Has anybody tried this one?

http://amzn.to/2G5dasv

 

Don't be fooled into spending 99$....


they are all the same get an elm 327 and download the torque app for free... you will be very happy with it!

 

No they aren't all the same.

The genuine ELM chip sets are great, and they work great with Torque. The older version of the ELM chips are in the adapters that run from $50 to $70 online. They'll read at a rate of about 100 PIDs/Second.

The $20 ish ones on Amazon are all Chinese clones. If you check the ELM firmware version in the Torque App "About the adapter" section, they report ELM V1.50. There is no v1.50 of the firmware from ELM. That's a Chinese clone of the ELM 1.0 firmware, and it's slow and buggy. When it doesn't disconnect outright, it barely reads 30 PIDs/Second.

Now, I have no idea about the $99 one the OP posted the link to. I use the OBDLink LX most of the time. It runs under $70, and it's genuine ELM (1.x firmware) with better firmware than the Chinese clones. It doesn't support the latest CAN protocols, though.

For C7's I'd strongly recommend the OBDLink MX which also supports the GMLAN and MS-CAN protocols. That one is also a genuine ELM implementation, v2.x IIRC. The OBDLink MX is on Amazon at http://amzn.com/B006NZTZLQ and it's well worth the price.

Oh, and the basic free version of Torque is pretty good, but I recommend the Torque Pro upgrade (about $10 on Google Play or the Apple App store). The pro version supports a lot more diagnostics, there are added GM PIDs already defined with it, although you have to enable them. It also supports Torque Scan plugin to help find any other custom PIDs that haven't been added by the development team.

 

I have two blue driver modules and I like them alot, reads and clears codes, suggests possible fixes for codes, can run multiple pips at once (data streams) there might be a better one out now but back a year or so ago it was up high on the lists, It does more then my action scanner that I paid 300 for. A few of my full time tech buddies now have these for keeping in their personal cars for pop up issues. My only suggestion is tie a piece of bright color ribbon to it, it's so small I've left it in others cars by accident.

 

OP, I have the one you indicated. Works fine IMHO. Read and cancels most codes. (Some codes only go away after a few successful start/stop cycles). I bought it when my Range AFM unit started throwing the occasional code.

 

i have 3 of the generic elm 327 i guess i got lucky... i have used them on everything from a kia to a chevy to bmw's and audi's read and clear codes with no issues, also monitoring many of the available items in the torque app... i am using the paid for version of the app if it makes a difference... my elm 327's coat me 11$ cad each purchased all at different times i keep one in each of my cars.

 

If all you want to do is read codes and clear codes, the cheap ones will do that.

The problem is when you're doing live data streaming on multiple sensors. That's when the speed of the adapter can become an issue.

@scasapal, when you go to "adapter information" in the Torque Pro app, there's somewhere in there where it tells you the "PIDs/second" for your adapter/ECM. What are you seeing with your generic adapters?

I had a BAFX one that was a Chinese clone chipset, and I'd see between 25 and 30 PIDs/second, depending on the ECM it was communicating with. If you try to monitor 4 sensors, that gives you less than 8 updates per second. If you're trying to monitor 6 sensors, that's under 5 updates per second. And if you use the "instant MPG" gauge in Torque, it reads 6 or more PIDs every time it updates, and it slows everything down.

My OBDLink adapter reads at least 60 PIDs/second, even on older slower ECM's, and on newer ECMs with faster processors, I've seen between 100 and 110 PIDs/second. That gets you really smooth graphs on O2 sensor volts, for example, where the slower adapters get you really rough, sometimes unusable graphs on O2 sensors. I sometimes use those graphs to find vacuum leaks, and the faster adapter makes that much easier.

I also sometimes use them as "data loggers" and for that application, watching data from ten or more sensors at the same time, the faster adapter is much better than the cheap clones that are so slow.

 

I've got this less expensive unit. It works well with free Torque (Lite). Current cost is $21.99.

New BAFX ELM327 Bluetooth OBD 2 CAN V1.5 Scan Tool Android OBD Reader / Scanner

 

Good info I had no idea about the pid... mine goes from 12 to 30

I guess they are not all alike!

I stand corrected.

 

Just to summarize, which adapter you really need depends on what you want to do with the thing.

If you just want to read codes and reset codes, any of them will do. Buy a cheap one. The best of the cheap ones that I've found is the BAFX one that runs $20 ish, which tops out around 30 PIDs/second on a good day on a fast, modern ECM.

If you want to do more in depth diagnostics with real time data, for example, if you want to log "everything" on a chassis dyno run to check your tune, you'll need a faster adapter. The least expensive of the "fast" bluetooth adapters that I've found are the OBDLink ones (LX for older cars, MX for more modern CAN protocols). Those will read up to 100 PIDs/second on modern PCM's, and are pretty good on the price/performance scale.

The fastest ones are the cabled USB ones, and those can read several hundred PIDs/second, but they are less convenient and don't work with most phone/tablet apps.

 

I have a question about the code readers. I have an older ODB OTC wired unit and a newer ELM bluetooth unit. How do these compare to what they use at the dealerships? They can read codes at the dealership that don't come up on either of my scanners at all. Specifically a window regulator module code.

 

The answer to this simple question is way more complicated than you would expect.



I'm going to assume here from your user name that we're talking about a C6 Corvette. This answer also applies to any newer vehicle which uses CAN communications protocols. For those newer vehicles with CAN, if you use a CAN capable scan tool or dongle and app, then it is theoretically possible to get to all of the information from all the various controllers in the car. They are all interconnected with the CAN bus, and it's just a matter of the firmware/software in your scan tool or scan app knowing how to address and access the various controllers and how to request the data and interpret the data in the responses. For most commercial tools, that's available to them, and the licensing for that "intellectual property" is part of the cost of the tool.



For "traditional OBD-II" (pre CAN) cars, or for newer cars where your only tool to access the data is only capable of the older protocols, the "OBD-II" data is only about engine performance and diagnostics and emissions related diagnostic and testing data. OBD-II as originally implemented was all about engine and emissions. Anything beyond that was grafted on to "manufacturer discretion" or "unused" pins on the connector. For older scan tools and code readers, if it says it reads OBD-II codes and data, that's probably all it reads. If it claims OBD-II plus ABS and SIR (Air bags), then it probably has specifications on which vehicles it can diagnose ABS and SIR data from, and it's wired for the data for those systems on those vehicles.



For ELM adapters, it depends a lot on the adapter as well as on the vehicle. There are different versions of the firmware. If you're using a BlueTooth or WiFi dongle with an Android or IOS app, there's usually a way to get "adapter information," and there will be something in there about "ELM Version" or "ELM Firmware version." Here's the major versions and what they are physically capable of:

• ELM Version 1.0, the original. It was buggy, limited in capability, and it was on the chips in unencrypted form which led to it being pirated and copied by the Chinese. If your adapter identifies as one of these, be happy if it works at all.
• ELM Version 1.3a, the latest and most stable version of ELM 1.x. Faster and more reliable than ELM 1.0. This version only operates with traditional OBD protocols (SAE J1850 and the ISO serial protocols). These adapters are for the most part incapable of getting any information from ABS, Air Bag or other systems in the car, they only "speak" OBD-II with the PCM/ECM.
• ELM Version 1.4b, no longer offered. This was a "low power" version of ELM 1.3a, with a "sleep mode" and some other power saving features. Again, it was serial protocols only (SAE J1850 and the ISO ones).
• ELM 2.2, this is the latest, it offers a sleep mode and low power features. It also supports modern CAN protocols and supports other more advanced features present on newer CAN based cars.

Those are the only official versions. You'll also see a lot of cheap adapters identify as ELM version 1.5. These are Chinese copies or clones of ELM version 1.0. Sometimes all they change is the version number. Sometimes they add new "features" like sleep mode and other things. No matter what, they generally have all the bugs and poor performance of ELM version 1.0, and count yourself lucky if the thing works at all.



The only version of the ELM adapters that stands any chance of diagnosing a window regulator is a version 2.2 implementation. The app using it would also probably need to be a commercial app that participates in the industry group which provides all the technical specifications for the protocols and data dictionaries for the various manufacturers specific implementations for non-engine related diagnostics. This means most "open source" apps that you get for $20 or less won't have the ability to get to that information without custom configuration, and the data to do that custom configuration might not be available.



For wired scan tools, anything CAN capable will probably have the ability to address and read codes like the window regulator diagnostics. Whether the tool has software advanced enough to actually do it is the question.


For older wired scan tools that only mention OBD-II and don't specifically mention CAN protocols, I doubt you'll get much beyond engine related OBD-II data and diagnostics. I covered this above. If the wired tool claims OBD-II plus ABS, or other additional data, it will cover those systems on the specific vehicles that the tool lists for that ability.

 

Thanks Racer. You’re right, not a simple answer! But I appreciate the education. I know where to come if I have any more questions. 😂

 

LOL!! Ohhhh crap! Guess what I just bought and about to install in a C7? Yep, Range AFM. I'm hoping it was a firmware update, but maybe not? Here I go again.

 

[QUOTE=twoweeled;1602220925]LOL!! Ohhhh crap! Guess what I just bought and about to install in a C7? Yep, Range AFM. I'm hoping it was a firmware update, but maybe not? Here I go again.[/QUOTE

No worries. This problem was fixed by Range years ago. New units work great!!