Hello all, I'm a DIY type guy and have purchased a mini-vci cable and am happy with the results, but wanted more. In reading the boards I found out out Torque for Android. Looked promising. I have an Android tablet and phone, first I tried my mini-vci cable. No joy. hmmm. Took a chance on: Super Mini ELM327 Bluetooth OBD2 OBD-II V1.5 CAN-BUS Diagnostic Scanner Tool ordered from eBay it cost $13.68 delivered. Got the Prius Custom Pids from this post: Gen2 Prius: Custom PIDs for Torque (Android App) with formulas | PriusChat Android Torque Pro $4.99 from Play store. It reads codes, plus so much more, I'm geeking driving down the road, engine Tach, MG1 & MG2 Tach, AUX (12V) battery, Coolant temp, MG1 & MG2 Temps, and much more. It's a pretty cool tool. I've learned at 55-65 mph my engine is right at 185 deg, I like seeing the direct relationship between MPH and MG2. My wife asked why do I need to know that information. I pointed out cause I'm a geek. She got it. OK So for less than $20 bucks I've got a new tool for the tool box. Highly recommended!
Sounds Like you got an awesome deal. I paid $23 for my Elm327 and $5 for my Torque off of Play store as well - One of the most useful tools on these cars yet. Def a must purchase for anyone looking to get more info than the oem display and gauges.
I just ordered the Elm327 this last night and have Toruque Pro finally running on my Lenovo tablet. However, while browsing some of the other APPs "others have downloaded", I noticed that some have been downloading ELM 327 Terminal, recommended because the Elm327 "is known to be tempermental" and "for the more tech savy" (not an exact qoute, sorry!). Since it was free I downloaded it as well, just in case. In the mean time I'm hoping the 327 arrives from HongKong faster than the last item I ordered. That took 6 weeks due to customs problem for a simple battery charger. Dah! Also order a mount for my 7" tablet and since my present Prius dosen't have Nav or Blue Tooth, I have installed CoPilot (already used it for a year, great) and just paired my cell phone to the tablet. Should be a great driving experience and keep the cops off my back. Looking forward to useing Torque. Intially I had a lot of trouble getting it to install. Gave up for a while and finally tried it again last night and it reinstalled fine. Looks great. Great thread Steve
I'll need to take a picture of my setup. I had my tablet resting on the drink holder and the dash. It works ok.
I'm setting mine up for my Gen2 Prius and would like to keep it low and out of my field of vision of course. Some place handy to my right hand. Still in view of the sky for the GPS to work. I'm hoping, since the Prius windshield slopes back more than most cars, the sky view of the sky will be reasonably good if I mount it on a suction cup mount on that shiny plactic cup holder (leaving the front pull out one for my coffee cup). If that doesen't work out I will order one of those "Stock" type that bolt to the passenger seat inside track bolt. Those seem very flexable and might allow me to adjust for GPS needs if the other method doesn't work out. While I'm waiting for the OBD/ELM327 and tablet mount to come in, I have been working with the Blue Tooth recongnition on the Levono 1A_07 so I can use that for Hands Free phone. (Hey! Who needs that expensive OEM GPS and Blue Tooth system when you can get a cheap tablet that does all that and still will do wifi if you find a hot spot.) Steve
I have an old ELM with USB and it sticks out like a sore thumb. I would probably kick it out the OBD-connector within a day. What solution do you guys have to leave it in there while driving? Doesn't the bluetooth version stick out at all?
I had the same complaint with the same ELM model, so I just purchased the Mini and have the larger one for a spare or other car. The larger ELM had the flashing lights which I miss since it reminds me that it is still plugged. Now, I'm not so sure it is necassary to unplug it when not in use. Steve
The bluetooth OBD adapter does stick out quite a bit and that is why I modified the adapter. I peeled off the blue and orange sticker on the face to expose and unscrew the screws that hold the two halves together. I removed the connector from the adapter and connected a longer ribbon cable to the internal connection where the connector plugged into. I removed the short wires from the connector and soldered the ribbon cable to the connector while incorporating a miniature push to make, push to break power switch. The ribbon cable is protected by a cable sleeve and cable tied to a piece of 25mm PVC conduit from which a segment was removed. The PVC conduit clips onto the OBD connector. The connector plugs into the OBD connector of the car and the bluetooth adapter is hidden behind the carpeting under the centre console. Keep in mind that I have a right hand drive vehicle.
My GPS works just fine when mounted on that rear shiny plastic cup holder on the centre console. Here is a link to a previous post that shows where my table running torque is mounted.
Thanks for the explanation guys! Jaquimo: special thanks for the pics. They, how do they say it, speak a thousand words
I have been using the OBDII bluetooth dongle paired with my android phone/torque app (free). I have engine temperature, RPM, % engine load, and speed displayed. It is great to be able to monitor what the gas engine is doing. A couple times, a check engine light indicating bad modules in the HV battery pack. One time was at 3am when I was driving in the mountains between San Diego and Calexico where the car became undrivable at highway speeds. I would have been stranded if I couldn't turn off the code because the car would become drivable again. The CEL came back on a few times on that trip accompanied by a major loss of power but I simply reset the code on the phone/torque while the car was still moving and all was well for a while. I was able to limp the car home. I have a phone holder between the center vent and the instrument cluster that shows the MPG for the gen 2. For the gen 1, I placed the phone holder on top of the steering column behind the steering wheel. The best $25 I have ever spent (not including the $50 android phone). I was even thinking about buying more phones without service just to use as a dedicated additional instrument cluster.