Dedicated hardware (OBDII/LeafSpy)

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Marktm

Well-known member
Leaf Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2016
Messages
854
Location
Houston, TX
I realize this topic is fully vetted - HOWEVER:
1. We are an iOS "family"
2. I'd like to try an Android tablet with ELM bluetooth that I can keep in the Leaf (seems iOS not as "mature" with LeafSpy?)
3. An inexpensive solution (that gives me additional functionality with my Google account using tablet/Wifi when available) appears to be a cheap ELM bluetooth dongle and one of the low end 7" tablets (Android 4.4). Total cost is only $45 for all.
4. The ELM is http://www.ebay.com/itm/252365004245?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
5. The tablet is one of the several cheap Chinese imports from $30 to $45 that seem to get reasonable reviews.
6. Would I need to re-purchase LeafSpy Pro for iOS when/if I decide to switch to my Apple stuff?

Any suggestions?
 
6. yes, you would need to buy the android version from the google store. I don't think you need to buy it more than once for either android or apple as long as you login to the device with your account you purchased it with.

Send us pictures of what you end up doing. For a while I had a little android and placed that to the left of the steering wheel which was stuck to the windshield so it was out of direct views.

I'd prefer a dongle that has a power off/on switch. I'm sure it doesn't drain the battery too much but it will pull from the 12v. which is a delicate battery in a Leaf.
 
Since my phone is a BlackBerry, I originally purchased a Samsung tablet for LeafSpy, but I found it was bigger than I wanted to have in the car all the time so I bought a Kyocera Event prepaid phone on sale at Best Buy and never activated it. I have LeafSpy on both the Samsung and Kyocera, but use the Kyocera most of the time.

Gerry
 
GerryAZ said:
Since my phone is a BlackBerry, I originally purchased a Samsung tablet for LeafSpy, but I found it was bigger than I wanted to have in the car all the time so I bought a Kyocera Event prepaid phone on sale at Best Buy and never activated it. I have LeafSpy on both the Samsung and Kyocera, but use the Kyocera most of the time.

Gerry
The Kyocera seems like a great combo of size and price. They use "ice cream sandwich" Android 4.0 - has that shown to be compatible with the OBDII dongles and the bluetooth in the Leaf? Since this is temporary, I'm going to try the ELM327 bluetooth version - looks like I can get one for a few bucks on ebay. Would you expect any problems with that? I've researched what the draw is on these dongles - the most credible was not more than 30-40 milliamps. I wouldn't think that would be a problem with leaving the dongle hooked up all the time. Is that what you have experienced?

Thanks
Mark
 
I have been using the Kyocera for several years without issue, but I think its battery is getting weak so I may need to get a new phone battery. I never unplug the ELM unit as long as I am driving the car every day or two. If I park for longer than a couple of days, I unplug the ELM unit. I park for extended time at my office or the airport (up to 3 weeks) with no issues except for one time when I left Leaf Spy running with the Kyocera laying on the passenger seat and the ELM plugged in. I came back to a completely dead 12-volt battery after only 6 days (probably because the ELM unit in combination with Leaf Spy kept control modules active causing more drain on the 12V battery and interfering with the automatic charging of the 12V battery from the traction battery.

Gerry
 
GerryAZ said:
(probably because the ELM unit in combination with Leaf Spy kept control modules active causing more drain on the 12V battery and interfering with the automatic charging of the 12V battery from the traction battery.

Gerry

Bet your correct - that the DC/DC converter is shutdown and other 12V "users" are draining the battery. If 40 ma is correct, I'd still take many days to seriously drain the 12v battery - on it's own. However, is 40 ma really accurate?
 
Marktm said:
GerryAZ said:
(probably because the ELM unit in combination with Leaf Spy kept control modules active causing more drain on the 12V battery and interfering with the automatic charging of the 12V battery from the traction battery.

Gerry

Bet your correct - that the DC/DC converter is shutdown and other 12V "users" are draining the battery. If 40 ma is correct, I'd still take many days to seriously drain the 12v battery - on it's own. However, is 40 ma really accurate?

I have not tried to measure the current draw of the ELM unit I use, but 40 mA seems reasonable (see other threads where people have measured it). If it took a lot of current (even when transmitting), it would get warm because the housing is not really ventilated. I do know that there is substantial residual current for a minute or two when the Leaf is shutdown until the control modules sleep. The 2011 took several minutes to go dormant, but the 2015 drops its residual current sooner.

Gerry
 
My Panlong (clearish blue) adapter(purchased on Amazon) says 25ma operating current, I have no real way of measuring it though.
 
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