I've seen this on the web:

Automatic: An Auto Accessory to Make You a Smarter Driver

A bluetooth device that plugs into your car and gives you various smartphone capabilities. One thing it does it give you the engine codes and description.

Has anyone tried this yet?

 

I have done something similar. Bought a WiFi ELM327 OBD dongle from eBay, and the DashCommand app. $20 for the dongle, and $10 for the app.

Tested so far in my garage with the car not running. With the weather we have currently, I have not driven the car to test.

So far it seems (and hopefully the experts will correct me if I am wrong) that the Android phones can use the bluetooth dongles (about $12 on Ebay) with the Torque app, and the iPhone people like myself has to use WiFi dongles. It seems the bluetooth does not work with iPhones. (Unless the phone is "open")

I know that the Torque app works very well on Android phones.

The same could be achieved for less than $99. Just my 2c...

 

I am using a bluetooth dongle with an Android device. The one thing I would worry about with anything connected to an OBD port is heat. Neither OBD tools nor the port itself is meant to have something connected to it 24-7.

 

Don't worry about that, the 12 v out of the obd2 socket is connected to the battery and the connection to the engine ecu is an "open collector" on the ISO-9141 line, i.e. protected.


I have had a testers permanently connected to some of my cars for in excess of 5 years.


As long as it powers down when the ignition iss off and does not drain your battery then there is no need to worry.

 

+1, don't worry about heat. Do worry whether it goes off with key off (or stops car modules shutting down)!

 

My normal tester / reader does light-up when I plug it in with the ignition off. So it does recognize that it's been connected. I do not know whether that is because a certain circuit has been closed or because it senses a 12v source. If it's the latter, it would represent some draw on the battery, miniscule though it might be.

Again though: I do not know if it does or doesn't. All I know is that it lights-up when connected.

Good Luck! - Jim

 

I had a Bluetooth OBDII device connected to my 2002 XKR for a couple weeks. It does light up when you plug it in so it does draw some current. I was driving the car daily and it never ran the battery down but I wouldn't leave this plugged in and let the car sit for several days. That said, I wouldn't buy this product anyway. If I want something to comment on my driving, telling me I'm going too fast, accelerating too fast, or braking too hard I'd just bring my wife along with me.


Mark

 

How did I manage to drive for the Last 50 yrs without one of these ????? For goodness sake if you really need to have every gizmo & gadget plugged in before you have the confidence to get behind the wheel , you need to pack in driving & start walking or buy a bicycle . Good heavens you'll be wanting electric windows next...

 

Have to agree with Mark, but this would be a really cheap way to display real Water Temp and maybe Oil Press (?). Would also be nice to keep an eye on my B1S2 & B2S2 readings, as I'm trying to work out what causing the 0420 & 0430 codes.

Hell, I might even use my phone to CALL someone - imagine that.

 

Now if the useless nav screen could be employed for something useful that would be great.

 

One day I'll convert my liquidGAUGE to work on the satnav screen, but it's likely to be years as my "to do" list is too long.

 

gulp

 

+1 this "automatic" device is just an obdii dongle as far as I can see, which can be had for a lot less outlay than $99.

The merits of having realtime access to OBD data are not to be overlooked. A standard code reader can only tell you the logged codes, but in real time you can see (and record, usually) how various parameters react to temperature, throttle, engine load, etc.
Fuel trim data has helped me (and others) detect vacuum leaks while trying to diagnose a misfire.
It's also a great way to get a proper coolant temperature gauge, check your throttle cable is set correctly, diagnose MAF sensor issues, etc, etc..

A dongle + smartphone app is a really useful and cost efficient bit of kit.