Guest Paul [MVP] Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 GADGETotW: Vital Engineering BT OBD Transmitter Welcome to Gadget of the Week! Today's Gadget of the Week is a Bluetooth interface for the OBD port on your car... read on for more details :D What is it? All modern cars now have a diagnostics port... it's mandated by law. It's within a set distance of the steering wheel, and is accessible to a regular person without needing any specialist knowledge. On my Audi for example, it is located in the footwell near the bonnet pull. Now, there is a lot of interesting information that can be gained from this port, in real time, but of course it can be somewhat inconvenient! In my day job working in Telematics, I came across the very cool Vital Engineering BT OBD Transmitter, a concept I had pondered for a while, and was delighted to find existed! It plugs in your engine management port and exposes a BT Serial Port, thereby allowing you to connect your PC / Pocket PC / Smartphone as required. Way cool! Here's the official Vital Engineering pitch... The OBD Bluetooth Transmitter connects to the OBD-2 connector in your car. It uses power from the vehicle and has five status LED's to indicate power on and data transfer activity. Access the device from any other platform, such as a PC, Palm or PDA, equipped with a Bluetooth receiver. All our products come complete with OBD diagnostic software so you can connect straight away and start exploring your cars system. Once connected, you are then governed to what you can do by software from you PC or Palm device. Third party software may also be used in conjunction with the OBD Bluetooth Transmitter. Please contact us to see if your software will work with the OBD Bluetooth Transmitter. The following functions can be performed through the OBD Bluetooth Transmitter; fault code reading, turn off the MIL lamp, O2 sensor tests, access ECU monitors, read freeze frame data, get live sensor information, get vehicle VIN numbers. Full Feature Listing - OBD Device * OBD-2 connector * Bluetooth Class 1 Device - up to 300 feet (100 m) * Status LED's * Rugged design with ISO interface for use both at home and in a commercial workshop environments * Lower power consumption despite strong transmitter power * Operates direct from the vehicle's own DLC +12v supply, with built-in over voltage and short circuit protection * No external power supply required. Suitable for laptop, PDA and Palm based applications. * Fully compliant ISO9141-2 interfacing * Bi-directional serial communication in automotive diagnostic applications * Fully ISO compliant and interfaces with both the K and L lines * Electronically isolated from the vehicle's data-stream * Compatible with a wide range of third party diagnostic software. Full Feature Listing - Accessing the information * Diagnostics tool for all OBD (ISO / EOBD only) compliant cars * Retrieve and clear fault codes from the engine management system** * View engine sensor values in real time** * Graph any vehicle sensor values on screen simultaneously** * View the freeze frame data from the ECU at the moment the MIL (warning light) was illuminated** * Record and save continuous sensor data. Recall the data later to view graphically.** * Set fault alarms to trigger when limits are transgressed** * Display live values on the large virtual dashboard** **Depends on the software in use. The Bluetooth OBD transmitter interfaces to the vehicle OBD-II bus on one side and utilizes Bluetooth to communicate with a host computer on the other. The host can be a Windows based PC, a Palm compatible handheld or a PDA. If your host computer does not already have Bluetooth we can supply the necessary equipment. The Bluetooth OBD Transmitter is an OBD-II interface and as such is a specialized interface for the ISO-9141 bus only. You gotta admit it, that is cool! When you record the data from the port and map it against GPS data for example, you can get some fascinating results! Where can I get it? Full details on the transmitter, software etc. can be found at the Vital Engineering site. Why do I want it? I'm the first to admit that you need to be a pretty serious petrol-head to have one of these! But, if you are the type that is fascinated to know and plot this kind of information about your car, for example for monitoring the car on track days, then it's a very cool gadget. If you are a developer too, then I am sure you can think of some very cool custom applications (the communications protocol is pretty straightforward, and even better, VitalEngineering's software supplied with the device is open source!) I've included a few screenshots of an app i'm using with the device at the moment - ODBGauge - below, to give you a feel for what's possible... full details of the supplied software can be found here. I have a question... Something else you want to know? Just reply to this post with any questions ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pondrew Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Am I the only one having trouble accessing the price list on their site? Curious as to how much the transmitter itself costs (with Windows Mobile software included). Also, does anyone know if this would 'talk' to a mk 4 Golf? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest vingadoncs Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Am I the only one having trouble accessing the price list on their site? Curious as to how much the transmitter itself costs (with Windows Mobile software included). Also, does anyone know if this would 'talk' to a mk 4 Golf? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I can see them with Firefox. You just have to put your name and e-mail. Description SKU # Price Order OBD Bluetooth Transmitter with software CD. VE001 £199.00 OBD Bluetooth Transmitter, software CD plus PC USB Bluetooth VE002 £249.00 OBD Bluetooth Transmitter, software CD and PDA receiver (for your PDA without Bluetooth). VE003 £249.00 OBD Bluetooth Transmitter, software CD and PDA (Acer n30) with Bluetooth. VE004 £399.00 OBD Bluetooth Transmitter, software CD and Palm receiver (for your Palm without Bluetooth) VE005 £249.00 Transmitter, and Palm (Zire 72) device with Bluetooth VE006 £359.00 OBD Bluetooth Transmitter ONLY 5 units VE010 £699.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pondrew Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Ouch. Little too expensive for me. Was just thinking it would be nice to be able to self diagnose why my Golf occasionally won't start when it turns over but won't fire and gives an 'Alternator Workshop' warning. Always starts on touching the accelerator but shouldn't really have to do that on a 99 reg car. VW dlr said there was nothing wrong with it... :?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Confused Stu Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 I admit this is very tempting. A company on the net say they can get my car (2004 Alfa Romeo 147 1.9M-Jet) from 140bhp to 180bhp just by reprogramming the engine management mapping. How much cooler (and cheaper) to be able to do it myself!!! All I need is to find the correct mapping to use and then buy this. Anyone fancy paying to have the work done and then letting me plug this into their car to steal their settings? ;) BTW Pondrew - serves you right for buying a German car that's so reliable it's only allowed "Gremlins"! Should've bought a nice Italian car - at least when that breaks down it's something nice and easily diagnosed (like it dropping all it's oil onto the floor in a huff one day, or the central computer dying on me and deciding not to unlock the doors...) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 It would work fine with a Golf... i'll get Sinclair from Vital on the thread as I don't think you could do the ECU recoding etc. from it, but i'm not sure! My car has developed a great fault that has locked the baby in the car twice with the keys, a combination of a bad process (wife chucks keys in the front, loads baby, shuts back door, clunk, car locks baby and keys in)... i've diagnosed it to a fault back door open / closed sensor and a car that is too smart for it's own good ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest muff Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 or a baby that's fitted this to the car already and locks it for fun ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MrCeee Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 If you have a Golf your best bet would be to try and get hold of a VAG com cable and download the free software of the internet. You can usually find them on EBay pretty cheap (example) I very much doubt you would be able to re-program your ecu with one of these. The tuners spend a fortune trying to crack the ECU's so that they can get past all of the safeguards and encryption used so that they can change the map, unfortunatly its not as easy as just writing a new map to a particular location. Hope this helps, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 VAGcom isn't free is it? I quite fancy having a play with it tho, a real shame you can't use it with the BT dongle (I'm sure Vital will explain why...) ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sinclairvital Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 (edited) Thank you Paul for making the OBD Bluetooth Transmitter Gadget Of The Week :exclaim: Sinclair www.kbmsystems.net [email protected] Edited June 24, 2006 by sinclairvital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Will Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Does the dongle need to be inserted before or after the engine is running/ignition on? - can i safely be left in the socket when the car is parked?. AND HOW do the covers over the sockets unclip?? - wanted to see if my smarties' obdc socket is the correct one, but it seems glued closed?? - maybe i need stronger fingers?? Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 My OBD port seems to be active even when the car is off... I can sit in the living room and connect to the car ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sinclairvital Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 (edited) Usually there is power to the OBD socket when the ignition is off (often on the same fuse as the cigarette lighter, depending on make / model). But usually the vehicle's ECU if off if the ignition is off. Sinclair www.kbmsystems.net [email protected] Edited June 24, 2006 by sinclairvital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Will has a Smart For-Two styleeeeee ;) P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest davidhorn Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Believe the AA use something similar, as the last time my brother's Megane broke the AA guy stuck a wireless thing in the ODB socket and diagnosed the problem from his laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pigo Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 So a quick check if i'm understanding this right..... this thing can turn a pocket PC (or similar) in to my control panel for my car? it makes things like tuning/tweaking my car managment possible? and all this wireless??.... if this is all true.... then my prayers have finally been awnsered!!!!! Pigo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paul [MVP] Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Not tuning / tweaking (so far as I understand), more a window on the car's data. More info: http://www.obdii.com/ P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest g.duffied Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Can anyone advise if this will fit the port on HGV Cabs? Is this the same port or is this one specific to cars? Cheers Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sinclairvital Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 (edited) nm www.kbmsystems.net Edited June 24, 2006 by sinclairvital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Pondrew Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 If you have a Golf your best bet would be to try and get hold of a VAG com cable and download the free software of the internet. You can usually find them on EBay pretty cheap (example) I very much doubt you would be able to re-program your ecu with one of these. The tuners spend a fortune trying to crack the ECU's so that they can get past all of the safeguards and encryption used so that they can change the map, unfortunatly its not as easy as just writing a new map to a particular location. Hope this helps, Chris <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Cheers for the advice folks. And as nice as it would be to have a clear cut breakdown and all my oil dumped on the drive I think I'll stick with the minor gremlins in my Golf! ;) Great offer from Sinclairvital. Just wish I could spare the creds this month... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sponge Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 Now if I could actually use this to alter the settings, rather than simply monitor them... :twisted: It's a very impressive piece of kit. My car is still under warranty and any problems I go straight back to the dealer; but that warranty expires next year and to be able to self-diagnose is appealing. I will resist though, mainly due to lack of funds, despite the great offer to Modaco members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest doyle_am Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 What a gadget! ;) Can you tell me if it works with the BMW 1-series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sinclairvital Posted June 5, 2005 Report Share Posted June 5, 2005 (edited) nm www.kbmsystems.net Edited June 24, 2006 by sinclairvital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest siliconslave Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Wow! that looks great ;) Very very tempted! what are all the sensors you get access to? or is it dependent on the car? (if so what kind of thing can i expect from my mrk2 mx-5 - if it has the port....) cheers Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sinclairvital Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 (edited) nm Sinclair www.kbmsystems.net Edited June 24, 2006 by sinclairvital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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