iOS apps and dongle to read auto trans temp

mjt57 · Sun May 31, 2020 1:59 pm

Hi.

I just purchased a 2019.75 Wildtrak with 3.2l engine.

First thing was to join the Ranger forums and of course, start asking a million questions.

During the course of this someone suggested that I asked here about iPhone iOS apps and dongles so display various parameters, in particular oil and transmission temps as the Ranger will be our caravan tow vehicle.

I started reading these forums but am hopefully lost. Sorry, this is all new to me.

I'd love to hear what I should get to set this up.

Thanks
Martin

Sun May 31, 2020 3:17 pm

Hi.
This dongle will allow you to monitor many things using either an Iphone or Ipad.
Some of the PID's aren't by default available so they require input by the user to create a custom PID. When you have the gear and need help just post and it will happen
https://www.obdlink.com/mxp/

mjt57 · Mon Jun 01, 2020 3:33 pm

Thanks heaps, RossPat.

I'll have a look at what they can do.

Cheers

mjt57 · Fri Jun 12, 2020 1:46 pm

RossPat wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 3:17 pm Hi.
This dongle will allow you to monitor many things using either an Iphone or Ipad.
Some of the PID's aren't by default available so they require input by the user to create a custom PID. When you have the gear and need help just post and it will happen
https://www.obdlink.com/mxp/

Hi
They have two dongles listed; an "MX" and an "LT" I think it is (a budget one).
Which should I get? I just want to monitor engine oil temp and transmission fluid temp and battery level when I'm towing the van.

Thanks.

Fri Jun 12, 2020 6:52 pm

If you are using IOS you will need the MX plus
https://www.obdlink.com/mxp/

mjt57 · Sun Jun 14, 2020 3:14 am

Thanks RossPat.
I'm currently playing with a cheap ELM327 clone and my wife's old Android Galaxy Note 5 phone. It's got a few OBD apps loaded onto it, only one of which will talk to the dongle as it's recognised as a clone and not a very good one, they are telling me.

Only one called "Car Scanner" actually works. And most of the data points don't show any data except for two that I do know which work - ATF Temp and Engine Coolant Temp.

I think that I'll spend he $250 or thereabouts to get this MX+ delivered.

Bala1 · Sun Jun 14, 2020 7:06 am

I have one I got through amazon a while ago for about $130, they have them at the moment for $171.

I dont know that you can get engine oil temp but coolant and trans will tell you how things are going.

PTnLinda · Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:58 am

mjt57 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 3:14 am Thanks RossPat.
I'm currently playing with a cheap ELM327 clone and my wife's old Android Galaxy Note 5 phone. It's got a few OBD apps loaded onto it, only one of which will talk to the dongle as it's recognised as a clone and not a very good one, they are telling me.

Only one called "Car Scanner" actually works. And most of the data points don't show any data except for two that I do know which work - ATF Temp and Engine Coolant Temp.

I think that I'll spend he $250 or thereabouts to get this MX+ delivered.

If you are going to spend that much on a dongle why not just buy the Ultragauge which will do everything you want and is a proven product as discussed elsewhere on this Forum.

Sun Jun 14, 2020 12:15 pm

There are some advantages, a lot on one page and no limit to the amount of pages you can have.

Bala1 · Sun Jun 14, 2020 1:10 pm

The good thing about the mx+ for me is I can use it to diagnose or monitor either of my Ford's or many other cars.

mjt57 · Sun Jun 14, 2020 2:17 pm

PTnLinda wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:58 am If you are going to spend that much on a dongle why not just buy the Ultragauge which will do everything you want and is a proven product as discussed elsewhere on this Forum.

OK, I'll look at that too.

I take it that you have one? If so, where did you buy it?

Thanks.

PTnLinda · Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:24 pm

mjt57 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 2:17 pm
PTnLinda wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 9:58 am If you are going to spend that much on a dongle why not just buy the Ultragauge which will do everything you want and is a proven product as discussed elsewhere on this Forum.
OK, I'll look at that too.

I take it that you have one? If so, where did you buy it?

Thanks.

Bought it direct from the states. Used my mailing address over there with "Shipito". Had it in 5 days and freight was half that of what Ultragauge wanted to send it direct to Australia via Fedex. All up cost was just under AUD$200. With the dollar the way it is you may get it a bit cheaper than that. I have been using Scangauge ll for about 7 years but thought it was time to upgrade to Ultragauge as it has a few more benefits over the Scangauge. You can have from 4 to 8 gauges per page up to 7 pages. You can set alarms for each gauge.

Wed Jun 17, 2020 6:05 am

Being it adds up to approx $185AUD shipped with Fedex and you will recieve it in usually less than a week, I say buy direct off the manufactuer and use their shipping option. There postage dropped a lot about 12 months ago.

mjt57 · Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:58 am

Hi Guys.
Been a while. Since starting to research all of this life got in the way of things. Now that it's settled down a bit I'm getting back into this.
The other day on a Ranger Facebook page someone posted a setup that he had using Android software, a dongle that he bought in Jaycar for around $70 and the Torque-Pro app.

I've downloaded it to my wife's old Samsung and had a play. Not many of the data inputs work including engine oil temp and a number of data points titled "Transmission fluid temp" (there's a few of them).

Is there a complete list of PIDs (I think that is what they are called) that I can download and search to check this app for correct setup?

The Ultragauge looks like the one to get but I'm not in a position just yet to buy it. I want to see if I can get this app going first. I finally got my Ranger set up for towing this past weekend and will be doing a short trip in 2 weeks' time.

When I used to tow the van with the Jeep I would have engine oil temp, ATF temp and battery volts displayed on the dash to monitor things. Unfortunately the Ranger doesn't afford this luxury, hence me wanting to get the Torque app set up correctly.

Thanks.

Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:44 am

mjt57 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 8:58 am Hi Guys.
Been a while. Since starting to research all of this life got in the way of things. Now that it's settled down a bit I'm getting back into this.
The other day on a Ranger Facebook page someone posted a setup that he had using Android software, a dongle that he bought in Jaycar for around $70 and the Torque-Pro app.

I've downloaded it to my wife's old Samsung and had a play. Not many of the data inputs work including engine oil temp and a number of data points titled "Transmission fluid temp" (there's a few of them).

Is there a complete list of PIDs (I think that is what they are called) that I can download and search to check this app for correct setup?

The Ultragauge looks like the one to get but I'm not in a position just yet to buy it. I want to see if I can get this app going first. I finally got my Ranger set up for towing this past weekend and will be doing a short trip in 2 weeks' time.

When I used to tow the van with the Jeep I would have engine oil temp, ATF temp and battery volts displayed on the dash to monitor things. Unfortunately the Ranger doesn't afford this luxury, hence me wanting to get the Torque app set up correctly.

Thanks.

Hi again
I am not familiar with that dongle and the Rangers don't have a sensor to monitor Engine oil temp.
Most cheaper dongles have restrictions, that's why we all recommend tried & trusted products.
Trying to save money doesn't always work, sometimes a poor man pays twice.
An OBDLink MX+ will probably work via Bluetooth on the phone you list, the OBDLink ap is on the Playstore
The Ultraguage is another but like the OBDLink, it will need Custom PID input with some data.

mjt57 · Fri Jan 29, 2021 12:03 pm

RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:44 am
An OBDLink MX+ will probably work via Bluetooth on the phone you list, the OBDLink ap is on the Playstore
The Ultraguage is another but like the OBDLink, it will need Custom PID input with some data.

Thanks RossPat.

Doing a search now for that dongle. Finding a few.

I don't know if I'll go with an Ultragauge, though. I looked at some Youtube videos of it. Whilst it's supposed to be an excellent product it's too small for me to read easily. And it's expensive.

And I'm not up to programming one, anyway. Reading the forums where they discuss this. If they asked me, "which bit don't you understand?" I'd have to reply, "the bit after now this is how it works..."

Fri Jan 29, 2021 3:40 pm

mjt57 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 12:03 pm
RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:44 am
An OBDLink MX+ will probably work via Bluetooth on the phone you list, the OBDLink ap is on the Playstore
The Ultraguage is another but like the OBDLink, it will need Custom PID input with some data.
Thanks RossPat.

Doing a search now for that dongle. Finding a few.

I don't know if I'll go with an Ultragauge, though. I looked at some Youtube videos of it. Whilst it's supposed to be an excellent product it's too small for me to read easily. And it's expensive.

And I'm not up to programming one, anyway. Reading the forums where they discuss this. If they asked me, "which bit don't you understand?" I'd have to reply, "the bit after now this is how it works..."

I also use an Ultraguage and depending on how many readings you have on screen determines the size.
I have 4 per screen and find it easy to read.
Having 6 per screen is too small.
Ultraguage is a lot cheaper than an OBDLink MX
You will have to "programme" as you call it any monitoring device.
There is one thing I can do to help you using your Samsung Android phone.
OBDLink allows me to backup my Custom PID's to my phone/tablet
I can send you that file and you will then open your OBDLink ap and select restore and you will have quite a few you can either keep or delete.
For that to work you need an OBDLink MX Bluetooth dongle.
You will have to know how to access your phone to move the file to its correct location.
OBDLink only looks in one place for the file and you can't select or change it to any other location.

Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:13 pm

Ultraguage and OBDLink on phone

: Screenshot_20210129-223709.jpg (186.08 KiB) Viewed 192 times

: Screenshot_20210129-223709.jpg (186.08 KiB) Viewed 192 times

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: 20210129_223456.jpg (3.06 MiB) Viewed 192 times

mjt57 · Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:49 am

RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 3:40 pm

There is one thing I can do to help you using your Samsung Android phone.
OBDLink allows me to backup my Custom PID's to my phone/tablet
I can send you that file and you will then open your OBDLink ap and select restore and you will have quite a few you can either keep or delete.

Thank you. That'd be handy. But I'll see how I go with this phone and OBD2 unit first.

Cheers
Martin

Ps. What is that bike in your profile pic?

Sat Jan 30, 2021 4:22 am

Yamaha FJR 1300
Great tourer

: fjr (30).JPG (1.7 MiB) Viewed 182 times

: fjr (30).JPG (1.7 MiB) Viewed 182 times

Good fun
Suzuki GSX 1400 Z Final Edition

: z1.jpg (3.45 MiB) Viewed 182 times

: z1.jpg (3.45 MiB) Viewed 182 times

mjt57 · Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:03 am

A couple of classic sports-tourers. My last one was a Blackbird, now on a Vstrom 1000.

Anyway, I digress. My Samsung Galaxy Note which I was using to run Torque-Pro has died. So I bought a cheap Nokia from Officeworks yesterday and set it up last night.

It now appears to pick up some extra points that the Samsung wasn't doing. Either that newer OS works better with the app or that I removed and plugged the OBD dongle back in might have helped.

Anyway, I've configured it with a few gauges to keep an eye on things whilst towing. You know, stuff that from factory that you should be able to view off of the dash or the infotainment screen. But that's a whinge for another forum, I s'pose.

I'll get one of the better dongles soon, but this will tie me over for our first van trip with the Ranger in a couple of weeks.

mjt57 · Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:05 am

RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:13 pm Ultraguage and OBDLink on phone
Screenshot_20210129-223709.jpg20210129_223456.jpg

Nice display.

Where did you pick up battery State of Charge (SoC) from? It's not in my list of PIDs using the Torque Pro app.

Thanks

Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:15 am

mjt57 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:05 am
RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:13 pm Ultraguage and OBDLink on phone
Screenshot_20210129-223709.jpg20210129_223456.jpg
Nice display.

Where did you pick up battery State of Charge (SoC) from? It's not in my list of PIDs using the Torque Pro app.

Thanks

Another custom PID from Stewart
https://www.saeb.net/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=58
Go look, there is one available for the Torque app

mjt57 · Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:21 am

RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:13 pm Ultraguage and OBDLink on phone
Screenshot_20210129-223709.jpg20210129_223456.jpg

Looking at the OBDLink app now on the phone. Which OBD2 dongle are you using with it? Their online shop has a few ranging from $100USD to around $50USD.

Thanks.

Mon Feb 01, 2021 3:46 pm

mjt57 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:21 am
RossPat wrote: ↑Fri Jan 29, 2021 11:13 pm Ultraguage and OBDLink on phone
Screenshot_20210129-223709.jpg20210129_223456.jpg
Looking at the OBDLink app now on the phone. Which OBD2 dongle are you using with it? Their online shop has a few ranging from $100USD to around $50USD.

Thanks.

This one, plug it into the second OBD port and leave it there.
It works with Android & IOS
https://www.obdlink.com/products/obdlink-mxp/