OBD2 tool

[Silveredwings]

Excellent news.

[MetroMPG]

Finally got it to work, after ... 1 borrowed & returned laptop to confirm the tool was working; 3 OS re-installs on my old serial-port equipped laptop; half a dozen freeware/shareware OBD2 software installs & tryouts (they didn't all work); multiple e-mails back and forth with the tool vendor (was quite responsive and helpful)

[Silveredwings]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Finally, after ... 1 borrowed & returned laptop to confirm the tool was working; 3 OS re-installs on my old serial-port equipped laptop; half a dozen freeware/shareware OBD2 software installs & tryouts (they didn't all work); multiple e-mails back and forth with the tool vendor (was quite responsive and helpful):
:data:
Edit: cold start, trip around the block. The only downside: the programs that work with this tool and provide logging ability don't also report fuel consumption. So the SG will be a little out of whack when I disconnect it to do trials with the ODB2 tool.

Data exported as a text file, imported into Excel to use the charting utility. Dressed up a little further in Photoshop.

That sounds a little like an old laptop I recently resurrected. I find few things as infuriating as setting up an MS OS (case in point)...only I didn't end up with such pretty data to show for my strife.

OK, now you have my attention, but could you explain (or edumacate me ) what fuel trim is?

[MetroMPG]

Oh my. Thankfully (?) I was only re-installing 95 and 98 multiple times. The hardest part was getting the BIOS to give COM1 to the serial port instead of IR - a common problem (I learned, after much head bashing & Google searching) to old Thinkpads.

Fuel trim is the mystery variable behind the EGR fuel savings theory. It's where the 02 sensor data goes: constantly into Short Term to maintain stoich. Short Term, when it maxes out in either direction, informs Long Term and then resets to 0 to start all over again.

More details about fuel trim:
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:...n&ct=clnk&cd=4

[Silveredwings]

Yeah, I was talking about just going from W98 to W98SE as bad enough. Before that, I did go through the >5 hr nightmare of getting XP to work on a 1GHz machine w/ 1Gb memory (should be enough right?). In the end, I had to abandon my effort because the motherbd wasn't in MS's list of blessed boards. The result was it would run for a while but have random unexplainable memory errors and eventually bluescreen - hourly.

So, I am officially interested in trying to do what you're doing with your laptop. I'll let you know as soon as I get the necessary hardware.

[MetroMPG]

Cool. Have you decided who you're going to buy from?

[Silveredwings]

Well, I do like the ELM series approach and will prob. start with the less expensive 323 for now. I wouldn't mind building it myself but it's just another project.

When the CAN is more widely supported, I may look into something like the 327 if something better doesn't exist by then. It seems generic enough.

[MetroMPG]

Since getting the ELM323 for $41 + shipping on eBay, I've seen it sell for less. If you want to keep costs down and have the patience to wait out a couple of auctions, you might be able to get one for $25-30.

You're a coder too, aren't you

[Silveredwings]

I just bid on that one for $30+. As for coding, yes I am, but what languages or environment/toolset is in use here?

[MetroMPG]

I'm not sure. But I believe the tool from scantool.net (theirs, not the ones they link to) has an option to install source code.

Anyway, this is very interesting. Maybe it'll spur me to get my hands dirty if you start digging around in the bits 'n' bites. I can tell you that nobody has done any useful FE programming (to the level of the SG) for any of the packages. Though they often have a drag-strip function