Good OBD Software

[caelite]

Hey folks

So I have been using an ELM327 based comms to USB interface for a while, mostly for diagnostic purposes on various OBD2 vehicles. However the software on the PC side I cant seem to find a good one that is free/cheap. Currently using OBD Auto Doctor but if im honest the interface is st & they want £25 for the 'full' version just to dismiss fault codes. Wondering what others on here are using.

CAE

[Smokehead]

At the moment for general stuff I use Touchscan on a laptop with a bluetooth obd connection. It was a one off licence charge with free updates.About £20 I think.

[tharriso]

Just get a cheap eBay one with its own screen for reading and clearing faults. Those Bluetooth ones not worth the faff.

[Belle427]

There are some Delphi clones on eBay that are very good and do everything but they are a little tricky to set up.

[anonymous-user]

I have got a cheap one with a screen off ebay which reads and clears codes perfectly.

I'd also be interested in getting some software that I could use to monitor the engine sensors whilst running.

[GC8]

Torque, on an Android device. You can start with the Lite version for free to see what its like, but the full version is very cheap.

[kambites]

GC8 said:

Torque, on an Android device. You can start with the Lite version for free to see what its like, but the full version is very cheap.

It's better than anything I could find for the PC.

[peterperkins]

A lot depends on what vehicle you want too talk to, and what you expect from the software compared to an official dealer tool.

Dealer tools are usually very expensive and generic versions won't access the whole range of data available.

I designed and built an OBD tool specifically for the G1 Honda Insight which can talk to all the modules in the car. The cars only give a tiny bit of generic info to normal tools, and use a special non standard line at the obdii socket for all the interesting data..

[kambites]

peterperkins said:

...use a special non standard line at the obdii socket for all the interesting data..

In my experience this doesn't seem to be the norm. The few manufacturers I've researched into seem to use the standard lines and transport protocol but a vendor-specific command set to access the non-standard stuff so a normal reader will do it with suitable software.

[GC8]

Common with the Japanese. Suzuki support OBD2 because they have to, but you cant get anything meaningful out of it. That requires a proprietary tool, as before.

[Krikkit]

kambites said:

peterperkins said:

...use a special non standard line at the obdii socket for all the interesting data..

In my experience this doesn't seem to be the norm. The few manufacturers I've researched into seem to use the standard lines and transport protocol but a vendor-specific command set to access the non-standard stuff so a normal reader will do it with suitable software.

Depends on the manufacturer - Alfa/Fiat etc have different pins in the connector to connect to different modules, then you've got the added trickyness of different protocols etc. Usually you get a specific connector with a switch to swap modules.