Looking forward to your report. It would be good if you could either describe where you mounted it and how or pictures of it installed. Thanks.

 

Ok, got the OBD tool today. It plugs directly into the OBD port though the cable's orientation is to toward the driver rather than the firewall. That means the cable has to be drawn back around the plug in order to make it less noticable.

Coolant temp and voltage alarms are independantly adjustable. At 30dba the alarm is easily noticable sitting in the garage but I fear that may not be the case with road and environmental noise. It is for that reason that I opted (perhaps temporarily) to place the device on the driver kick panel with velcro so it can be easily accessed. I put it down low enough that I can see the display but not interfere with my left foot/leg.

I only took a short drive for test but I found the display very easy to read (though it is oriented at 90*) and not intrusive. Time will be the better test but at least I'm not fiddling with BT and a phone sliding around as I drive.

Perhaps if others try this they might come up with other approaches for placement.

I toyed with the idea of attempting to add/modding an external speaker that might be located close enough to make the alarm more noticable but will try it as is for now.




On a quality note, the selector/toggle in the back of the unit has a tendancy to stick which makes surfing through settings a pain. It is rather intuitive to work with which is good since the instructions are abismal.

 

Big Thanks Sir!!

Will in fit in the space where the seat buckle is?

If you need a higher quality, more audible driver, try this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Gal...sSc:rk:30:pf:0
https://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-G5-Ear-S...frcectupt=true

You need something efficient and easy to solder to.
It can be adhered right to the surface of the odb2 device.

 

Dont fear the reaper. Get out and drive

 

It is surprisingly small so I don't see why it wouldn't wedge in there easily. There seems to be plenty of cable length and it is flat rather than round so that should aid cable management.

 

Thanks, pwpacp, it exceeded my expectations. Its inobtrusive and it's nice to have audible warnings.

When you shut off your car, do you unplug it from the OBD port or leave it plugged in? The reason I ask is because when I first got my ELM327 Bluetooth reader (for my cellphone Torque app) I left it plugged into my XJ's OBD port and when I later got back in and started it up I had all sorts of dashboard warning lights going off. My service adviser said to not leave it plugged in, which I don't, and it never happened again.

If you leave it plugged in, let us know if you get any warning lights.

 

Stuart did you read where they claim to have a Taiwanese chip that shuts it off automatically.
If so do you trust it.

 

That Taiwanese chip is a copy of the original American chip called the Congressional. It promises a lot but doesn't work.

I don't trust anything that I can't see, especially electronics made in China to spy on us. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...-top-companies

 

So far it appears to have shut down as expected....it is set to "auto" shutdown after 10". As should be expected, it does wake up when I open the driver's door.
The location should make it easy to see if it does something wonky while driving and is pretty easy to unplug if it does.

I don't know what info might be of interest from compromised hardware on this thing but its disconcerting to think there could be effects in a read/wright contex.
That is probably one of the most alarming articles I've read of late though!

 

WARNING By me!

That article is just the tip of the iceberg. It's part of China's long-term strategic plan for world dominance. The inscrutable Chinese are slowly but surely expanding their sphere of influence. Why did China recently have its first joint military exercises with Russia? Why did China build military bases on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea? How much US technology has China already stolen? Why did they just land a space vehicle on the dark side of the moon? Spratleys, Part 2? China has already cornered the market for the production of the active ingredient in many antibiotics and heart medications. Google Heparin and Valsartan recall for carcinogenic impurities. Read the book reviews on Amazon for China Rx - and then read the book.

Wake up, America!

P.S. He who doesn't know history is doomed to repeat it.
Yesterday's team: Germany, Italy, Japan.
Today's team: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran.
"Peace in our time." We know how that worked out. Storm clouds are just around the corner and we have no defense against the new Russian supersonic ICBM. Pleasant dreams y'all!

 

Stuart, I'm not sure your today's team could work together.

Truthfully when you look at yesterday's team Russia was not one of the good guys...

It was an incredible display of propaganda to make Russian allies be good and German enemies be bad.

They should have both been bad.

I would think a similar situation might arise with your "today's team", with different parts of them with their different allies against each other.

 

This ODB2 Reader is a superb example of how we have been hoodwinked.

Why has no domestic company made a device like this?

How many people could actually afford one if one was made domestically?

Eventually, who do you think will rise- a worker who breaks his back to improve your quality of life, or the middle-man that relies on said worker?

It goes back to why did VISTEON, (An American company) the designer, and supplier to Jaguar and many others, of instrument panels, decide that a heat gauge was unnecessary?

 

Thanks Phil. No way I'd hear 30db with my hearing loss. Not just the volume but if the pitch is too high, it would be almost impossible for me in a normal room, let alone the XK.
Again, I'm happy with my gauges but for those who want a simple solution, this seems to be worthwhile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=TD5E88fFnxE
30db is around the 39 second mark

For those who suggest you just "Stop worrying and enjoy the ride", a comment we all read until their reservoir tank takes a dump in the engine bay and they're left stranded. Then we all call them idiots when the write in and tell us they didn't immediately shut down.
This is a simple, out of the way solution. The battery is less of a worry of course as it won't cause engine damage when it fails.

 

Hey Sean, if you are serious.
You can add one of these. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Gal...frcectupt=true
or a discrete led. It can be mounted anywhere and invisible till on, as it wont be continuously on.

Heck if you do it right, you could probably sell these as a modded kit that would help others.

 

This one's a tad smaller for those interested. No skin in the game. I'm happy with my gauges.

 

 

Update.
I just finished a 1,300 mile trip and can report the unit worked flawlessly. The position allowed for easy view while driving so I had no concerns about hearing alarms if anything exceeded set points.

I had found that attaching it with 1" square velcro made it too easy to be accidentally dislodged so I refitted it with velcro that covered the entire bottom of the guage. Now it stays put yet is easy to remove if needed and turns on/off automatically.

I'm happy to have a final uncluttered fix for the "lack of guages" issue!

Edit: Car sat for 3+ days off CTEK with no battery drain issues.....I just keep it plugged in.

 

 

I found it easily became part of the visual instrument sweep while driving. Granted centralized instrumentation is always best for that sweep but I assessed the occational glance hardly constituted a distraction.
There is just no way to effectively retrofit instrumentation without disrupting cabin esthetics.
Though I'd be first in line for a head-up mod that would look OEM though.

 

Only cost me $750 for a coolant temp gauge!