OBDII for AMv8 - Cheap, Simple & Effective
 

I've seen a few threads on here where folk are looking to diagnose their engine ECU or find out why the CEL is on, or turn it off, or monitor systems etc. I've mentioned this tool in a couple other threads but thought I'd post more info and some screenshots as I was using it today on an AMv8. The product is OBD Fusion (Made by OCTech LLC). It will run either on your Apple iPhone or an Android phone and available via the App Store or Google. It's free to test and the Apple purchase price is $13.99. Not sure what it costs on Google - probably the same. The iPhone/iPad version uses an ELM327 wifi OBD2 connector (about $8 on eBay) and the Android version uses a similar but Bluetooth OBD2 adaptor. You can get details of the OBDII adaptor necessary for your phone at their website or at the App description page. Best thing about this is you use your phone for the diagnosis and repair. So no need for another costly microprocessor component.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...ae5883ef12.png


Other than having a friend (BMW colleague) who somehow seems to get these guys (OCTech) to develop in areas he's focused, I have no affiliation with them. He tells me that they are mostly Ford enthusiasts which might explain why their basic tool works so well on my Aston Martin.

I have a full suite of factory tools for BMW but often revert to this tool for providing data monitoring and logging on BMW road tests since it uploads via cell while I'm driving directly to a built-in Dropbox account for future analysis. It is very comprehensive for analysing and troubleshooting the DME. Low and behold I've found it to be equally as thorough on my Aston Martin engine ECU. I also use the built-in dashboards for monitoring certain attributes (PID's) for real time driving data (I'm not big on sometimes buffered analog gauges - especially engine temps & pressures) - I like to see the digital readout - particularly during "spirited" driving.

Anyway - since I saw a few threads where folk were looking for a simple tool to do simple things like find out why the check engine light came on - and then even turn it off I thought I'd offer this up - total cost will be under $25 for the app and device (assuming you have an Android or iPhone) and I'll say you'd be hard pressed to find a similar tool under $500 that will match it. Personally the dashboard, data logging and graphing is way better than any BMW factory tool I've used.

You can find out more here:
https://www.obdsoftware.net/software/obdfusion

BTW - You don't need to buy an OBDII device from them but it ensures compatibility - I use a generic ELM327 device and it works fine - I paid $9 for it elsewhere.

Here's just a few of the screens from yesterday while it was hooked up to my AMv8:


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...341b734cca.png

Sample screens 1-3 on an AMv8


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...4326bfbddf.png

Sample screens 4-6 on an AMv8



https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.6sp...b78a23c087.png

Sample screens 7-9 on an AMv8


Here's a movie of it plugged in under the AM dash communicating via wifi to my iPhone.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...0lTR1VuMUVLWnc


EDIT: I see no reason why this product would not work just as well on other Aston Martin's MY 2001 and newer, (MY2001 - European countries were obliged to adopt OBDII standards) but I have not tested it on any AM other than the MY06 AMv8 - be interested to know though how others make out on different AM's?

I use the exact same thing on all my cars, including my MY08 V8V - works like a charm. I use OBD Car Doctor on iPhone - it's free, and is fine for checking and reseting error codes. Doesn't do all the other fancy logging that OBD Fusion does though - I might have to check that out.

hmmm may be time to upgrade to this from my old simple plug and play one I've had for several years.

That OBDII adapter crapped out on me after a few months.

I use the OBDLink LX, now, and it has been reliable for over a year. Also supports bluetooth security. Costs a little bit more, but it's been worth it.

Also, for the nerds among us, OBD Fusion can data log into a csv... so you can get data from every metric that OBDII supports at a set interval (say, every 250ms) dumped into a file that you can then analyze. I don't do this for my Vantage, but I do it for my Honda so that I can see how my driving behavior (throttle position, gear, and engine rpm, which basically tell me if I'm beating on the car or driving it nicely) impacts my fuel mileage.

Not sure what adaptor you mean - if it's the one in the pic - that is just a $7 generic Chinese knock-off. OBD Fusion make the app - the app shouldn't "crap" out. I may be one of the "nerds" among you then as the data logging is my fav aspect.

I do find the eBay Chinese adaptors poor quality but at $7 a pop I can order 10 of them and just throw spares in my toolbox - or spend $100 and get a quality one - which I did, still said made in China on it though.

I use this set-up too, and I have the ELM 328 adapter. I've used this adapter for over a year on my BMW's without any issues.

Referring to the adapter, which is why I named the slightly more expensive adapter that I replaced it with.