Ranger Mods

Okay, so after some years of frustration with the limitations of apple I've dumped my old Apple iPhone SE and switched to an Android, to be exact a Samsung Galaxy S20 with the twin additional memory chips so I have 256 GB of memory in this new toy which is considerably more that my 72 year old brain can manage - although I can recall some events that occurred when I was 3 years of age -- with alarming clarity.
So, I've read that some of you wonderful guys have downloaded Forscan onto their Androids mobile phones so that they can read faults and such things as the ATF temperatures "on the fly" as it were. My question to the computer savvy is how do you do this ?

I have the same phone with 1TB of memory and Forscan can't be installed on ANY phone.
The 1TB is for movie storage and plays through the caravan TV.
If you want to use your phone to monitor you need an OBDLink MX Bluetooth dongle.
Then you need to install the OBDLink app from the Playstore.
Then you got to set it up with the PID's you want that are supplied by default.
Not all are available, Trans temp for example.
You will have to create a custom PID for that.
There is a tutorial on this site to guide you.
If your sight is not real good you may have to do a bit of customising, colour, style & size.
This is on a 10" tablet, there are many choices.
It will also read & clear fault codes
Age is irrelevant, I am older than you.

I have a full version of forescan on my pc.

On my galaxy j2 phone I have forescan demo app which has read any fault codes my two Ford's have had, that is a free app.

There is also a forescan lite app for under $10 for phones that I need to get, this has reminded me to do so.

I have an old Nokia phone that I use to monotor data while driving. I only have trans and engine temps and battery voltage showing, that is enough for me.

I'm interested in adding this capability to my vehicle, but note that there are a number of OBD devices from OBDLINK. For the MX+ which offer enhanced Ford diags, there bluetooth and Wifi versions, is there any advantage of one over the other?.
Also, I checked in the shop and Stewart doesnt offer them for sale. Is there any preferred seller in Australia.

Get the MX+

There are no reseller at all. They will not sell to a 3rd party and I have tried. Basically anyone selling them are buying at full US cost then marking them up.

Unsure if they are still on Amazon US but it is generally the best bet.

Thanks Stewart,
But should I get the Wifi or Bluetooth version?
Any thoughts on whether one would be better than the other?.

Bala1 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 4:55 pm I have a full version of forescan on my pc.

On my galaxy j2 phone I have forescan demo app which has read any fault codes my two Ford's have had, that is a free app.

There is also a forescan lite app for under $10 for phones that I need to get, this has reminded me to do so.

I have an old Nokia phone that I use to monotor data while driving. I only have trans and engine temps and battery voltage showing, that is enough for me.

I have a small Lenovo lap-top which I carry in the car at all times, it has the full version of Forscan on it as well as all the fault codes and all the Ford Works service and maintenance manuals, it easily slots into the passenger side seat pocket and is kept fully charged by the 240 volt power outlet but even though its connected by Bluetooth to my "dongle" it's not as it I can read it on the fly, I guess I'll have to settle for an Ultragauge.

You can't use Forscan to monitor with.
With OBDLink Bluetooth you can use your phone to monitor.
No matter if you choose OBDLink or Ultraguage, you have to do some custom PID's.
Due to your lack of knowledge with this type of gear I would suggest the OBDLink will be easier for you.
I have both installed and I found the OBDLink easy because it can be programmed from the comfort of the lounge chair.

shallowal wrote: ↑Sun Jul 19, 2020 1:09 pm Thanks Stewart,
But should I get the Wifi or Bluetooth version?
Any thoughts on whether one would be better than the other?.

I have been using the Bluetooth model for 2 years now & no problems.
I use it to make changes with Forscan & to monitor with Android

shallowal wrote: ↑Sun Jul 19, 2020 1:09 pm Thanks Stewart,
But should I get the Wifi or Bluetooth version?
Any thoughts on whether one would be better than the other?.

If I ever bought one again then it would be the MX+ bluetooth version as it supports all devices made in the last 3 odd years. I orginally went with a red wifi mx because when I did have an iphone the original mx bluetooth was not supported.

So basically it will come down to what devices you have.

Iainboyd wrote: ↑Sun Jul 19, 2020 1:21 pm

Bala1 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 18, 2020 4:55 pm I have a full version of forescan on my pc.

On my galaxy j2 phone I have forescan demo app which has read any fault codes my two Ford's have had, that is a free app.

There is also a forescan lite app for under $10 for phones that I need to get, this has reminded me to do so.

I have an old Nokia phone that I use to monotor data while driving. I only have trans and engine temps and battery voltage showing, that is enough for me.

I have a small Lenovo lap-top which I carry in the car at all times, it has the full version of Forscan on it as well as all the fault codes and all the Ford Works service and maintenance manuals, it easily slots into the passenger side seat pocket and is kept fully charged by the 240 volt power outlet but even though its connected by Bluetooth to my "dongle" it's not as it I can read it on the fly, I guess I'll have to settle for an Ultragauge.

Sorry I should have clarified i use mx bt+ and obd link to monitor data through the phone.

Bala1 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:33 am

Sorry I should have clarified i use mx bt+ and obd link to monitor data through the phone.

I have the MX OBD2 dongle so I'll have a play around and see what I can come up with, I'n the meanwhile I've ordered an Ultragauge - there is no way this fluffy duckling is going to be caught holding onto his mobile looking at readings while driving !!

Iainboyd wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:35 am

Bala1 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:33 am

Sorry I should have clarified i use mx bt+ and obd link to monitor data through the phone.

I have the MX OBD2 dongle so I'll have a play around and see what I can come up with, I'n the meanwhile I've ordered an Ultragauge - there is no way this fluffy duckling is going to be caught holding onto his mobile looking at readings while driving !!

The phone I use to monitor data has no SIM so is not connected to phone network. It's sits on a bit of foam in front of the gear Lever at a god angle to view, just a set of gauges and I only have it there when towing the van.

Iainboyd wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:35 am there is no way this fluffy duckling is going to be caught holding onto his mobile looking at readings while driving !!

No one does, that's why they invented phone holders, been around for years

Does no one else have regular connection issues with the MX+ BT dongle? I've had mine for about 9 months, it's on the latest firmware, and the connection is so unreliable I was so frustrated with it at the weekend I considered throwing it in the bin.

I use it mostly with OBDLink on Android which I like when it's working. The problem is that it loses the BT connection regularly. When I turn the car on there's perhaps a 75% chance it will work first time. Once it doesn't connect then it probably won't connect again until I've unplugged the dongle and replugged it back in. Then it usually connects. Very occasionally that is not enough and then I have to unplug it, delete the BT connection from my phone, and then restart the entire pairing procedure from scratch. On Saturday I spent 15 minutes with the thing and even doing this a few times didn't get it working.

Occasionally I'll be driving along with it working perfectly, and OBDLink showing gauges with the phone in a mount and then it'll lose the connection while active, then it will be broken until I can stop the car and unplug/replug it and reconnect.

When I bought this thing I saw lots of reviews and comments about people having connection issues with it, being a software developer I generally put these things down to users not really having a clue, but for sure this device is highly unreliable.

As to whether to buy MX vs MX+ the difference according to the OBDLink website comparison page is the OEM add on files and iphone compatibility. The OEM add on files only recognise US vehicles (or certainly don't recognise the PX3 Aus anyway) and so are useless, iphone compatibility doesn't make any difference if you are with Android. If I was to buy again I'd save the money and get the MX, although given how unreliable the MX+ is I'd be unlikely to spend the money on either.

Also I do have the $10 Forscan lite on my phone. I did it as much to support Forscan and the convenience of being able to reset a fault code on the trail if needed, I prefer OBDLink for gauges and monitoring, and you need to use Forscan windows for actual programming etc.

I can honestly say I have only had an issue once, and that was my fault as I had an incorrect setting that was causing connection issues.
Never had any issues since.
Have you updated the firmware?

I have never had a drop out once connected with MXBT+.

I will often need to press the button on the mx to get it to connect and at times unpair and repair.

I have the same connection issues with the phone to the car, shed stereo and bt headset. I have music on the phone and will often need to do a repair to any of those. I think it depends on how long since they have been connected.

The wife still has an early model windows phone and it will connect to the ranger even if it has not been connected for ages. I think, but not sure that the connection issues may be the phone rather than the MX.

If I was doing changes with forscan other than non asbuilt ticking the box I would get the usb cable from this site to ensure good data transfer.

RossPat wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 11:55 am

Iainboyd wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 8:35 am there is no way this fluffy duckling is going to be caught holding onto his mobile looking at readings while driving !!

No one does, that's why they invented phone holders, been around for years

No thanks Ross, I just use the automatic Bluetooth connection of my mobile to my radio in the Wildtrak or the Skoda if I'm driving my wife's car. I've never used a phone holder. I was thinking that I could see a record of the ATF temperatures as well as a record on the Galaxy of any fault codes but with the Ultragauge I'll be able to see them instantly so that's so much better.

I am not sure I understand.
An Ultraguage will show PCM DTC's and clear them but no other modules.
The OBDLink is connected to your phone via Bluetooth and can be setup to connect automatically.
The OBDLink will find and clear fault codes and monitor.
Looking an an Ultraguage or looking at the phone, I can't see any difference.

RossPat wrote: ↑Mon Jul 20, 2020 10:09 pm I can honestly say I have only had an issue once, and that was my fault as I had an incorrect setting that was causing connection issues.
Never had any issues since.

You have the original MX and not the MX+ right?

I went and had another look on the OBDLink forum to see if there was anything new there, and there is a new thread since I last looked, this guy is describing exactly the problems I have with the MX+, and interestingly it seems the MX is considerably more reliable.

https://www.scantool.net/forum/index.php?topic=16242.0

My recommendation for Android would be to avoid the MX+, but perhaps get the MX. It's cheaper, does the same thing, and seems like it is probably more reliable.

FWIW I don't have any issues with my phone connecting to other BT devices including either of our cars, it's quite reliable.

Correct, I have an OBDLink MX Black Bluetooth

Did you enter the suggested command?

I haven't had a chance to play with it again since finding this. I also found another interesting thread[1] which indicates that the Torque app can mess with the sleep settings on the MX/+ and stop it from working properly. I certainly did play with this app at some point, so I will try a factory reset on the adaptor and see if it helps.

Until looking into this in more detail I wasn't aware that there is no switched power on the OBD port, so these devices are trying to detect the ignition being on by watching for voltage changes. I wonder if the combination of the smart alternator deciding to stop charging causing the voltage to drop, and perhaps a shorter sleep time if programmed by Torque, could explain the couple of times it has broken while driving around. Having said this, the original reporter on the thread I quoted above already knows about the Torque issue so he's eliminated that one at least.

Certainly seems there is a fair bit to play with here, and I can hook up a terminal and try tweaking the internal settings to see if it helps. I'm not using the Ranger a whole lot at the moment though so might be a while before I can report back with some certainty.

[1] https://www.scantool.net/forum/index.php?topic=15335.0