Android App Torque and BlueTooth OBD II I/F

[Loren]

I just started playing with this and so far it looks very promising. Not a PST2 or PIWIS but still a lot of information for very little money (especially if you already own an Android phone).

The Android App is called Torque - perhaps not aptly named for what it can do ODB II wise.

Here is their description "Torque is an engine diagnostics application for Android that allows you to directly monitor your car engine control unit (ECU) and retrieve various information from the sensors connected to it as well as use your phones internal GPS and accelerometer sensors to graph other information such as acceleration.

Torque can be used to view any stored fault codes on your vehicles ECU, then, after a mechanic fixing the fault, it also can clear the fault codes allowing you to clear the 'Check Engine' light warning on your dashboard

Torque can use a multitude of OBD adapters, ranging from the cheap (and slightly buggy) adapters you can find on ebay, to the more reliable PLX Devices Kiwi Bluetooth and OBDKey which are the amongst the best.

The adapters are used to interface your Android device to the vehicle engine control unit (ECU).

Torque can be downloaded from the Android market ad free, or you can try the ad-supported version. Torque works on android 1.5/1.6/2.0/2.1 or above!

The change log and version history for Torque can be viewed by clicking here.

Any car manufacturered from 2000 onwards (and quite a few from the mid '90s) should have an OBD2 compliant diagnostics port installed. Check your manual or google if you are unsure if yours has one or where it is – some ports are hidden quite well under ashtrays, etc.

Torque can also upload in realtime data to the Torque viewer website so that you can view your recorded OBD data online."

You can download at Android Market or use the QR code here

Here are a few screen shots some are pages (with readouts) that I created and others are from the authors website.

And a short video someone made

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I bought the ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD II Interface for about $59. This interface supports ISO 9141, KWP2000, SAE J1850 both VPW/PWM and CAN - so it will work with any of my cars.

So far I am very impressed. I have not tried the website interface yet - but it can log all of your data (realtime) to a special website that you can only login to with your unique key.

I'll try to post more as I get time to work with this some more. Feel free to post your comments/questions below...

[Loren]

Got some real life use from this the other day. Turned out very handy.

My wife and I were on our way to the doctors office in my 2001 Mercedes CLK55. We were in the parking garage and it idled and died. Would not restart.

I also learned that very few tow trucks can pick up a car in a parking garage with a 12.5 foot ceiling. Any way - had the car towed home and placed in the street in front of my house.

Hooked up the Bluetooth OBD II and ran Torque on my Android phone.... One fault P0358 Crankshaft Position Sensor.

Wow! Exactly what you would expect - the crankshaft position sensor fails and then the DME thinks the car is not running (no flywheel movement according to the sensor) - so the DME shuts off the gas.

Got a new sensor and installed it. Car started right up and I checked the codes and the P0358 had already cleared.

I drove the car around near my home while monitoring coolant, MAF, and O2 sensors. Got it good and hot to make sure the problem was fixed.

So after the first real world use of Torque and the Bluetooth OBD II plug I would give a :thumbup:

If you have an Android phone and are willing to spend about $50 on the Bluetooth OBD II and Torque app I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you can see with it.

[996noob]

Got some real life use from this the other day. Turned out very handy.

My wife and I were on our way to the doctors office in my 2001 Mercedes CLK55. We were in the parking garage and it idled and died. Would not restart.

I also learned that very few tow trucks can pick up a car in a parking garage with a 12.5 foot ceiling. Any way - had the car towed home and placed in the street in front of my house.

Hooked up the Bluetooth OBD II and ran Torque on my Android phone.... One fault P0358 Crankshaft Position Sensor.

Wow! Exactly what you would expect - the crankshaft position sensor fails and then the DME thinks the car is not running (no flywheel movement according to the sensor) - so the DME shuts off the gas.

Got a new sensor and installed it. Car started right up and I checked the codes and the P0358 had already cleared.

I drove the car around near my home while monitoring coolant, MAF, and O2 sensors. Got it good and hot to make sure the problem was fixed.

So after the first real world use of Torque and the Bluetooth OBD II plug I would give a :thumbup:

If you have an Android phone and are willing to spend about $50 on the Bluetooth OBD II and Torque app I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you can see with it.

That's seriously cool. Nice. I wonder if there is anything for iPad?

[Black Stig]

Am new here and been reading a lot of posts. Very useful site!

Loving my new to me 07 997.1!

Thought about the same and wondered if there's one available for the i-devices.

Looks like there's Dashcommand and Rev at the app store but have not tried either. Would be helpful to get people's opinions.