What odb tool to control stuff like locks and windows?

[Spare tyre]

Been having a bit of fun with a relatives soft top Mitsubishi

Took it to a garage when we couldn’t get the window to wind up and he plugged a machine into an odb port and could operate the locks, windows Etc from his tablet device.

What tech is this, can you buy a dongle

I already have a Bluetooth odb device, but it feels like this is only engine stuff, not the body of the car so to speak. Is this accessible to the average man or are we talking ££££

Any recommendations would be lovely, hate the bother of taking it to an uninterested garage who only want the easy work

[Jazoli]

One of these will do pretty much anything you want for pre 2016 cars

https://tools4car.co.uk/product/universal_diagnost...

I have one and its great, you can buy them cheaper from china but these come with proper UK instructions and backup

[Spare tyre]

Jazoli said:

One of these will do pretty much anything you want for pre 2016 cars

https://tools4car.co.uk/product/universal_diagnost...

I have one and its great, you can buy them cheaper from china but these come with proper UK instructions and backup

Interesting, so I guess I want to access the bcm, body control module, would that do it on a 2008 mitsi?

[Jazoli]

Spare tyre said:

Interesting, so I guess I want to access the bcm, body control module, would that do it on a 2008 mitsi?

In a word, yes!

[MG CHRIS]

Unless you want to spend thousands on a proper diag tool for use in workshop the cheaper stuff will always have limitations. I have a £300 hand held obd scanner its ok for general engine codes which are standardised codes, dpf regens, service resets etc etc but it struggles with bcm/air bag system specially on jap stuff. Also if you could even get one to do that if the motor is dead you wont get a obd tool to make it work. Its also pretty pointless if you don't know what its actually telling you.

[blank]

It is technically possible using a cheapo Bluetooth OBD dongle and a phone, you just need to know the right commands to send. You can sometimes find people on owners' groups that have found these out, or even brand specific diagnostic apps that will all generally use the same type of ELM327 dongle.

The system linked above is a pirated version of a Delphi tool, which itself is a (legitimate) re brand of a system called Autocom.

The legitimate Autocom is very good and covers a huge range of vehicles but costs a couple of grand and then a few hundred every year for updates. Bosch, SnapOn, Autel and Texa do similar systems but they're all a bit overkill for the average home user!

Systems like this are expensive because they buy the OBD databases from the manufacturer. The cost is all in the vehicle compatibility, hardware is all very similar and as I said above most things are technically possible on a cheap dongle if you know the commands.

[Belle427]

Jazoli said:

One of these will do pretty much anything you want for pre 2016 cars

https://tools4car.co.uk/product/universal_diagnost...

I have one and its great, you can buy them cheaper from china but these come with proper UK instructions and backup

Lots of these on eBay as they are Chinese clones of Delphi/Autocom systems.
I have one and it stopped working properly after 12 months.

[Jazoli]

blank said:

It is technically possible using a cheapo Bluetooth OBD dongle and a phone, you just need to know the right commands to send. You can sometimes find people on owners' groups that have found these out, or even brand specific diagnostic apps that will all generally use the same type of ELM327 dongle.

I wouldn't recommend using a cheapo bluetooth for anything other than reading and clearing codes though, the connection isn't that stable and you could potentially corrupt things if the signal failed mid write doing anything else.

I like my pirated Deplhi, although I have a drawer in the garage full of genuine lexia/vdcs/inpa/opcom cables which cost a fortune over the years I find that the Delphi can do 99% of the things you need on all cars pre 2016 or so.

[blank]

Jazoli said:

I wouldn't recommend using a cheapo bluetooth for anything other than reading and clearing codes though, the connection isn't that stable and you could potentially corrupt things if the signal failed mid write doing anything else.

I like my pirated Deplhi, although I have a drawer in the garage full of genuine lexia/vdcs/inpa/opcom cables which cost a fortune over the years I find that the Delphi can do 99% of the things you need on all cars pre 2016 or so.

I should probably say that by cheapo I mean relative to a proper Delphi system or similar, so something like a £50 OBDLink LX.

The £5 clone devices from eBay are very hit and miss.

I agree, the genuine Delphi/Autocom system is very good and covers a massive range of vehicles.

Pirated versions I can't comment on as I've never used them.

[Spare tyre]

Bit of a bump, in the end I managed to fix it by replacing parts and using old school methods of bridging / cuttings sensors and then applying 12v direct etc


However my mums friend with the same bloody car has had similar issues so mugging here has to get roped in


What’s the updated view on this, is there a prosumer gadget about now for reasonable money that I can control roofs / windows etc with? Thanks

[Belle427]

I’d take a punt on the Delphi clone linked to above, just test it on one of your cars first to confirm it works.
Only the higher end tools usually allow bidirectional control and they are not cheap.
Not sure if apps like iCarly allow this but I can confirm the Delphi clone above was excellent for what I used it on.
Worth a punt for £65 which is the cost of 1 garage diagnostic really.

[Spare tyre]

Belle427 said:

I’d take a punt on the Delphi clone linked to above, just test it on one of your cars first to confirm it works.
Only the higher end tools usually allow bidirectional control and they are not cheap.
Not sure if apps like iCarly allow this but I can confirm the Delphi clone above was excellent for what I used it on.
Worth a punt for £65 which is the cost of 1 garage diagnostic really.

Thankyou, can you recommend some software? I have a Mitsubishi and a Kia to probe

[Belle427]

Not really, I use a few hand me downs from my dad who now has an all singing all dancing Autel but this cost him £800.
There are no do it all type tools for controlling to my knowledge apart from the higher end ones.

[Spare tyre]

Me again , any up to date recommendations, still looking at operating a car hard top with one, along with the windows. Cheers

[Dogwatch]

Searching “obd2 scanner” in YouTube might give you some pointers.

[Jakg]

IMO for a home mechanic - where typically your working on your own car - something marque specific (i.e. VCDS / INPA / CANClip) etc is more sensible.

For a professional who works on a variety of cars and doesn't want to learn 50 tools, completely different.

[Belle427]

There was a diagnostic guy I watch trying out the Topdon topscan smart phone based system which looked interesting.
Don't know how much the subs are though.
31:41 in
https://youtu.be/FdDK7tmAQIM?si=GgliYvxIFAvE5a1N

Edited by Belle427 on Wednesday 6th December 17:33