Motoring Discussion > Bluetooth ODBII readers Accessories and Parts
Thread Author: Zero Replies: 13
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New Thu 2 Apr 15 23:17 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Zero
Are pants.

Someone somewhere told me they were pants, but i thought I would have a crack at one.

Got an ELM one, nice and small. Fitted it into the ODB port and powered it up. It connected to my Hudl2, via bluetooth, promptly refused to talk to the car, and then decided it would not speak to the Hudl. It can now be paired to my phone - sometimes - (but not the hudl it now refuses to acknowledge its existence) but then refuses to communicate, the application (one of many I have tried) coming back with an "wont talk" error.

Pile of poo

Good job I only lashed out a fiver on it.
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New Fri 3 Apr 15 08:21 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Old Navy
>> Pile of poo
>>
>> Good job I only lashed out a fiver on it.
>>

You have learned the cheapskates lesson.

AutoLOG got a good write up in Auto Express last week. It is £50 though.
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New Fri 3 Apr 15 09:19 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Fenlander
Last year many of the folks on a one-make forum I use kept on that if you wanted a code reader you'd be daft to do anything other than buy an Ebay Bluetooth one for a tenner.

In the end I bought a laptop based cable/software set for the BMW and this for the Polos... www.gendan.co.uk/product_FXNT500_16.html

The BMW software is very complex and needs care as you could easily end up clicking away some very important settings.... but it's already solved a very tricky airbag issue and it's also highly amusing (for about a minute anyway) to raise and lower the rear suspension or operate all the heater flaps from the laptop.

The Foxwell linked above is a brilliant bit of kit. Far easier to have the self-contained unit than trying to balance a laptop about the car. It contains standard ODB any-make software inc live data reading plus it has VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda specific software which takes you deeper into what the problem behind a fault code may be.

There are cheaper generic types around £30 but these are usually not make specific and will lose several layers of code based diagnostics... plus many cheaper ones do not fully cover ABS, airbags, service light resets etc.

Some cars of course have the luck throughout your ownership never to have a problem that needs code reading... but once you are experiencing a fault they are essential these days.
Last edited by: Fenlander on Fri 3 Apr 15 at 09:22
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New Fri 3 Apr 15 09:36 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - ToMoCo
>>Fitted it into the ODB port and powered
>> it up.

Is this On-board Diagnostics for Ole Dirty Bas.....?
:-)

Anyway, now I own an Alfa...... I think I might need to get one
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New Fri 3 Apr 15 09:56 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Fenlander
Is the Alfa actually with you now... any good... any pics?

Anyway mine was one of the most reliable cars I've had... never needed a code reader for that in 18mths. Remember what I say... believe in them (plus do the important pre-emptive maintenance) and it'll all be fine.
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New Fri 3 Apr 15 17:21 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - spamcan61
ELM one I bought off the bay for a fiver has worked fine on a number of cars, connected to Spamcan Junior's Galaxy Tab or my Nokia N8.
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New Sat 4 Apr 15 07:21 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - sherlock47
The sub £6 ELM BT reader that I own appears to work ok with HUDL2 and MotoG with both Torq (lite) free and Torq (£2.95 paid) for software. BT pairing is not an issue.
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New Sat 4 Apr 15 00:16 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Stuartli
>>Anyway mine was one of the most reliable cars I've had>>

Had a Fiat 1.4-litre Mirafiori followed by a 1.6 Regata S and both were the same reliability wise (also drove a number of other Regatas at the time); only common problem with the Regatas were carp brakes...:-(
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New Fri 10 Apr 15 19:05 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - ....
What software are you using to read your car and what OBD2 Protocol are you using ?

I've used one of the cheapies OBD II BT connectors on two Volvo's, two Citroën's and a Toyota. You need to set the Protocol to what the car is talking. Probably telling you how to suck eggs.
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New Fri 10 Apr 15 22:13 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - rtj70
I looked at apps for Android and got a cheap OBDII BT reader from Amazon that was compatible. It worked for me - I got an error code for my wife's car that a plugin OBD reader at a small independent garage we know didn't.
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New Sat 11 Apr 15 10:35 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Zero
>> What software are you using to read your car

Torque

and what OBD2 Protocol are you
>> using ?

doesn't get as far as bluetooth connection - let alone OBD2 protocol


I suspect the dongle thing is trying to pair with the radio, who's bluetooth is on all the time even if the radio is switched off (it answers my phone when switched off anyway)

Must study the manual and see if i can turn it off
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 11 Apr 15 at 10:35
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New Sat 11 Apr 15 13:42 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - rtj70
I used the free version of Torque. Is the OBDII dongle getting power okay?

You mention the radio and whether the OBDII thing is trying to pair with the radio. If it is this then it's the radio trying to pair - i.e. the other way around. So what if the phone is paired with the radio? Wouldn't that mean the radio isn't trying to do anything?

From your phone can you see the OBDII dongle? And have you tried it in another car to rule out the radio issue?
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New Sat 11 Apr 15 15:21 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - Zero

>> other way around. So what if the phone is paired with the radio? Wouldn't that
>> mean the radio isn't trying to do anything?

It can pair with more than one device. Phone and Audio for example.

>> From your phone can you see the OBDII dongle?

Yes, it pairs with the dongle but then falls over with a bluetooth comms error. The Hudl2 sees it but wont pair.

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New Sat 11 Apr 15 16:08 
 Bluetooth ODBII readers - rtj70
I doubt this has anything to do with the car radio. It won't be trying to pair with the BT profile of this OBDII dongle.

Unless your OBDII dongle has a handsfree, headset or audio streaming profile.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 11 Apr 15 at 16:10
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