OBDII Bluetooth Fail

[jamesc12]

Damn my technical curiosity.

A few days ago I got the new Nexus 7 tablet which means, armed with an Android device, I could now hook up an OBDII Bluetooth dongle and get all kinds of interesting numbers from my DB9 beamed live to my tablet's screen. So I got the Torque app loaded up and plugged in the dongle to the engine port (right hand side port in the drivers foot well) - to my surprise it seemed to work immediately with idle revs, throttle position being measured accurately . Brilliant.

Until, that is, 5 mins later when I got a dash message saying "Engine System Service Urgent" and a red dash light . I immediately switched off and turned off the ignition. Stupidly after seeing everything was normal after turning it back on I continued my journey. When I got to the next junction, the dash lit up like a christmas tree, briefly said "DSC system failure" and another few messages flicked past then the engine stalled . This time, I saw sense and immediately pulled the OBDII dongle. Being at a junction, had to get on my way again- Thankfully the car started first time and other than an "Emissions System Service Due" (or something similar) drove the next 30 mins without issues (now the dongle had been removed).

It goes without saying that the dongle has gone straight in the bin and now I'm trying to establish if any damage has been done. I feel a bit of a plonker for messing about like this but have done it a few times before and my friend's R8 has had the same dongle fitted and works flawlessly.

I now have "Emissions System Service Due" message up whenever I start the car . Still, not long before the car heads for a service where I hope it can be cleared...what else should I prepare myself for?

[thetees]

I wouldn't worry.
I have seen this a number of times before using an entirely different setup (dongle/app).
I think you'll find the OBD ports are 'sensitive' by nature.
To my my knowledge, you can't do any damage.

It is possible (but unlikely, I guess) that your 'Emission System Service Due' message is a coincidence.
I presume your software doesn't allow you to reset that?

[krisdelta]

thetees said:

I wouldn't worry.
I have seen this a number of times before using an entirely different setup (dongle/app).
I think you'll find the OBD ports are 'sensitive' by nature.
To my my knowledge, you can't do any damage.

It is possible (but unlikely, I guess) that your 'Emission System Service Due' message is a coincidence.
I presume your software doesn't allow you to reset that?

I would add - don't worry too much, if you were soldering stuff into the engine bay - worry, otherwise not. To say the sensors and the like on AM's are sensitive is like saying Michael Gould is not a big fan of poor people get a code reader, read the codes, google them, sigh in relief and continue enjoying your lovely car

[m0isty]

I had a similar experience with my innovate OT-2, the poor car threw all sorts of messages and multicolour disco lights before running like s**t and then stalling. I switched the ignition off, then back on and read and cleared the imaginary fault codes that it had just produced and it's been fine ever since.

James, grab that dongle out of the bin before the dustman comes and use it to clear out the fault codes that it has no doubt caused, just don't do anything with the engine running. This will probably get rid of the emissions service message, I believe the system throws that up if it thinks there is a problem with the oxygen sensors or catalysts etc..

[AMWebby]

It sounds as though the dongle is polling rather than simply monitoring signals, causing bus congestion. Possibly this is caused by unrelated Bluetooth signals putting the dongle in polling mode. Turning Bluetooth off on your phone may obviate the problem but the simplest thing is, as the other replies suggest, to remove the dongle when you're driving.

[AdamV8V]

AMWebby said:

causing bus congestion.

That'll be those bloody Olympic lanes...

James, I think the "emission service required" fault code is that default AM "we know you've been buggering about" warning.

I've had it with eveything from removing Fuse 22 to changing the rear lights! Usually clears itself after a few starts / days.

Adam

[g55dxb]

Not all ODB2 Bluetooth/Wi-Fi dongles are created equal. After doing a fair amount of research and trying several different models in my V8V and G55, I've settled on the pricey ODBLink MX Scan Tool:
http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/pc-based/obdlin...

I've used it in both vehicles and it works well. The only drawback is that it doesn't support iOS devices (iPhone/iPad) due to limitation in Apple's Bluetooth accessory support. If iOS support is important, then you need a Wi-Fi dongle like those made by PLX Devices.

I've seen some Bluetooth ODB2 dongles for 1/10th the price, but you get what you pay for.

[jamesc12]

So after a bit of musing, as recommended, I pulled the dongle out the bin and cleared the codes. There were quite a few on there but the dash light disappeared afterwards. I drove to North Yorkshire and back this weekend (more miles ) without issue so hasn't done any harm.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement - After all that, I am tempted to try again and tweak the polling settings...

Oh and as for the dongle... it cost £12 off eBay - I'll get a better one next time

Edited by jamesc12 on Monday 23 July 11:30

[fongers]

Just to add to an old thread. I got a REALLY cheap one off AliBaba ($3) for my DB9 and works like a charm. Looks like the OP had the "misfire limp" that coincided with the use of a new scanner... just clear the codes and drive it HARD to blow the crud off those o2 sensors and manis :-)

[Gday2]

I did try different dongles and finally settled for the ObdLink MX WiFi, I use iOS phone and iPad herefore WiFi. Ok it is not on the cheep side (~100) but it works flawless. I use it with DashCommand and its own software, quite nice to mirror DashCommand on the Satnav screen whilst driving. To my knowledge it is the only dongle which switches itself off and on automatically and connects to the iPhone every time without me having to do any thing, I just start the software and it performs.

Cheers
Christian