Droid 2 OBD Success

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by gcarey3, Oct 19, 2010.

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  1. gcarey3

    gcarey3 Junior Member

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    I thought I would share my recent experience with getting OBD data displayed on my Droid 2. I haven't spent a lot of time with this setup yet but what I see so far is way cool.

    Here's what I have:

    Gen III Prius with Nav
    Motorola Droid 2
    ELM327 OBD II scanner with Bluetooth
    Torque application from Android Market

    The ELM327 scanner plugs into the ECM port under the steering wheel. It does stick out a bit so I'm hoping that I don't hit it with my shoe when I'm getting in or out of the car. So far so good. Since this was a generic device it really didn't have any instructions with it so I had to figure things out. It seems that it becomes discoverable for a period of time when you first plug it in. So you need to go into the Droid and scan for the bluetooth device and then plug it in. It should come up with the MAC address, then the name fills in once it pairs successfully. I disconnected the Droid's bluetooth from the car while I did this which seemed to work. Not sure if this was needed or not.

    Once you get the thing paired up the rest is pretty simple. You download the Torque application from the market. They have a free version which is ad supported and the full version which is about $5. I bought the full version and it's worth it.

    I took the extra time to enter some data into the settings so that the app can calculate horsepower, fuel efficiency, etc. accurately. These are things like vehicle weight, maximum RPMs, etc.

    The app comes with a default screen with gauges on it showing acceleration, throttle position, RPM, speed, coolant temperature. I found the dial gauges to be a bit small to see so I created my own screen with digital readouts instead. I tried engine load %, RPM, ambient air temp, intake air temp, coolant temp, intake air pressure, altitude and barometric pressure. You can create multiple screens and flick you finger to change between them.

    The app uses the Droid's GPS to enhance the data that is received from the ECM. I think it also uses the Droid's accelerometer for some things. I didn't verify all the values I tried but all the graphs had data on them. It was neat watching the RPMs and load go to zero when the car was on battery.

    The developer is also working on a website which collects your trip data on a map (Google of course) and then plots collected data against the trip. You have to go into the settings and tell it to upload data to the webserver and then use your computer browser to log in with a special device code inside the app to see the data later.

    Another cool thing is an Eco Widget that is a picture of a tree with leaves on it. If you drive conservatively more and more leaves appear on the tree and it changes your driving description to different sayings like "Sunday Driver", "Green Machine" and "Eco Warrior". I'm not sure I would drive around with that up there but it certainly was entertaining to watch the tree blossom as I ran on battery down a long hill.

    You can set threshold alarms in the application. I guess you could set an alarm for high coolant temp or something like that. I'm not sure how it notifies you. It also displays fault logs and offers to lookup fault codes in a database. I don't have any faults so can't try out that feature. There is an option to clear faults which I assume means turn off the check engine light.

    You can add custom PIDs to the application too but I haven't tried that yet either. I think I would like to monitor the temperature and voltage of the HV battery. The app comes with some preset groups for GM, Ford, etc. but none for Toyota or Prius yet. So I'll have to type in the values by hand for now.

    Anyway, I hope this is useful for anyone contemplating setting up their Droid for this function. It really was quite inexpensive to get the whole thing going and I can see that it can be quite beneficial. I'm hoping that the developer continues his fruitful development efforts as well.

    George
     
    #1 gcarey3, Oct 19, 2010
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  2. rrg

    rrg Active Member

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    Nice job.
    Can you save data and play it back?
     
    #2 rrg, Oct 19, 2010
  3. gcarey3

    gcarey3 Junior Member

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    Looks like there are settings for the logging. There is a logging interval which defaults to 1 second, and a "Select what to log" which will let you specify certain PIDs.

    do not know how to get them out of the phone though. There is an option to upload to the developer's webserver or you can specify your own URL (which must respond with OK according to the setting menu). Maybe it's also stored in a file on the phone, haven't looked yet. I like the idea of uploading automagically although I don't think it starts the upload until your trip is done. Today I took a trip and it took quite a while to upload the data when I went to shut down the app. It gave the option of exiting immediately but then of course I would abort the upload.

    I really like the developer's PHP script that shows the Google map of your trip at the top and a histogram with readings at the bottom. Not sure if he's sharing this piece of work or not but I'd be willing to try it on my own server perhaps. Not sure what libraries it needs to run the graphing functions, a Google API key is probably required too.
     
    #3 gcarey3, Oct 19, 2010
  4. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    Maybe you can ask the mods to move this to the 'Tech" forum. THis is the wrong place (audio).

    Very nice job - many there will appreciate this...
     
    #4 rrolff, Oct 19, 2010
  5. chrisj428

    chrisj428 Active Member

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    George,

    Before I go clicking on stuff and ordering wrong, is this what you got? If not, would you be able to supply a link to your source, please?
     
    #5 chrisj428, Oct 20, 2010
  6. KK6PD

    KK6PD _ . _ . / _ _ . _

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    Yeah, MEE TOO.. OK you have really piqued my interest, I am assuming that "This" is the
    Bluetooth ELM327



    unit in question.


    The USB version is maked down to $22.


    I found another programer ...
    Super TOYOTA K+CAN Commander 2.0 For TOYOTA/LEXUS/SCION

    Keyprogramming - normal and smart key for vehicles :
    Toyota Prius
    that will do Smart FOBS! $348 + shiping

    Super TOYOTA K+CAN Commander 2.0 For TOYOTA/LEXUS/SCION : Eobdii.com - OBD II Code Scanner

    A bit pricey for me, but the ELM27 series seem a bargin at $34 +shipping or less!!!
    I am currently running through the list of suggested software for this unit!
     
    #6 KK6PD, Oct 21, 2010
  7. ndh16

    ndh16 Junior Member

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    #7 ndh16, Oct 21, 2010
  8. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    Nice topic (again should be in Tech)...

    I was going to buy the Tactrix before Christmas (a present for me), but it was unavailable.

    From what I knew, it may support most of the Mongoose functions, and key programming.

    I like the idea of BT connect to a random app (and maybe streaming it to your car VGA display) - but am wondering how it works (versions of Android etc)....
     
    #8 rrolff, Oct 21, 2010
  9. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    Has anyone been able to confirm this? I emailed a dealer on ebay that sells both the Tactrix OpenPort and the Drew Mongoose and when I asked him if the Tactrix would work with TechStream, he recommended the Mongoose instead despite the fact that Toyota compatibility is shown on the TacTrix site. Now since he's asking for significantly more for the Mongoose, there may be alterior motives.

    I'd love to have a PC'er confirm that TechStream works properly (including K-line KWP2000 support), as it looks like a nice product.
     
    #9 pEEf, Oct 21, 2010
  10. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    If you post this in Tech, you will get an answer.... I know when I was buying it 6+ months ago, it supported Techstream (generally available in the downloadable world).

    That said, it seems to use an Ebay Key fob,there is a secondary process to 'unlock' the key...

    Tactrix should work for other functions...
     
    #10 rrolff, Oct 21, 2010
  11. ndh16

    ndh16 Junior Member

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    Just to fill-out my earlier statement about Tactrix & Techstream, I have extensively used on my Prius III the Tactrix OpenPort 2.0 cable with an old version of TechStream (version 4.12.001) on a Dell laptop runing Windows Xp (using relevant downloadable drivers) without any problems. I cannot confirm that the cable works with the very latest version of Techstream but I would very suprised if it did not.
     
    #11 ndh16, Oct 21, 2010
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  12. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    Thanks, this is good info!

    Have you tried anything that uses KWP? Such as the TMPS queries, or maybe the Occupant Classification?
     
    #12 pEEf, Oct 21, 2010
  13. ndh16

    ndh16 Junior Member

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    Not directly but here are extracts from other relevant posts (I cannot post links at present):-


    (i) Post 1 in 'Accurate Diagnosis on 01 Prius' (Gen II Main Forum/Generation 1 Discussion) by member 'statultra' on 6/4/10:

    "For years even since ive been repairing my 01 and 05 prius from a collision I have been trying to diagnose random issues on these cars, utilizing nothing but the MFD and a Actron scanner which can only access the engine ECU DTCs. I recently purchased a Tactrix Openport V2 and techstream lite, and can perform an accurate diagnosis on any toyota/lexus vehicle.

    This made so much things easy for me, I had a SRS light on a 06 Tacoma which was flooded from a dealership, the Occupant classification system was damaged, replacing the ECU and calibrating was a snap in techstream.

    Also noting that this system works great on my Accord Hybrid utilizing the Honda Diagnostic System ( HDS ).

    Im not necessarily trying to sell a product or anything, but based on my experiences I found the perfect diagnostic solution for Toyota and Honda".


    (ii) Post 7 in 'Techstream Lite interface cable options' (Gen III Technical Discussion) by member 'frenchie' on 11/25/9:

    "Bonjour
    We don't have TPMS in europe, but I confirm that tactrix openport 2.0 works perfectly for most of the functions (for instance reprograming reverse buzzer)".

    (iii) Post 20 in 'ELM327 USB Vehicle OBD-2 Scanner Tool' (Gen II Audio and Electronics) by member 'frenchie' on 10/11/10

    "Bonjour,

    Yes the tactrix Openport 2.0 works perfectly with techstream.

    With techstream, you can record data regarding ICE, MG1, MG2 (rpm, temp, torque) , mpg, battery status & so on.... "
     
    #13 ndh16, Oct 22, 2010
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  14. chrisj428

    chrisj428 Active Member

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    One other question here (probably a dumb one) -- can I pair to two bluetooth devices at the same time? If I have the phone paired to the bluetooth in the car, can I also pair it to the dongle for the OBDII port for the Torque application?
     
    #14 chrisj428, Nov 4, 2010
  15. PaJa

    PaJa Senior member

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    I don't know how Apple, but standard PC can pair more BT devices
    simultaneously (like mouse and keyboard, phone).
     
    #15 PaJa, Nov 5, 2010
  16. PaJa

    PaJa Senior member

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    By my experience with the latest OP2.0 and TS5.10.029 KWP units doesn't communicate - just TS standard error message to check DLC, car is ready....
     
    #16 PaJa, Nov 5, 2010
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  17. pEEf

    pEEf Engineer - EV nut

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    Ahh, so the OP2.0 doesn't work properly on all busses for Toyota. Good to know!

    I'll look at getting a Drew Mongoose then.
     
    #17 pEEf, Nov 6, 2010
  18. eobdii

    eobdii OBD2 Auto diagnotic tool

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    ELM327 Bluetooth 35$ include shipping cost

    Toyota Smart Keymaker 33.5 include shipping cost.:)

    Our online shop
     
    #18 eobdii, Apr 6, 2011
  19. sorka

    sorka Active Member

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    Dumb question and pardon me if it's already been answered. But can our Droids connect to an Elm327 bluetooth for data while connected to our prius bluetooth for phone.

    I was all set to order an Elm327 compatible or PLX Kiwi and download Torque but realized that I probably couldn't use this while connected to the prius bluetooth for phone. Since I plan to leave it on all the time while driving, and not just for spot checks or DTCs, this would be a deal kille and I'd be better off ordering a ScanguageII.
     
    #19 sorka, Apr 6, 2011
  20. rrolff

    rrolff Prius Surgeon

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    I'm swapping my work Blackberry for a Droid 2 - so this is now very relevant to me....

    There are a few ODBII extenders (cable - just Amazon search ODBII extension - only $12) - will this help with relocating the device - getting it out of the way of your feet?

    One other question - or more a statement. If you run BT for phone calls etc, you won't be able to do both at the same time - but this seems very cool!
     
    #20 rrolff, Apr 6, 2011
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