Dave B

Today I got my OBD Scan (ordered a week ago) from http://www.ghg.net/dharrison/obdscan.html. I loaded it up on my old Toshiba laptop and started reading the sensor data of my car. Talk about sweet. The device will let me look at things like fuel trim, throttle position, ignition advance, O2 sensors values, MAP, engine rpm, mph, etc in real time. All sensors can be viewed and recorded on a x/y axis too. It will also tell me trouble codes (SAE and manufactuer). The main reason I got it was because my wife's Subaru Legacy GT won't let you pull codes without a code reader or paying Subaru $70 to see what's wrong. It's not a bad deal for $117.

Here are some pics:

In the car:
http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...75_32_full.jpg

The screen with "throttle position" being plotted on the x/y axis:
http://images.cardomain.com/member_i...75_33_full.jpg


I plan to record some values to see which kind of intake the car reacts best too.



Dave

stephenlc

iTrader: (1)

Nice man.....

BSwithTF

iTrader: (8)

That's cool!

Now when you go to the track, you can type on it when you're at the line so you'll be faster than everyone. lol. (Don't forget to slam it shut right before the finish though. )

Wish I had a spare laptop to put something like that in. It'd be a lot more helpful than my Techtom.

DanL

Sure beats the $120+ handheld scan tools that just spits out the codes, doesn't it?

Glad to hear it works well on that ancient laptop you have.

Nismo_K

that's totally cool ! I love gadgets !

G20Flyer

Thats cool!

Does anyone know if there is a good/cheap one that works with a Palm??

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Yeap got the same one, also got it for the palm since the laptop aint easy to use while driving.

Dixit

Dave B

This will work with a Palm Pilot. Go to the website.


Dave

Dave B

Hell ya it beats the handheld scan tools and yes, it works great on my 1996 Toshiba Satellite Pro that had been collecting dust


Dave

Dave B

I'm gonna bring it to the track and act like I'm doing top secret stuff and put the ricers complete awe.


Dave

SteVTEC

nice dave!

OBD-II scanners rock. One of the best little gadgets I ever bought.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....light=Palm+OBD

I highly recommend the Auterra kit.

Pic1: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/stevte...ndPTE_List.jpg
Pic2: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/stevte...dPTE_Graph.jpg

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Remember the data logging aint all that for track or dyno use. It doesnt take samples quick enough. On a 2nd gear run I got like 3samples. Not enough. Not to mention the samples are Comma separated and has words like RPM, and VOLTS in there as well making it harder to chart on a graph quickly. I takes samples like maybe once every 2-4secs.

Dixit

SteVTEC

I get about 4-6 samples/sec with my Auterra which is plenty useful for track. Exporting to Excel with all of the CSV stuff is fairly straightforward and just requires some fancy Excel footwork.

It's funny, on my Auterra I got extremely slow sampling like you mentioned. But once I disabled "fast-sampling" it suddenly got like a zillion times quicker.

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Well for some reason on the Harrison, I can no where near get the samples you are getting. I got like 2samples on a 2nd gear run when I was testing it.

Also the CSV format on the Harrison is bad cause he puts the RPM right after the number like 1000RPM then a comma. So you gotta rip out the RPM if you want to chart it. I know it can be done, but its not a quick thing when you dyno tunning and want to read other parameters while on the dyno to make your adjustments, I dont want to be spending 5-10mins cleanging up the CSV to chart when Im paying $100 per hour to dyno tune. Thats my only rant with the Harrison.

Dixit

† ErV †

pretty sweet. do you run the obd scan all the time (or plan to)?

SteVTEC

I get about 4-6 samples per second, but if I'm monitoring 4 different parameters then that's like only 1 round of samples per second if that makes sense. I don't know how many parameters the Harrison lets you monitor simultaneously, but if you're trying to track like 12 at once then yeah, you'd probably get crazy slow sampling. On the Auterra I'm limited to 5 and usually track 4.

d'oh, that sucks.

Macros will take care of that though.

NickStam

iTrader: (3)

That looks like my '97 toshiba satellite, p133!!!!!!!!!

Looks like fun.

dmontzsta

iTrader: (8)

That is too cool. I know what I am going to start saving up for

Can you make adjustments with it? or does it just diagnose?

Do they make it for OBD1 as well?

SteVTEC

Nope, just monitor and diagnose. You can pull codes and reset the CEL/SES light too. You need that Nissan CONSULT thingy to actually change stuff like timing and other parameters. I've never seen one for an OBD-1 car, but I'm sure there's some stuff out there on Google to be found.

BEJAY1

iTrader: (19)

Dave, what does your tool show for long term fuel trim? My stock ECU varied between 4-14%. My TS has no reading after about 125mi. I'm wondering how long it takes to learn and set into the long term ECM memory. And if the TS program disabled this and overides with their own codes.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

All you have to do is set up a macro in excel that searches for that text in the file and deletes it.. you could even set it up to do it in Word and just leave the numbers and commas, then save, close, reopen in excel..

I had several years of trimming extra crap out of data like that at an intern job I had... making a macro in excel is EXTREMELY easy, and you can even have it make the graphs and everything with one macro.
then just set the macro to something easy like CTRL+K or something in excel, open the file, click one button, wait 1-2 seconds and the graph pops up.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

What's funny is that laptop was my first stab at having a computer. Used to do heavy programming on that thing.

Dave B

Hmmm...I'll take a look at that with my JWT ECU.


Dave

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Just wanted to mention this since I might have confused you about the sample/sec. It really only does that slow azz sample rate when you put it in datalog mode. Like if you are sampling 1-4items on a CSV.

Now if you put it in Live Monitor mode where you want it to chart it live, it does that like 4-5samples per second. But obviously no datalogging there, its live graph and keeps going unless you freeze frame it. The palm has ability to do 2 at once, the laptop only one.

Dixit

NizanDrivn

I take it the only difference b/w the RS-232 tool and the USB tool (besides what they can read) is the interface the make to the computer...Is there any benefit to getting the USB over the serial port tool?...I really don't want to spend $147 for the universal tool, when I will only be using it to read Asian ECUs...

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Its reads anything that is OBDII compliant. Its not manufacturer dependant. OBDII is a standard protocal used to access the ECU's trouble code area.

Getting the RS232 over USB or vice versa is just preference and what your laptop can do.

Dixit

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

how does the connection work from the OBDscan device to the ECU? is the installation similar to apexi s-afc/rsm which requires slicing wires and stuff?

spirilis

iTrader: (2)

I hope they update the OBD standards to allow high-speed data connections standard so we can sample every parameter possible 10 times a second
I believe the standard OBD-II data port rate is something like 10Kbps??? (way slower than a modern dialup modem... in fact I think GM extended the standard to allow some kind of 40-50Kbps data rate on some of their ECUs, according to the Auterra manual)

spirilis

iTrader: (2)

No, there is a standard OBD-II data port connector underneath the dashboard. Emissions testing shops have to hook up to that, so there's definitely no splicing involved.

DanL

That's not quite correct. While you're right on the mark WRT the RS232 versus USB part, different manufactures do use different protocols. OBD-II (On Board Diagnostics II) supports a number of different communications protocols including PWM, VPW, ISO-9141, and ISO-14230/KWP2000. Nissan and most Asian and European manufactures use 9141 so if you only need to use the code reader on your Max and want to save a few dollars, you can purchase a reader that supports only that particular protocol.

NizanDrivn

So the interface to the computer is irrelavent, speed/samplings-wise or the number "things" that can be simultaneously polled.....RIGHT?

I guess I'll be getting the USB tool...for the price and what it can do, its better than those handheld devices.

DanL

Yup, makes no difference. The USB version is a good choice, especially if you intend to purchase a new laptop in the near future. Many no longer come with 'legacy' serial ports and even a generic USB (computer) to serial (peripheral) converter will run you about $20-30.