OBDII Bluetooth Car Diagnostic - €6.40 DX.com

Blue Crystal

Handy device, need a smartphone and an app such as Torque to use it

To get it at this price use code "TOPSALES" when checking out


Bluetooth Car Diagnostic

BillJ

Why does it say cable in the item title "BDII Bluetooth Car Diagnostic Cable - Black + Blue + Orange (DC 12V)"

Is a cable different to a dongle? I'm just a bit confused. It's a dongle in the pics

keithclancy

I wouldn't chance it ....

Would be afraid I'd plug it in and the car doesn't start anymore :pac:

BillJ

keithclancy wrote: »

I wouldn't chance it ....

Would be afraid I'd plug it in and the car doesn't start anymore :pac:

Sarcasm or no? Think i'll order it's only 6.50!

Fresh Pots

Any free android app or Windows program that I could use with this to clear fault lights, reset service lights etc?

brevity

Forgive my ignorance but where would put this? Is there a port or something that I'm not aware of ?

Fresh Pots

brevity wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but where would put this? Is there a port or something that I'm not aware of ?

Usually above the pedals somewhere. You wouldn't see it unless you went looking for it.

BillJ

brevity wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but where would put this? Is there a port or something that I'm not aware of ?

Normally a port somewhere around the dash, glovebox maybe or sround steering wheel

Kenny Logins

My last two DX orders took a month to arrive. Just FYI.

BillJ

Just ordered it, grand total of 6.58. Had been meaning to get one for a while.

zarquon

brevity wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but where would put this? Is there a port or something that I'm not aware of ?

usually under the steering wheel somewhere. I recommend using this with the torque android app.

BillJ

is there an iOS app compatible with these?

msg11

Bloody excellent price for this just ordered one too!

zarquon

BillJ wrote: »

is there an iOS app compatible with these?

Dash command and engine link but these are not as feature rich as torque.

Fresh Pots

zarquon wrote: »

Dash command and engine link but these are not as feature rich as torque.

Doss torque let you turn off service lights etc? Or just show the errors?

zarquon

TheTechGuy wrote: »

Doss torque let you turn off service lights etc? Or just show the errors?

Torque allows you to clear codes and reset oil and service lights.

jimgoose

That's an ELM 327. Proper bit of kit, that.

brevity

Ok so I've picked up one.

Must get Torque installed on my Touchpad now.

jimgoose

brevity wrote: »

Ok so I've picked up one.

Must get Torque installed on my Touchpad now.

Me too. I have a hand-held cable scanner already and currently no way of running Torque, but for that money I'm not passing it!

witnessmenow

They can be bought a tiny bit cheaper from ebay

e.g. this one for €6.01

Just for stuff like this off dx or somewhere similar, I nearly always find ebay cheaper

I threw together a quick webpage for searching quickly Try it your self here:
http://checkargos.com/ebay/

Bawnmore

Just ordered one too - cheers OP.

Fresh Pots

Always handy to have in the man drawer! Thanks op!

CreepingDeath

I've one of these already, paid around €10 at the time a few years back.
I also paid for the full version of the Torque app (only €3.55 and well worth getting)

If you have trouble getting a consistent bluetooth connection with your Android phone then try this in the Torque App

Go to Settings --> OBD2 Adapter Settings and enable the "Disable ELM327 auto timing" setting.

You can get it to log the telemetry of your engine over trips, eg. O2 mixture or the like (I'm not a mechanic), also you can log your trips via the GPS in your phone coloured plotted by average speed.

Other nice things I don't use.... you can configure a load of dials on your Torque app, like rev counter etc... then get Torque to display the mirror image of the screen. That lets you put your phone on the dashboard and see it's reflection in the windscreen the right way around like a heads-up-display.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-57465455-48/monitor-your-cars-performance-with-the-torque-app-for-android/

I've run the Torque app against my 2007 Honda Civic and it detected a low pressure sensor reading in the air conditioning ( l knew there was a leak anyway ), but good to see it was picked up.

One thing I don't do... I don't leave the OBD II device permanently connected to the diagnostics port in my car, just in case it's still drawing a tiny amount of power when the engine if off and "might" drain the battery.

It's a good nerdy toy, although in fairness I rarely use it because my car is reliable !

unkel

Kenny Logins wrote: »

My last two DX orders took a month to arrive. Just FYI.

The 3-5 week wait on the snail mail from China is one thing

My last DX order was for a micro keyboard and it was dead on arrival. They eventually did replace it and fully refunded my return shipping cost. But it took another 2+ months and a lot of emails.

Complete waste of my time. No more DX for me. I'd rather pay the €1 more and buy on Amazon, knowing that if something is wrong, their returns process is the most hassle free in the world (and won't cost you a cent)

CreepingDeath

unkel wrote: »

No more DX for me. I'd rather pay the €1 more and buy on Amazon, knowing that if something is wrong, their returns process is the most hassle free in the world (and won't cost you a cent)

+1

I've bought literally hundreds of Euro of stuff from DX in the past, but my last order was delayed by 20 days (processing not even shipping), then one of the LED bulbs died within days, and no reply from customer service. I'll only use them as the supplier of last resort now.

Blue Crystal

unkel wrote: »

The 3-5 week wait on the snail mail from China is one thing

My last DX order was for a micro keyboard and it was dead on arrival. They eventually did replace it and fully refunded my return shipping cost. But it took another 2+ months and a lot of emails.

Complete waste of my time. No more DX for me. I'd rather pay the €1 more and buy on Amazon, knowing that if something is wrong, their returns process is the most hassle free in the world (and won't cost you a cent)

Just €1 more? I challenge you to find an item you can get on amazon shipped to Ireland that is only €1 more than its dx counterpart...

Pique

zarquon wrote: »

Torque allows you to clear codes and reset oil and service lights.

Not on all cars!
Service lights can be a pain to clear on some cars.

lau1247

Boom, done! Thanks OP!

Was looking at it for some time, don't really mind the wait as long as it works when it gets here. It is certainly much cheaper than the guys selling it on adverts.ie

paddyp

brevity wrote: »

Forgive my ignorance but where would put this? Is there a port or something that I'm not aware of ?

If you search for your make and model and 'obd port location' on google you'll find it. There are also databases of locations:
http://www.outilsobdfacile.com/location-plug-connector-obd.php

Torque also has some advanced plugins: http://torque-bhp.com/wiki/Plugins

If you have a fiat/alfa or lancis i can recommend alfaobd on the play store too.

unkel

Blue Crystal wrote: »

Just €1 more? I challenge you to find an item you can get on amazon shipped to Ireland that is only €1 more than its dx counterpart...

I've spent less than a minute researching this. No doubt someone can come up with a better example. This is £9 plus £3.99 UK shipping + €3.50 parcel motel (if we're going to be anal), so about €20 (straight from China too ). I actually saw one from Amazon recently for £13.99 including free shipping (super saver) but couldn't find it within my one minute search

I paid €22 from DX for the exact same thing. Which was dead on arrival. So Amazon was actually cheaper in this case

QED

m4r10

Can also vouch for torque addon, well worth the money, although it won't reset the service light on my Volvo, had to do it manually.
At that price I might order another one just to have it as a back-up.

PS. Found a mini one on ebay for about €7 if space is at a premium in the car. Some people have reported regularly hitting the device with the knee, so the mini one will stay flush-er (not sure it it's a word )
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Super-Mini-ELM327-V1-5-Bluetooth-OBD2-OBD-II-Car-Auto-Diagnostic-Scanner-Tool-K-/190847330365?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET&hash=item2c6f63283d

PyeContinental

Blue Crystal wrote: »

Just €1 more? I challenge you to find an item you can get on amazon shipped to Ireland that is only €1 more than its dx counterpart...

This one, which looks to be the same as the ebay one posted earlier is available for £6.35 from a few marketplace sellers on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B006JJZVQE

That's approx €7.75 at an exchange rate of £1 to €1.22, plus Parcel Motel cost of €3.50 is a total of €11.25. Yes, that is nearly €5 more than the bargain alert price, but honestly for me I'd absolutely pay a fiver more to have this in 2 to 3 days and save all the waiting and possible messing about if I actually want this thing to investigate something now. At this level, the kind of savings we're talking about makes no real difference to me, and over the years I've learnt that my time and convenience are worth paying for. However, as the old cockney phrase goes, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

Moanin

Anybody know an App for IPhone that is compatible?

meathman0

Is Torque only for android or is there one for iPad?

Scortho

Torque is android only.
I'm not sure if these are even iphone compatible. Read somewhere that it you need a wifi one as opposed to a Bluetooth one for the iPhone.

keithclancy

PyeContinental wrote: »

This one, which looks to be the same as the ebay one posted earlier is available for £6.35 from a few marketplace sellers on Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B006JJZVQE

That's approx €7.75 at an exchange rate of £1 to €1.22, plus Parcel Motel cost of €3.50 is a total of €11.25. Yes, that is nearly €5 more than the bargain alert price, but honestly for me I'd absolutely pay a fiver more to have this in 2 to 3 days and save all the waiting and possible messing about if I actually want this thing to investigate something now. At this level, the kind of savings we're talking about makes no real difference to me, and over the years I've learnt that my time and convenience are worth paying for. However, as the old cockney phrase goes, you pays your money and you takes your choice.

This is a well known fake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELM327#Pirate_clones

The 1.0 version of the ELM327 did not implement copy protection, and the PIC code was copied[6][7] and widely sold in devices claiming to contain an ELM327 device. Numerous problems have been reported[8] with Chinese clones, partially due to bugs inherent in the early code.
Although these pirate clones may contain the ELM327 v1.0 code, they may falsely report the version number as the current version provided by the genuine ELM327, and in some cases report an as-yet non-existent version.[9] The actual function of these pirate clones is nonetheless limited to the function of the original ELM327 v1.0, with inherent deficiencies.

heathersonline

Any bargains on vcds tools out there? I don't think these can update hidden menus etc can they?

alastair

Scortho wrote: »

Torque is android only.
I'm not sure if these are even iphone compatible. Read somewhere that it you need a wifi one as opposed to a Bluetooth one for the iPhone.

Yes - Apple block Bluetooth for data functionality like this. Tried a hack workaround, but you need a jailbroken device, and even then it didn't hold a connection for me. There's wifi ELM327 connectors on ebay - they don't cost much more (£17) - which will work with iOS apps.

unkel

Scortho wrote: »

Torque is android only.

I'm using Dash for windows phone. Similar enough. Cost about €4 iirc. I've used a free programme too. Both work and I've cleared engine errors with both via a cheap ELM327 wireless bluetooth yoke very similar to the one in the OP

alastair wrote: »

Yes - Apple block Bluetooth for data functionality like this.

billy few mates

There's wifi ELM327 connectors on ebay - they don't cost much more (£17) - which will work with iOS apps.

How does the WiFi one work...?

Kenny Logins

billy few mates wrote: »

How does the WiFi one work...?

Over wifi?

billy few mates

Great, so I just need to bring the car into the house and get it on the same network as the ipad....:)


I take it this means you can't use it in 'real time' while you're driving about on the open road and nowhere near a WiFi network....?

jimgoose

billy few mates wrote: »

Great, so I just need to bring the car into the house and get it on the same network as the ipad....:)


I take it this means you can't use it in 'real time' while you're driving about on the open road and nowhere near a WiFi network....?

Of course you can. The iPhone will connect directly to the OBD-II adapter, just via 802-11 instead of Bluetooth.

Gokei

billy few mates wrote: »

Great, so I just need to bring the car into the house and get it on the same network as the ipad....:)


I take it this means you can't use it in 'real time' while you're driving about on the open road and nowhere near a WiFi network....?

wifi hotspot off the phone..

Kenny Logins

billy few mates wrote: »

Great, so I just need to bring the car into the house and get it on the same network as the ipad....:)


I take it this means you can't use it in 'real time' while you're driving about on the open road and nowhere near a WiFi network....?

As mentioned above, using an ad-hoc (direct) connection.

paddyp

keithclancy wrote: »

This is a well known fake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELM327#Pirate_clones

All the chinese ones are fake, even in bulk a genuine elm chip probably costs the price of the complete chinese units, I think they are generally v1.2 not v1.0 you can check by sending it AT commands to check whats supported. My cheap chinese one works great with alfaobd, multiecuscan, torque it occasionally locks up and needs to be replugged, so much handier than dragging around a laptop and autocom.

Lots of the chinese one has wrong value components, big thread here for modifications and recommendations:
http://forum.multiecuscan.net/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1493

meathman0

Ordered one on Amazon on Thursday, picked it up in Parcel Motel today, now to find the best app, .

Scortho

meathman0 wrote: »

Ordered one on Amazon on Thursday, picked it up in Parcel Motel today, now to find the best app, .

Torque is the best app

billy few mates

Which one did you get Meathman...?

brokenarms

msg11 wrote: »

Say you would be able to disable it. For your own information if that is a manufacturer enforced speed restriction I wouldn't go changing it.

If it's some sort of EU/Workplace enforcement can't see it hurting the engine!

A delivery van. under 3.5 tonne. Drives on a normal licence.

Company Bull Sh1t .

meathman0

Hi Billy, got it on Amazon uk from this seller Digi2013 UK ELM327 V 1.5 , very quick delivery.