ipad bluetooth OBD reader thingies...

[LaurasOtherHalf]

does anyone have much experience of these?

essentially the other half's vw (new) beetle keeps popping off airbag warning lights, it's a common fault apparently & although not a safety issue it just bugs me. the local vag mechanic will very kindly reset it before we mot it but after 2 or 3 months it'll go off again (something to do with moving one of the front seats apparently).

i've heard that with these ipad bluetooth readers you can reset the error codes very simply & that they can be had for around £50, a price i'd be willing to pay to be honest.

anyone used any of these & perhaps have a link to where i can buy one. there are plenty on the 'bay but like most chinese sourced electrical gubbins i'd prefer a recommendation!

[big_boz]

I have got an OBDII to usb plug and VAGCOM on my laptop from my Audi days, cost £5 on ebay, did everything the official version could do.

Why over complicate things.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

big_boz said:

I have got an OBDII to usb plug and VAGCOM on my laptop from my Audi days, cost £5 on ebay, did everything the official version could do.

Why over complicate things.

i don't know? i don't have a laptop at home though (& only a little netbook at work as a backup) & figured the ipad bluetooth thing would be the quickest & easiest thing to sort out.

i am completely computer illiterate btw

[mini me]

Also the fix is to solder the connections to the side airbags in the seats. The connections normally go a bit wafty when the seat is moved. By that I mean the connections under the seats. Not inside them obviously.

[big_boz]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

i don't know? i don't have a laptop at home though (& only a little netbook at work as a backup) & figured the ipad bluetooth thing would be the quickest & easiest thing to sort out.

i am completely computer illiterate btw

Honestly piece of piss, put CD in computer, run standard .EXE install. Put CD in Drawer never to be seen again, Plug in wire to computer, plug other end into car, click on open, your car appears on the screen.

If you are unsure join any VAG forum, BRISKODA is probably a good one and you will be able to get the process to do what ever you want to do from other members.

The Bluetooth one wont be much simpler it will just mean no wire......

[LaurasOtherHalf]

big_boz said:

LaurasOtherHalf said:

i don't know? i don't have a laptop at home though (& only a little netbook at work as a backup) & figured the ipad bluetooth thing would be the quickest & easiest thing to sort out.

i am completely computer illiterate btw

Honestly piece of piss, put CD in computer, run standard .EXE install. Put CD in Drawer never to be seen again, Plug in wire to computer, plug other end into car, click on open, your car appears on the screen.

If you are unsure join any VAG forum, BRISKODA is probably a good one and you will be able to get the process to do what ever you want to do from other members.

The Bluetooth one wont be much simpler it will just mean no wire......

cheers mate, only problem is my netbook has no cd drive-i guess there's some way to just download it or put it on a pendrive or something

[big_boz]

You can save the CD as a bootable disc image on a pen drive which is nice and easy, else you could just get a cable off ebay and download a VAGcom torrent file, all easy when you know what you are doing obviously if you don't and that's all gobbledygook then, you might be easier putting the feelers out on one of the forums, there is usually plenty of bods with a VAGcom who will be willing to plug into your car and do whatever needs doing, most of the VAG forums are nice friendly places!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

big_boz said:

You can save the CD as a bootable disc image on a pen drive which is nice and easy, else you could just get a cable off ebay and download a VAGcom torrent file, all easy when you know what you are doing obviously if you don't and that's all gobbledygook then, you might be easier putting the feelers out on one of the forums, there is usually plenty of bods with a VAGcom who will be willing to plug into your car and do whatever needs doing, most of the VAG forums are nice friendly places!

thanks big boz, really appreciate the help. it's the fact it keeps going off that makes me want to find my own solution as opposed to always borrowing someone else's kit. i could always try & solve the original problem of course but i figured having a reader may come in handy some day

[toddler]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

does anyone have much experience of these?

essentially the other half's vw (new) beetle keeps popping off airbag warning lights, it's a common fault apparently & although not a safety issue it just bugs me. the local vag mechanic will very kindly reset it before we mot it but after 2 or 3 months it'll go off again (something to do with moving one of the front seats apparently).

i've heard that with these ipad bluetooth readers you can reset the error codes very simply & that they can be had for around £50, a price i'd be willing to pay to be honest.

anyone used any of these & perhaps have a link to where i can buy one. there are plenty on the 'bay but like most chinese sourced electrical gubbins i'd prefer a recommendation!

Do you have access to an android smartphone or tablet? If so you could get one of these on eBay for about a tenner:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-ELM327-Car-Bluetoot...

And the Torque Pro app for Android at £2.95:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org....

[The Flying Ox]

I've used both Torque and Revs with a PLX Devices Kiwi OBD dongle thingy and the wife's iPhone.

They're brilliant. Allowed me to diagnose an engine light on a Ford Ka that Ford themselves couldn't manage to do with any accuracy (was front lambda sensor, they said ignition coils ???) and then reset the error.

After that you can set it up to display realtime data from the ECU:- RPM, Water temp, current MPG were my favourites.

One of my better car-related purchases, without a doubt.

[4key]

ELM bluetooth dongle and Torque android is what I use the most and can clear codes, but you will be able to download vag com for free from ross-tech and get an ebay lead for £6 which is cheaper.

[big_boz]

It does sound simpler for you to perhaps go with one of these BT type set ups, but i would check on a VAg specific forum first just to check if it can do what you want and its not a VAG specific thing.

[tank slapper]

I don't think you can use those bluetooth adaptors on an ipad, due to one of the daft restrictions by Apple. I don't know if it is possible with jailbreaking, but there are wifi versions that should work.

The ELM327 devices work very well with Torque on android, which lets you read and reset fault codes as well as monitor live ECU data.

[LaurasOtherHalf]

tank slapper said:

I don't think you can use those bluetooth adaptors on an ipad, due to one of the daft restrictions by Apple. I don't know if it is possible with jailbreaking, but there are wifi versions that should work.

The ELM327 devices work very well with Torque on android, which lets you read and reset fault codes as well as monitor live ECU data.

For ease I would really be looking for something apple compatible unfortunately

[Effortless]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

For ease I would really be looking for something apple compatible unfortunately

I think tankslapper is correct, Apple don't allow all bluetooth devices to work with iOS devices... but the WiFi versions of these dongles do work with Apple devices... apparently.

I'm waiting for one to come through my letterbox, and I will keep you posted.

Cheers,
Effortless

PS Can anyone recommend any software that works well on iPhone/iPad with these devices??

[LaurasOtherHalf]

The Flying Ox said:

I've used both Torque and Revs with a PLX Devices Kiwi OBD dongle thingy and the wife's iPhone.

any links to that software I can't find it?

[The Flying Ox]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

any links to that software I can't find it?

Revs for iOS
The other one was actually Dash Command not Torque

This is the dongle I used, and can confirm it works with minimal faff on the iPhone: PLX Devices Kiwi

[LaurasOtherHalf]

The Flying Ox said:

This is the dongle I used, and can confirm it works with minimal faff on the iPhone: PLX Devices Kiwi

that looks remarkably like this:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
which is only £36.99 including delivery & no customs vat. though obviously of no use if it doesn't work!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

LaurasOtherHalf said:

The Flying Ox said:

This is the dongle I used, and can confirm it works with minimal faff on the iPhone: PLX Devices Kiwi

that looks remarkably like this:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...
which is only £36.99 including delivery & no customs vat. though obviously of no use if it doesn't work!

Right, bought this one & it was delivered lst week, had. Little play with it today but......

My iPad wifi picks it up, it even reads the car info, but in the app when I try to connect it keeps saying that the connection was switched off.

Can't seem to get it to connect it at all

I'm using iOBD2 which is free through the iTunes store. My idea is that I'd like to try a free or lite version of an app as I don't want to spend another load of cash on something that won't connect.

Any ideas?

[RZ1]

interesting thread, was thinking about this earlier