[kourampies]

I have a 2004 (pre facelift) 1.6 120hp 147, and would like to use AlfaOBD and Torque.

I bought this adapter without much thought, it arrived, but I haven't tested it yet because of lots of horror stories I've read about.

Is it true that it can mess your car? Seems really weird to me, I mean I understand not supporting protocols etc, but physically hurting your car electronics, while working fine in other car models?

Anyway, has anyone tested with absolute success any bluetooth dongles? Any suggestions?

 

[Henrik_45]

I have with success tested the BT dongle in the link below on a Alfa 156 2.0 JTS (2005) using AlfaOBD Android app and MultECUscan running on a laptop

Bluetooth Diagnostic Interface Alfa Romeo / Fiat / Lancia for MultiECUScan / AlfaOBD! - Electronic-Fuchs

 

[halftone]

I've seen reports of BT dongles driving dash displays nuts when connected, but not any lasting damage - sanity resumes when disconnected. I think that it's probably just that the dongle doesn't support EOBD. Of course, it's always possible the odd one may be faulty and cook everything.

You can probably test the device off the car, for an internal short, with a multimeter. Pin 16 of the OBD connector is where the power live feed enters the device, so mustn't short to any other pins. Actually, I don't think any pin should short to any other pin.
Troubleshooting OBD II Data Link Connector

 

[kourampies]

I've seen reports of BT dongles driving dash displays nuts when connected, but not any lasting damage - sanity resumes when disconnected. I think that it's probably just that the dongle doesn't support EOBD. Of course, it's always possible the odd one may be faulty and cook everything.

You can probably test the device off the car, for an internal short, with a multimeter. Pin 16 of the OBD connector is where the power live feed enters the device, so mustn't short to any other pins. Actually, I don't think any pin should short to any other pin.
Troubleshooting OBD II Data Link Connector

Thanks, I will try with a multimeter for shorts before actually plugging it in. I read that the OBD2 port is always powered and will drain the battery if left on. Is this true?

 

[halftone]

It is true with my dongle. Although it shuts off after 30mins inactivity, it's still taking power, as I discovered when I tried to start the car a week later and found the battery was flat. I remove it now. I bought a short OBD2 extension lead so I don't have to open the compartment - the extension socket sits just by the steering column.

My dongle is this type, but bought some months ago. It works fine with Torque, but there don't appear to be any UK sellers at present. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/White-Min...iagnostic-Auto-Interface-Android/261674553354

 

[doutlaw]

check if u can get the ELM scan5. A bit more expensive then chines brands by just a few but i have had mine for ages now, never complained about it. you might also need to consider getting the crossing cables (green,yellow,red) to get full control from the mutliecuscan.

 

[kourampies]

check if u can get the ELM scan5. A bit more expensive then chines brands by just a few but i have had mine for ages now, never complained about it. you might also need to consider getting the crossing cables (green,yellow,red) to get full control from the mutliecuscan.

I've read about the crossing cables etc, but have no previous knowledge of OBD so I cant say I really understand. Im mostly interested in simply seeing current engine stats/speeds/temps etc, perhaps logging data in order to put those nice overlays of speed, gas/brake pressed etc on dashcam videos, and when the time comes to have a rough estimate of what a potential warning message is before heading to the mechanic. Thats why I opted for the cheapest solution. Still thanks for all the info, every bit helps.

 

[Shawnobi]

I've had a cheap ELM327 that looks identical to the one in the original post. I've found it's usually software incompatibility with the car. I use it with Carista app for my VW and it's brilliant. But Carista didn't want to connect to the Alfa as didn't a few others. I think ODB Car Doctor was ok with the Alfa though.

 

[halftone]

On Android with a BT dongle, Torque and AlfaOBD are the most useful for AR's. Both come as free limited versions from Play Store, with paid upgrades to unlock various limitations.

 

[bigdov]

Used Alfa obd and seems comprehensive but can't find a bt obd reader that can read all systems, one I have can only read the engine ecu

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Henrik_45]

There is no BT dongles or USB readers that can read all the system ECUs.
You need to use the Red, Green, Yellow adapters cables between the OBD socket in the car and the reader.
Which cable to use depends on the ECU you want to connect to.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALFA-FIAT-DIAGNOSTIC-LEAD-CABLE-ADAPTOR-ENGINE-AIRBAG-ABS-CAN-ECU-FiatECUScan-/252377350601?hash=item3ac2dcc1c9:m:m-cFZuMZfJUQv2DA51M7aCQ

 

[kourampies]

There is no BT dongles or USB readers that can read all the system ECUs.
You need to use the Red, Green, Yellow adapters cables between the OBD socket in the car and the reader.
Which cable to use depends on the ECU you want to connect to.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALFA-FIAT-DIAGNOSTIC-LEAD-CABLE-ADAPTOR-ENGINE-AIRBAG-ABS-CAN-ECU-FiatECUScan-/252377350601?hash=item3ac2dcc1c9:m:m-cFZuMZfJUQv2DA51M7aCQ

You just plug the BT ones to those colored extensions and it works?

 

[Henrik_45]

You just plug the BT ones to those colored extensions and it works?

Yes, it worked for me at least.
You shal only one of the cable when you connect to the ECUs. The SW normaly state which cable to use

 

[Alexie]

The reason you need the coloured cables is the dongles usually only have 1 connector pin connected to the USB output within the dongle. This pin is the one that connects to the engine data pin on the car so you only get access to engine stuff by default. The coloured cables simply connect the dongle "engine" pin to the correct car connector pins for the ABS, Airbag etc by cross wiring as required for the different data feeds on the car OBD connector.

The alternative way to get the dongle to connect to systems other than the engine, which avoids using the coloured cables, is to simply open up the dongle and connect wires from the relevant pins on the dongle connector to the internal connection to the engine data pin. It describes how to do this on the MultiECUscan site somewhere. You can connect some systems this way without having to break the engine pin connection but with other systems you need to break the engine pin connection or it causes problems, so switches need to be wired in. Probably easier for most people to stick to using the coloured cables for this reason.

 

[kourampies]

Follow up question, can I leave the Green one plugged in, and plug my dongle each time, in order to avoid battery drain? Is it long enough to hang under the cover?