware that interprets \ compresses \ whatevers the ODB stream. Rendering all other protocols null.

That said, I suspect it IS just a "chip-in-a-box" and will probably do something.

What value it is, I have no idea....probably worth a punt for a few squid

I might try it, the value of having it would outweigh the cost to make it tenfold I think (if it works), god knows I get ticked off with my cable having a short USB cable, already managed to nearly break one of the USB ports on my company Macbook from logging

[Turbo_Steve]

Do you really do that much logging!?


What's your MPG like!

[foxdie]

15 MPG on average x.x

[Turbo_Steve]

bleurgh! Does the monitoring tell you why?!!? (TPS may be a clue)

[foxdie]

No, it's because of inner city driving and a lead foot