OBDII Readers? Which is best?

[3MPSPWR]

Hey guys,

So problem is, my exhaust is giving me the P0421 fault codes which does nothing really but piss me off when i drive.. Anyways, i ended up having it cleared but after 4000km today a CEL came back up but i've got no way of reading it and have to hassel my friend again.. So heres my problem, i'm after an OBDII reader similar to what dashawk does in terms of logging and clearing codes.. But i think dashawk is no longer available?

So whats on the market these days thats any decent and well priced??

[2XS]

Buy a 2nd hand DH. It's the only way.
Or contact MSD and ask if the newer item is ready, or how far away it will be.

Or Scangauge,
Or you have a DashDaq,
Or this one OBD II Scan Tool, Performance Meter & Data Logger | Auterra

Or there are multiple "apps" for your smart phone.

[SarcasticOne]

i personally use torque... it seems to do the job

[Reedy]

Do you have an iPhone or Android smartphone?

1. If you have an iPhone, get this:
eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d
and use an app called "Rev"
I have also dried dashcommand and fuzzycar, dashcommand caused my cars ECU to freak out, AVOID it, and fuzzycar does not read mazda fault codes properly. Use REV

2. If you have an android phone then get a cheap bluetooth OBD II reader off ebay for like $12 and use Torque.

[Sabrelli]

I would rule out dashdaq if you're after value for money. Its taken the developers more than a year for unit to read KR.

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

[Nexus]

PC based dashcommand works perfectly. Haven't tested IOS version peronally. IOS app could have bugs not in versions for other OS, however "causing your ECU to freak out" is a software impossibility for a device that cannot under any circumstances write anything to your ECU. Read only. If you freaked your ECU out you almost certainly had a faulty hardware interface or a bad cable connection.

Don't use cheap bluetooth solutions - reliability is crap. If you must use bluetooth get higher quality interface.

In fact, if you go for cheap shit expect to induce problems such as "freaking your ECU out"

It never fails to amaze me how frequently people make ignorant presumptions when it comes to technology. "I can't make it work the way I thought it should so the product must therefore be shit."

Unfortunately my experience over a couple of years and then some is the opposite. Dashcommand works perfectly. I don't believe the IOS app is as bugge as it is made out to be, and I won't believe that until I try it myself. I feel it is far more likely that people give up after bumping into hardware interface reliability problems because they didn't choose quality over price.

I can't believe I just read someone recommend using cheap arse bluetooth interface and then complains about functionality of software using that interface in the same post.

I can't comment on REV - I haven't used it. I have used bluetooth and dashcommand and I can tell you bluetooth can be problematic you need reliable interfaces not cheap ones. Simple software will have less trouble (REV) because it's not saturating the OBD bandwidth. dashcommand by default is reading much more. As a generalisation. It has to to perform performance calculations that rae enabled by defualt. I doubt those complaining have really fleshed out the best way to configure it. OR performed any compatibility testing with the cheap interface recommended.

Do you have an iPhone or Android smartphone?

1. If you have an iPhone, get this:
eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d
and use an app called "Rev"
I have also dried dashcommand and fuzzycar, dashcommand caused my cars ECU to freak out, AVOID it, and fuzzycar does not read mazda fault codes properly. Use REV

2. If you have an android phone then get a cheap bluetooth OBD II reader off ebay for like $12 and use Torque.

---------- Post added at 11:12 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:02 AM ----------

Seriously : In technology when someone recommends the cheapest possible interface solution you should ignore pretty much everything else they have to say as well.

[Reedy]

I'm not making an ignorant assumption. I have used rev data logging for hours and hours with no problems. Within 5 minutes of using dash command my cars displays started doing some ridiculous shit. Call it a coincidence all you like, the iPhone app itself is still shit. It's slow, difficult and clunky compared to rev.

[Nexus]

If your recommending cheapest possible interface, as I said, don't expect quality reliability or even sane behavior. In my experience - and as far as technology goes it's considerable - this is by far and away the most likely cause of your "freaked out" ecu.

IOS apps are clumsy, slow, and buggy, in my experience too, as a generalization. REV, from what I have read of it, is definately a tier or two down from dashcommand. As I mentioned - reduce the load will reduce the likelyhood of encountering a problem.

The question is which interface is best. I can assure you with no reservations whatsoever that "the cheapest" is the worst possible advice you can give someone to that question. That's the advise you gave and it demonstrates a poor understanding of how to approach technology solutions.

The recommendation of a cheap $12 interface demonstrates the ignorance I am alluding to. I don't really care if your offended. I'm sorry but it's bad advice from someone who has clearly had significant troubles making things work the way you expect it to!

---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------

I'm not saying that there are no IOS version bugs in dahscommand. I am saying that dashcommand in my experience is an excellent solution and I'm also saying that ignorance of quality and performance considerations, such as recommending a $12 interface will ensure that you have the maximum number of problems you could encounter.

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:27 PM ----------

I used dashcommand branded USB/Bluetooth combo interface. USB works far better than bluetooth. Bluetooth worked well but had high latencies once you are logging a screenful of interesting data - and a screenful in dashcommand is a LOT more than REV and many other minimalist OBD solutions.

I have hardware disabled the bluetooth interface on mine recently because it had developed reliability issues. (physically removed the bluetooth daughterboard)

I would suggest that once you have chosen an application - dashcommand, REV, whatever - by research, then choose the interface that the vendor documents as having good compatibility. Go with the simplest solution that meets your need. Don't go professional 802.11 interfaces first go as others here have and then experienced trouble making it work. Especially not with IOS. You want a balance between performance, quality and cost. If you go lowest cost, you can be DAMN SURE that you are also working with the lowest performance and quality equipment, and are almost guaranteed to encounter significant issues.

Have a PC on hand to test the interface with if you are working with an iPad.

---------- Post added at 12:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:36 PM ----------

Actually, on that note I would recommend AGAINST a combo interface. For the dashcommand bluetooth daughterboard on mine it was prone to vibration induced connection problems. It is not soldered to the board, it is a tension based retension mechanism. VIBRATION works it loose. It took 18months for mine to work loose, but work loose it did, and I presume that something shorted when it finally let go, because the bluetooth simply doesn't work properly anymore. It broadcasts and detects but frequently fails connectivity. It did not do this new, I am certain it's a result of bad connections due to vibration.

I would suggest - if you want to try both - separate dedicated USB and bluetooth options. If you re going a combo, you want to ensure that the hardware is a one-piece board. You might not be able to do that without cracking one open, so it's a question then for the vendor. Refer them to this exmple : Bluetooth daughterboards work loose due to vibration. Everything needs to be directly soldered to the circuit.

I can't refer you to hardware interfaces that I know for a fact have no design issues of any kind, but I can help you find and choose something that will work reliably.

[Reedy]

A lot depends on what you want to do with it as well, if all you want is to read and clear CEL codes then the cheap ones work fine. The setup I have works flawlessly as long as i'm not using dashcommand on the iPhone. That said, all of the software i've tried has some kind of problem.

REV - doesn't log fuel pressure. Good interface that is responsive and easy to navigate, logs data well (only 5 parameters at a time tho)
Dashcommand - Clunky unresponsive interface. Harder to set up and much more difficult to use. Also doesn't log fuel pressure. Huge list of nonsense and irrelevant PID's are frustrating to comprehend and navigate.
Fuzzycar - Logs fuel pressure! (Only one that does) but it reports Mazda CEL codes incorrectly. Can't export log files. Cheap.
Harry's Lap Timer - OBD Data + GPS in one app, I use this at the track. Logs engine parameters in parallel with GPS data. Works very well.

[jnt]

Hey guys,

So problem is, my exhaust is giving me the P0421 fault codes which does nothing really but piss me off when i drive.. Anyways, i ended up having it cleared but after 4000km today a CEL came back up but i've got no way of reading it and have to hassel my friend again.. So heres my problem, i'm after an OBDII reader similar to what dashawk does in terms of logging and clearing codes.. But i think dashawk is no longer available?

So whats on the market these days thats any decent and well priced??

In my humble opinion, the best thing to do would be to put up with clearing your CEL for a while and then when Cobb Tuning Releases the AccessPORT for Australian MPS, you will be able to get one and it will be able to do all the data loging you like, if you like disable the code that you are getting and additionally you will be able to tune you car to the mods that you already have and all for only a little more than some of the more expensive data loging options out there now

All the best with what ever you decide to go with