obd reader which is best

acerboo · 03-30-2013, 10:32 AM

now have a new smartphone and would like to get an obd reader to work with it, quite a few advertised from around £12 to £150, is there any difference in them?

makkan00 · 03-30-2013, 11:12 AM

None of them are good for bmws, if you want extensive testing.
They will read the codes only when you'll have engine management light on.

IanS100 · 03-30-2013, 12:52 PM

as far as apps go, 'BMWWhat' looks to be the most comprehensive but 'Torque Pro' is cheap & makes a great supplementary dashboard with engine & catalyst temp etc etc, but it wouldn't read fault codes on my LCI 320d

acerboo · 03-30-2013, 03:32 PM

im really looking for engine temp and perhaps oil temp

IanS100 · 03-30-2013, 10:11 PM

I'm running Torque Pro on my SGS3 / Scantool mx & have it setup to give me instant readouts of engine temp / dpf temp / volts / air temp which works very well. You can also set over / under range alarms, this week my dpf alarm went off when the temp went up from the more normal 200 - 300 degrees to 600 degrees for about 20 minutes. I was very surprised as the regen started when I was only doing about 35 mph.

There are loads of sensors that can be monitored but there's no oil temp readout for my car although there may be for some engines

Metalmickey · 03-31-2013, 05:49 AM

Has anyone used the 'engine link' app or similar on an iPhone with one of these Bluetooth OBD readers?

makkan00 · 03-31-2013, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metalmickey

Has anyone used the 'engine link' app or similar on an iPhone with one of these Bluetooth OBD readers?

As far as I know bt scan readers do not work with BT obd readers (due to apple's silly restrictions). I may be wrong as this was discovered 18 months ago when I looked into this.
However you can buy wi-fi abled obd scanners and they should work with iphone applications.

Metalmickey · 03-31-2013, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makkan00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metalmickey

Has anyone used the 'engine link' app or similar on an iPhone with one of these Bluetooth OBD readers?

As far as I know bt scan readers do not work with BT obd readers (due to apple's silly restrictions). I may be wrong as this was discovered 18 months ago when I looked into this.
However you can buy wi-fi abled obd scanners and they should work with iphone applications.

Yeah I think your right, been looking at this app-

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/engine-link-obd-ii-vehicle/id591557194?mt=8

Reading it more carefully it does say to use a wi-fi OBD reader!
I'll just have to try and find a reasonable priced one now!

JTMR360 · 03-31-2013, 11:57 AM

Just thought this may be of interest to you....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=817238

badgerbrock72 · 03-31-2013, 03:52 PM

IanS100 have just sent you a pm regarding your post,

Cheers

Garry

IanS100 · 03-31-2013, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by badgerbrock72

IanS100 have just sent you a pm regarding your post,

Cheers

Garry

pm replied, cheers

Metalmickey · 03-31-2013, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTMR360

Just thought this may be of interest to you....

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=817238

That does look a good bit of kit!

How are you getting on with it?

Was looking at cheaper ones just to have a play around with!

JTMR360 · 03-31-2013, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Metalmickey

That does look a good bit of kit!

How are you getting on with it?

Was looking at cheaper ones just to have a play around with!

I'm very pleased with it, it's so easy to use, even my missus can get it going

Would be nice if it did oil temperature but BMW don't have senders in the sump on the 335d so it's not the iobd2's fault.

The beauty of this is, you can save profiles for different cars on your iPhone so you just plug and play from car to car

makkan00 · 04-01-2013, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTMR360

I'm very pleased with it, it's so easy to use, even my missus can get it going

Would be nice if it did oil temperature but BMW don't have senders in the sump on the 335d so it's not the iobd2's fault.

The beauty of this is, you can save profiles for different cars on your iPhone so you just plug and play from car to car

Nice kit.
If you bought it just to look at coolant temperature, then that can be done via hidden menu on the speedometer.

JTMR360 · 04-01-2013, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makkan00

Nice kit.
If you bought it just to look at coolant temperature, then that can be done via hidden menu on the speedometer.

And to see any fault codes that might show up.

I'm aware that you can read the temp in the BC menu but after doing it once I found it to be a ball ache so iobd2 it is

makkan00 · 04-01-2013, 08:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTMR360

And to see any fault codes that might show up.

I'm aware that you can read the temp in the BC menu but after doing it once I found it to be a ball ache so iobd2 it is

and iobd2 is more convenient.

JTMR360 · 04-01-2013, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by makkan00

and iobd2 is more convenient.

Sure is, popped it on my mates E46 330i, within 1 min it was up and running and showed a few old fault codes that he wanted clearing, bingo, cleared

acerboo · 04-10-2013, 07:19 AM

bought one of these but I cant get it to show any faults even though the car is showing a brake system failure on the dash, does anyone have any ideas as to what I may be doing wrong

03-30-2013, 10:32 AM	#1
acerboo Brigadier General 179 Rep 3,925 Posts Drives: e92 335d lci Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: kent iTrader: (2)	obd reader which is best now have a new smartphone and would like to get an obd reader to work with it, quite a few advertised from around £12 to £150, is there any difference in them?
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03-30-2013, 11:12 AM	#2
makkan00 Major General 886 Rep 9,097 Posts Drives: F83 and F36 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Essex iTrader: (56)	None of them are good for bmws, if you want extensive testing. They will read the codes only when you'll have engine management light on. __________________ F36 Xdrive for her - HUD, park assist, heated steering wheel, rear camera, Apple car play F36 RWD for him - HK, M sports pack, GTS tail light, Apple car play
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03-30-2013, 12:52 PM	#3
IanS100 Major General 136 Rep 5,050 Posts Drives: 520d F10 LCI M Sport Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Southport UK iTrader: (0)	as far as apps go, 'BMWWhat' looks to be the most comprehensive but 'Torque Pro' is cheap & makes a great supplementary dashboard with engine & catalyst temp etc etc, but it wouldn't read fault codes on my LCI 320d
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03-30-2013, 03:32 PM	#4
acerboo Brigadier General 179 Rep 3,925 Posts Drives: e92 335d lci Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: kent iTrader: (2)	im really looking for engine temp and perhaps oil temp
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03-30-2013, 10:11 PM	#5
IanS100 Major General 136 Rep 5,050 Posts Drives: 520d F10 LCI M Sport Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Southport UK iTrader: (0)	I'm running Torque Pro on my SGS3 / Scantool mx & have it setup to give me instant readouts of engine temp / dpf temp / volts / air temp which works very well. You can also set over / under range alarms, this week my dpf alarm went off when the temp went up from the more normal 200 - 300 degrees to 600 degrees for about 20 minutes. I was very surprised as the regen started when I was only doing about 35 mph. There are loads of sensors that can be monitored but there's no oil temp readout for my car although there may be for some engines
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03-31-2013, 05:49 AM	#6
Metalmickey Private First Class 1 Rep 112 Posts Drives: E90 Lci 330d M-sport Join Date: May 2011 Location: Norfolk, UK iTrader: (3)	Has anyone used the 'engine link' app or similar on an iPhone with one of these Bluetooth OBD readers?
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03-31-2013, 11:57 AM	#9
JTMR360 Second Lieutenant 11 Rep 221 Posts Drives: E90 2008 335d M Sport Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Just outside Banbury iTrader: (0)	Just thought this may be of interest to you.... http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=817238
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03-31-2013, 03:52 PM	#10
badgerbrock72 Captain 111 Rep 624 Posts Drives: 340i M-Sport Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Birmingham iTrader: (1)	IanS100 have just sent you a pm regarding your post, Cheers Garry
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04-10-2013, 07:19 AM	#18
acerboo Brigadier General 179 Rep 3,925 Posts Drives: e92 335d lci Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: kent iTrader: (2)	bought one of these but I cant get it to show any faults even though the car is showing a brake system failure on the dash, does anyone have any ideas as to what I may be doing wrong
	Appreciate 0 Quote