Using clone ELM327 Bluetooth OBDII adapter with Leaf

[Turbo3]

Finally got Vicki's ELM327 working with my app.

I had to open it up to fix it. The 8 pin surface mount tranceiver had one pin that was not connected. The pin must have been bent up just enought so the reflow soldering during PC board manufacturing did not connect the pin to the board. That IC pin connects to OBDII pin 6 which is one of the two CAR-CAN lines. So that explains why my app got to the Waiting stage and no further. With the open connection the PIC processor in the ELM327 never saw any data to send to the app.

It is also very hard to pair. I never could do it in the car. Only on the bench where I can trun on and off the 12 volts. In the car you can only do this by unplugging and replugging the OBDII connector.

[davewill]

Simvalley™ Mini ELM327 with Power Switch ($22.49) at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF88GEW/ref ... 1_ST1_dp_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm interested in how well that power switch works, and whether that case would be easy to open. Can you give us a mini review?

[rickbecker]

what about if you try to pair without Leafbattery app running, just turn on phone BT and try to pair

That is what I was doing, the app was not running.

[Stoaty]

Finally got Vicki's ELM327 working with my app.

If I can get to it this weekend, I am going to make add a Wiki table of Android phones and the specific ELM327 products they have been reported to work with (although it appears that not working may be more likely due to a defective individual piece as Vicki had).

[rickbecker]

Simvalley™ Mini ELM327 with Power Switch ($22.49) at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF88GEW/ref ... 1_ST1_dp_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm interested in how well that power switch works, and whether that case would be easy to open. Can you give us a mini review?

From the physical standpoint the pictures on Amazon provide an accurate depiction of the device. The case is opaque and I do not think it would be easy to open.

Are there measurements I can make with a digital multimeter to assess how well the switch works? All I do know is that the switch extinguishes the power light when activated.

I am just east of El Cajon in Singing Hills. PM me and we can get together for you to check it out if you'd like.

Rick

[jimbennett]

I wanted to report my experience. I purchased a BAFX Products (TM) - ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD2 scan tool from Amazon for $24 a month ago, and left it on my bench after taking it apart--couldn't tell at that time if I needed to re-solder any pins. I logged on today and noticed the rapid pace of development. After installing v021 on a Samsung Droid Charge it connected on the first try! Very cool

Is there a way to force the ELM327 to stay on (that is, keep transmitting) while driving? Would adding a switch to convert from CAN to EV mode on the fly cause it to retransmit?

I suggest a donate button liked to a paypal account!

[Stoaty]

Looking at version 0.21. Very nice! I especially like the fact that the app remembers the last data. Thanks!

Couple of suggestions:

1) I would like to see the difference between maximum and minimum temp on screen 1 in parentheses after the four temps, same as we have for the voltages
2) I would like to see a button on screen 3 to cycle the temp between max, min and average - otherwise I have to go to settings to make a temporary change, then go to settings to change it back. When the app is restarted it could either remember the last setting (in which case you could eliminate it in the settings menu), or go back to what you have set in the settings menu. Not sure which I would prefer.
3) It might be nice to display the max-min battery temp (the differential) on screen 3. Not sure where it would go, though, especially if suggestion 2 is implemented

Possible buglet:

1) The settings menu can scroll down too much. I would expect the scrolling to only go far enough to fully show the last item in settings (Debug). Instead you can scroll so Debug is almost off the screen. Very minor, but would be a little better if changed.

[vrwl]

Vicki sent me her ELM327 that she could not get paired. At first I had the same problem. If seemed like it would not take any passkey.

After a little reading I tried powering it up and then immediately pairing with 1234 and it worked.

I will need to do some testing to see how long the window is that will allow it to accept the pairing code.

My testing was done with a bench power supply. But after pairing and running my app it will auto connect whenever I power up the ELM327.

It is best to first do the discovery step on the Phone so it shows up as a new device. Enter the pairing code but do not press Enter/Done just yet. Unplug then replug the ELM327 then sent the pairing code. You only need to do this one time to get it paired. (The Leaf is not here to do a real test but it works on the bench)

I struggled for a week with the same one Vicki had (newlauch). The company is trying to help me with getting it paired. Today, I received two others that Vicki mentioned and they both paired on the first attempt. They are:BAFX ELM 327 ($23.99) at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NL ... os_product" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
and
Simvalley™ Mini ELM327 with Power Switch ($22.49) at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CF88GEW/ref ... 1_ST1_dp_1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

edit: Changed "snuggled" to "struggled"

Rick, so glad to hear they worked for you too. Whew, ok, got that mess out of the way and now we can proceed with our testing of the app.

[Stoaty]

Can anyone give a link to an OBD splitter cable that has a right angle attachment and short (one foot) cables after the split? I ordered and received this one:

http://www.amazon.com/ZITRADES-Splitter ... tter+cable" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It works with my Gid Meter and the Leaf Battery app running simultaneously, but has two big drawbacks:

1) The attachment is not a right angle, hangs down too far
2) The cables are too long, and create a big mess on the floor

I only found one possibility so far, which is to combine these two products:

http://www.obd2cables.com/products/obd- ... f-2ft.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.amazon.com/OBDII-Splitter-J1 ... tter+cable" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The first one has the right angle, the second has the splitter portion. Far from ideal. Does anyone know of a better solution?

[LEAFfan]

Jim, since most research has shown that these batteries begin to degrade above 86F, could you please change the color to yellow up to 86F? Thanks!