[passat03wagon]

Hi all. I've been looking at a lot of conventional OBDII scanners recently. I recently decided on an Equus 3130 which has live data and freeze frame if I were to buy one. They run $127 +tax from Amazon.
However just today I've discovered that there are OBDII scanners which interface with a computer that are much cheaper. They can supply freeze frame data as well. For example here's one on Amazon for $30 +tax from the ScanTool.net company.
I also took a look on eBay which has all these OBDII to USB devices listed and they're pretty cheap. Here's one for $8 that says VAGCOM but it doesn't say anything about freeze frame.

Has anyone ever used any of these OBDII bluetooth or USB devices? It looks much cheaper to buy one of these things than an Equus for freeze frame data. So far I've heard good things about the OBDII connectors with the ELM 327 chip v1.4b. There is also a v1.5 offered on eBay but it appears to be phony, as elm's own website only shows v1.4b as the latest revision.

I currently own a CodeKey but it gives absolutely no help with the Passat codes. Usually when I see a code like P2181 (popular on my car) I'll see what ross-tech has to say.

What are you guys using, and please feel free to chime in with anything related. Thanks for your help and your time!

 

[DaOneEnOnly]

See: http://www.passatworld.com/forums/68-b5-garage/340016-vag-com-cables-ebay.html

By freeze frame do you mean live data? <- nvm you do. And VCDS is the only way to get live data I believe. So if you are computer savy, use the cable I'm using. If you are not computer savy, use the cable i'm using and follow the information I posted on the amazon review. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[passat03wagon]

I actually ended up getting:
ELM327 OBD2 OBDII CAN-BUS V1.5 Bluetooth Auto Car Diagnostic Interface Scanner | eBay
for $16. The 1.5 firmware is just the chinese clone of v1.4b of the ELM327 chip from what I can gather. So I will try it out with the Torque app (costs $5) for android on my HP Touchpad with cyanogen mod (yes I'm computer saavy . The new versions of Torque can read freeze frame data.

I did read your review it was helpful. I wanted something bluetooth though so I went with this for now. It's so cheap that if I need to I'll just buy what you're using as well. I did some searching on the internet for it and I can find nothing about the version you are using. There are tons of 409.1 cables though. Also I found 11.2 and 10.6 vagcom. I have no idea what all the differences are. Do you know how your cable is different from the 409.1?

 

[DaOneEnOnly]

Yes you be computer savy. I hope that touchpad was bought at the give away price.

Yeah. I took a gamble. I knew I didn't want a 409.1 and that was pretty much all I new. I guessed that 409.1 was the older version b/c 1. it was cheaper and 2. it had a lower number. Version 11.11 is the current VCDS version from Rosstech's website which I can't use my cable requires "a firmware update" and the cable can't to that. At the time I don't think the 10.6 cable was out on Amazon... or I would have been tempted. (BTW Amazon Prime is awesome) I have yet to try this cable on a CAN only diagnostics car. Such as a MKV Jetta TDI... (B5s use K-line for almost everything... at least mine does.)

I have a netbook, so wired isn't a big deal for me. If I only had a desktop, however, it would have been a different story and I'd probably have tried your route.

 

[SleeperWagon]

I have a netbook, so wired isn't a big deal for me. If I only had a desktop, however, it would have been a different story and I'd probably have tried your route.

What about those with a MacBook?

 

[DaOneEnOnly]

What about those with a MacBook?

Not happening.

At least not unless you've thrown Windows on your MacBook. Although not sure why you'd pay more for less if you just wanted to run Windows anyway... :crazy:

I am biased on that subject if you can't tell...

 

[mminer1977]

Passat03wagon....Are you still running the torque app?
I bought a simple OBD2 bluetooth adapter and am running the Torque app. on my droid razor
it has been great for identifying why the MIL light is on and correcting the issue.

But after fixing a couple things like coolant temp switch and a misfire problem, now I'm stuck

I keep getting the p0420 code which is..... catalyst system below threshold
while watching the data on the app. I can see that the O2 sensor Bank 1 Sensor 2 fluctuates
but the O2 sensor Bank 1 Sensor 1 is constant.
I tried all the other O2 sensors available on the app. none of them show any fluctuation either.
when I run the system check I get code TID: $01 CID:$20 rich to lean sensor threshold voltage constant

I unplugged the precat O2 sensor and it had no effect on the data being displayed on the app, this led me to believe I had a bad precat 02 sensor which I changed out, but I still have the same conditions now.

IF you are running Torque app, can you check to see which o2 sensors show data?
any other help welcomed
Thanx

 

[michalskim23]

I don't know if I would trust that app. How accurate is that data, or is it just close. Cheapest usually isn't best. What is the voltage signal of the o2 sensor on the side not fluctuating? What was it stuck at?



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[passat03wagon]

I can see that the O2 sensor Bank 1 Sensor 2 fluctuates
but the O2 sensor Bank 1 Sensor 1 is constant.
I tried all the other O2 sensors available on the app. none of them show any fluctuation either.
when I run the system check I get code TID: $01 CID:$20 rich to lean sensor threshold voltage constant

Hi. I observed fluctuations on Bank 1 Sensor 2. Here is a screenshot from earlier today:

Bank 1 Sensor 1 is constant at ~0.1. Maybe we both have old O2 sensors. Mine has been on the life of the car so about 100k. I don't ever recall having replaced it. In Torque I was able to select Bank 1 Sensors 1-4 and Bank 2 Sensors 1-4. I don't think the Passat has 8 O2 sensors but they all showed consistent similar data with the exception of Bank 1 Sensor 2.

Regarding the system check, do you mean you failed one of Torque's tests? I attached my test results to this post. Mine shows this for TID $01 CID $20:
TID:$01 CID:$20
- Rich to Lean sensor threshold voltage(constant)
Min: 8,192
Test result value: 12,683
PASS

For your catalyst problem I suggest you start a new thread. If you have any more comments/questions regarding Torque on Android put them here. I'm subscribed to this thread and I'd like to know your experiences or maybe I can help.

One thing that really bugged me about Torque on Android with the Passat is without enabling the high-speed OBDII connection in Android's options I was waiting FOREVER for the tests to complete. Even at high speed it still took a while. It is a lot faster to complete the tests on my Civic. On the touchpad when the screen goes out (because I'm waiting so long) and I turn the screen back on it will reset the Tests to 0%... so to get around that I would swipe the screen up and down every so often that way the screen wouldn't go out and the tests had a chance to complete.

 

[mminer1977]

thanx so much passat03waggon

sounds like the O2 data on my app matches yours perfectly
I dont know why the app doesnt show the output from the 2nd O2 sensor but i suspect both of mine are ok
to me it looks like 7 of the 8 O2 sensors you can select are not there,
but bank 1 sensor 2 is (i believe the data being shown is the precat sensor)
the pre cat should constantly bounce from rich to lean, which is what mine shows


that other code you posted:

TID:$01 CID:$20
- Rich to Lean sensor threshold voltage(constant)
Min: 8,192
Test result value: 12,683
PASS

That is the one mine was failing, but it has been passing last few times i used it

I did start another thread but didnt get much help, someone recomended some expensive software and a cable to connect laptop to car.

if you ever wanna compare torque data just let me know, would be more than happy to return favor

thanx

 

[Tomvw]

I did start another thread but didnt get much help, someone recomended some expensive software and a cable to connect laptop to car.

You call $10 expensive.

http://www.passatworld.com/forums/68-b5-garage/359819-obd2-bluetooth-adapter-torque-app-questions-o2-sensors.html

VCDS Lite unregistered is free and will read all DTCs in the whole car, not just engine.
When registered ($99) it does live data, adaptations and a lot more. This is much more than anything else I have seen referenced in this thread.