[Aus335iguy]

Hi all
I need to code some stuff on my dads car
I have a plethora of connection methods for my BMW
I have a USB KDcan cable
An MHD orange wifi adaptor
A bimmergeeks Bluetooth adaptor

The FoRScan software for dads car just specified an ELM 327 adaptor and nothing more

Will any of the three BMW options be any good for the job or must I invest in a genuine ELM ?

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Hi all
I need to code some stuff on my dads car
I have a plethora of connection methods for my BMW
I have a USB KDcan cable
An MHD orange wifi adaptor
A bimmergeeks Bluetooth adaptor

The FoRScan software for dads car just specified an ELM 327 adaptor and nothing more

Will any of the three BMW options be any good for the job or must I invest in a genuine ELM ?

Good question!

1) KDCAN cable will not substitute, for sure. Totally different chip/protocol

2) MHD wifi - no idea

3) Bimmergeek Bluetooth - that's possible.

I'm guessing that the Bimmergeek adapter is ELM327-based (ELM 327 being a particular programmable microcontroller widely used for OBDII interface devices). However, it is certain that the Bimmergeek adapter uses custom firmware - for one thing it runs much faster than standard ELM327 based adapters. So will it retain enough compatibility to work with Forscan? I don't know.

All that said, USB ELM327 v1.5 adapters are super cheap - I've used Forscan with a $15 ebay adapter (sorry don't have link for it since it's maybe 6 years old.)

Let us know when you find out what works

EDIT: last thing to worry about if you decide to go the cheap ELM327 route - a lot of the cheap adapters, maybe all of them, don't use a bona fide ELM327, they use illegal clone chips. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't

[ctuna]

elm is a cheap ass generic interface often used with torque as far as I know.
What are you coding if for the common stuff can be done with a K/D can cable.
Some of the Most stuff need ICOM.
If you are going to update a car only then would you use Ista P with a regulated
power supply .
If you don't have something specific you want to change best to leave it alone.
If you have canned programming ala bimmergeeks pro tool I would try that first.

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by ctuna

elm is a cheap ass generic interface often used with torque as far as I know.
What are you coding if for the common stuff can be done with a K/D can cable.
Some of the Most stuff need ICOM.
If you are going to update a car only then would you use Ista P with a regulated
power supply .
If you don't have something specific you want to change best to leave it alone.
If you have canned programming ala bimmergeeks pro tool I would try that first.

Dude, he was asking about whether any of the adapters he already has for his BMW could work with Ford software which requires an ELM327-based adapter

EDIT: for the record, the ELM327 is not a "cheap ass generic interface". The ELM327 is probably the most widely used programmable microcontroller for communicating with OBDII protocols in the world. Its popularity is its downfall - low quality partially functional clones abound, many of which cannot execute the full instruction set or are crippled in some way. In fact, the 1st generation of clones were pretty good but at this point it's a problem.

[Aus335iguy]

Found a cheap clone I had and indeed it was super shit. It connected but could only see one module, interaction was slow and a major head fuck.
I tried the MHD orange wifi adaptor and that didn't work. I also tried the KDcan cable for shits and giggles again it didn't work.
for those that come here in the future I didn't try the bimmergeeks yet but I will and report back as well. Many people have different types of cars this might be useful for someone else as well.
Thanks everyone for trying to help

[dpaul]

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Found a cheap clone I had and indeed it was super shit. It connected but could only see one module, interaction was slow and a major head fuck.
I tried the MHD orange wifi adaptor and that didn't work. I also tried the KDcan cable for shits and giggles again it didn't work.
for those that come here in the future I didn't try the bimmergeeks yet but I will and report back as well. Many people have different types of cars this might be useful for someone else as well.
Thanks everyone for trying to help

The bimmergeeks cable is not going to work for FORSCAN any more than your K/DCAN cable. They use an FTDI chip, not an ELM327

EDIT: OK, sorry, you meant the Bimmergeek Bluetooth adapter, not their cable. No idea about that.