The ELM/Torque thread
July 26th, 2019, 10:27 AM
#111
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Believe what you want. I lived this. I was connected to car phones before cellular was a thing. I installed MTS & IMTS phones. And I did it in one of the two test cities for cellular phones. I installed 1st & 2nd generation cellular car phones before portable phones were popular, or could fit in a pocket. All you can do is find current information and cut and paste.
November 13th, 2019, 5:57 PM
#112
The appeal is that for $2 you can read and clear trouble codes, get the tranny temp etc. You can pay $70 if you want but I don’t think you get that much. I don’t think the OBDLink doesn’t gets you gmlan stuff. Everything is CAN now including legislated OBD.
November 13th, 2019, 7:01 PM
#113
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Hi,
I have a 2010 3500 GMC van, and want to be able to see some of the same temps as several others in this thread.
Yours is the first post I've seen that showed the Trans Temp displayed on a 2008+ van.
But I'm wondering why several posts on here seem to show preference for what seem like very out-of-the-mainstream ELM327 OBD readers from far-off places, when there are many much less expensive alternatives on Amazon, etc., ranging from the inexpensive but highly rated Bafx OBD2 Scanner (B005NLQAHS ~$23) to the ScanTool OBDLink MX (B07JFRFJG6 ~$70), which is able to read the proprietary GM CANBUS and has some other features.
Has anybody on here tried either of these on a 2008+ GM van?
Thanks!
I have a 2010 3500 GMC van, and want to be able to see some of the same temps as several others in this thread.
Yours is the first post I've seen that showed the Trans Temp displayed on a 2008+ van.
But I'm wondering why several posts on here seem to show preference for what seem like very out-of-the-mainstream ELM327 OBD readers from far-off places, when there are many much less expensive alternatives on Amazon, etc., ranging from the inexpensive but highly rated Bafx OBD2 Scanner (B005NLQAHS ~$23) to the ScanTool OBDLink MX (B07JFRFJG6 ~$70), which is able to read the proprietary GM CANBUS and has some other features.
Has anybody on here tried either of these on a 2008+ GM van?
Thanks!
November 14th, 2019, 2:25 AM
#114
From ScanTool (maker of the OBDLink MX scanner):
"The OBDLink app itself does not have access to any OEM live data like transmission temp and outside temp for GM vehicles currently. In order to view the OEM DTCs and PIDs, you would need to use the MX Bluetooth in conjunction with another third party app that does have access to this proprietary information."
"The OBDLink app itself does not have access to any OEM live data like transmission temp and outside temp for GM vehicles currently. In order to view the OEM DTCs and PIDs, you would need to use the MX Bluetooth in conjunction with another third party app that does have access to this proprietary information."
And by the way, ELM327 chips are very outdated. If you have a modern vehicle, then the ELM329 chip is superior.
Last edited by mountainmanjoe; November 14th, 2019 at 2:41 AM.
November 14th, 2019, 11:10 AM
#115
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I got this reply from the BAFX tech support rep.:
FYI:
OBD adapters that have been tested with Torque/TorquePro
(All the adapters offer the same access to all the available OBD2 sensors in the vehicle)
OBD Fusion & TouchScan Compatible Adapters
(list of adapters that are compatible with OBD Fusion and TouchScan and some guidance on which one to choose)
...............
Originally Posted by BAFX tech support rep
"Torque has generic readings for all of the sensor you noted as I mentioned however for GM rather than Ford, it does NOT have extended PIDs for these to try if the generic ones fail for GM. Our records on customer success for GM vehicles using these generic PIDs on GM vehicles is much less than Ford and I cannot say with any sort of certainty the success you may have with them on your truck because of that. That said, the OBD fusion app has generic readings for Intake air Temp & EGT but I am not seeing one for Transmission Temp in there. However OBD Fusion does offer extended PID sets for certain vehicles at $10/vehicle on TOP of the app cost though. However even with the extended PID set these readings still are not guaranteed. We do not have as transparent of access to what sensors these these add-ons for OBD Fusion offer as we do in Torque, so before spending the $10+ on the OBD Fusion app I would reach out to them directly and see if they might have better, more direct, knowledge of purchasing their add-on package will definitely get you the readings you are looking for with their app."
OBD adapters that have been tested with Torque/TorquePro
(All the adapters offer the same access to all the available OBD2 sensors in the vehicle)
OBD Fusion & TouchScan Compatible Adapters
(list of adapters that are compatible with OBD Fusion and TouchScan and some guidance on which one to choose)
...............
Last edited by VP2019; November 15th, 2019 at 3:28 PM.
November 14th, 2019, 2:30 PM
#117
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Supported Devices
iOS: iPhone, iPad
Android phone & tablet
Compatible APPs
iOS: OBD Fusion, DashCommand, OBD Auto Doctor, OBD Car Doctor, FourStroke, EOBD Facile, etc
Android: Torque Lite/Pro, OBD Auto Doctor, etc.
Supported OBD II Protocol
SAE J1850 PWM
SAE J1850 VPW
ISO 9141-2
ISO14230-4 KWP2000
ISO15765-4 CAN
November 14th, 2019, 9:53 PM
#118
If you don't want any futzing, then you may need to spend a couple hundred on something more serious..
The outside air temp is useless in my opinion. The reading changes as the engine warms up. It changes depending on if you're moving or not. If you can't be bothered to go outside then you're better off using the weather app on your phone or sticking a thermometer to your side mirror. I don't know anything about exhaust temp.
Big deal. So they threw in an extra 50 cent chip on their board. Without expensive software licensed by GM, this is useless.
I managed to find a list of several thousand "GM Enhanced Parameters" on palmerperformance.com (maker of the DashCommand
It's marketing intended to sell their product. It's still just OBD data, and you'll have to spend a lot of money on their pro products to get that data. DashCommand won't give that to you, and it's just a smartphone app. You still have to buy a dongle.
I also found a much shorter list for GM in this OBDLink MX+ "
Manufacturer Specific Enhanced Diagnostics Support" PDF (refer to pages 3, 9 & 10),
which states that the supported GM SW-CAN Modules are:
Manufacturer Specific Enhanced Diagnostics Support" PDF (refer to pages 3, 9 & 10),
which states that the supported GM SW-CAN Modules are:
Again, a very impressive list. But they don't go into detail about what "support" means. It's like if I'm selling hammers, and I write that it supports building custom kitchens, luxury yachts, fine furniture. Scan tools are all about the software user interface and access to OEM intellectual property. You're not going to get meaningful GMLAN information from a scan tool that's under $1,000.
You don't need to worry about the nitty gritty. In Torque you just select GM enhanced data, and it gives you a gauge for ATF temp, outside air temp etc.
If I posted it, then technically, GM could sue Chevroletforum for violating intellectual property copyright laws under the DMCA. Likely, I would also be breaking the forum terms of service. If you really want it then you can PM me your email address.
No
Not really. Ford is a little bit more forthcoming.
seems reasonable to me is that a ~$22 scanner on Amazon (with free returns for any reason... such as, if I can't get it to do what I need) rated 4.4 stars in almost 13,000 reviews sold by a company with support reps who speak/write english to help me make the thing work, is probably a better value than a <$5 scanner from China.
Meh. They don't even provide software. OBDLink is probably better.
I still have no idea what the practical difference is between scanners like this one that sells for $10
Identical to the $2 ebay cheapie.
updated bluetooth. Not really worth the extra $$.
Nah. Your phone might consume a bit less power, but you can just plug it in.
Insignificant.
Why would you keep it plugged in on a vehicle in storage?
Just get an ATF cooler and forget about it.
Sounds likely.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II_PIDs#Service_01
Again, not SW-CAN.
SW-CAN / GMLAN is sometimes called the "comfort bus" because it's not for things that keep the vehicle running. The fact that it's low speed already precludes it from being used for anything important.
Last edited by mountainmanjoe; November 14th, 2019 at 10:14 PM.
November 14th, 2019, 10:03 PM
#119
Originally Posted by BAFX tech support rep
"Torque has generic readings for all of the sensor you noted as I mentioned however for GM rather than Ford, it does NOT have extended PIDs..."
if somone wants PIDS for anything other than what is required by law, look for them somewhere else
"Torque has generic readings for all of the sensor you noted as I mentioned however for GM rather than Ford, it does NOT have extended PIDs..."
if somone wants PIDS for anything other than what is required by law, look for them somewhere else
November 14th, 2019, 10:08 PM
#120
Not a huge difference. You can use it from farther away. But since you are tying up your wifi connection to use the OBD tool, you won't be able to use it to search on the internet for example.