ScanGauge III - Anything Not to Like?

I suspect it’s because the calls and visits to the dealers for ‘out of spec’ values would be a problem. Manufacturers are unlikely to provide carte blanche access to PIDs that most people won’t understand, or know the working ranges thereof.

That’s my guess as to why. But I agree it’s a fairly low effort project on the scale of what they routinely do.

 

Yes, I agree most may not understand or care for what they are seeing ... and don't want to learn... that's fine




Also reminds me of Sheldon freaking out on Penny and her check engine light (or whatever) in her car when she gave him a lift.
"Drive it till you can't"

 

I have both current scan guage 3 and pervious version, also have 2 phone apps.

They are all really good, comes down to personal preference.

 

Signature - How "north" are you? haha
Real world experience on the 3, does the screen display or touch slow down if it gets really cold? (Assuming you leave it in) We usually get to -20'sF for a bit here every winter. I know it will warm up with the cabin temps once on the move, just wondering for discussion...

thx

 

So, how does the phone app compare to ScanGauge III for transmission and oil temps?
I'm curious about the user experience between the excellent performing SG3 and a phone app.
iPhone or Android?

I figure the phone app will not allow clearing of check codes.

[ edit ]

I do ask why the SG3 has no mention in any of the automotive review pubs that reviewed the Top 10 scanners.
It is not mentioned in any of them.

 

So will the Scangauge II work on a Generation 3?

 

Just can’t get over how big the bezels are lol. That’s my only gripe.

 

"Buy a Gen 4 Tacoma with the big media screen - it will look proportional"




... but yeah, it is a good bit taller than the 2. Ehh, you get 9 per screen now though so...

 

It (and SG3) will work on any car post late 90's with the current diag port in use since then, which you definitely have in the Gen3. Only thing is not all the Taco codes would be automatic on the SG2 - all the "generic" codes will be there to start. The known Taco-specific ones work, but you just have to spend a few minutes programming them into the SG2 to pick them up from the Taco.

There's some SG3 and SG2vs3 threads here somewhere I've seen. Dig into those for more info.

 

Oh I agree. The screen size is fine. I just think the bezels are bigger than they need to be making the whole unit just look too bulky.

 

I called ScanGauge just now and spoke with Orlando.
I asked if the back connector from SG3 is standard RJ45 as used by Ethernet.
He said, "Yes, as long as straight through and not the Crossover type"

This means I can hunt for an RJ45 elbow adapter that will let the cable exit at a 90-degree angle, instead of straight back.

 

FWIW OBD Fusion on iPhone now supports CarPlay so it automatically pops up on your built in screen if you have one. My wireless CarPlay adapter works perfectly, so every time the truck is started, the truck connects to my phone in my pocket, OBD Fusion pops up automatically on the built in screen, OBD Fusion automatically connects, and within a few seconds of starting I'm looking at the live values on the screen. The simplicity is a benefit over having extra screens or devices to mount.



https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/obd-fusion-update-with-carplay-funtionality.824468/

 

well well well

https://youtu.be/5l0YvMN_qxA?si=0dXl90Ce3hhRPwHp

 

Nice find. The provided .stl files open without error but it is not much smaller than the original case. However this provides a good starting point to modify it with a better way of mounting to the dash.

 

Not a ton smaller but it’s a step in the right direction. Good to know that folks are working on a solution at least.

 

Do you have a screen shot of oil temps and both trans temps?
I have an iPhone 13, and this would satisfy a huge need I have: no attached device that is an attractive nuisance to thieves.

In other words, can you configure which sensors you want to show in CarPlay?

 

Check out OBD Fusion in the Apple App store. I think the OBD Fusion app cost a couple bucks and does somewhere around 100 common code lookups including typical temp codes. The Toyota Tacoma lookup library is an additional purchase around $15 and gives you around 1000 individual things to monitor. Once installing, it took me many days to experiment with all the different codes to read. In brief, yeah you can most certainly have oil temp and trans temp on the same page.

You need a Bluetooth reader hooked up to your OBD port for OBD Fusion on your phone to read. I went with the Carista Bluetooth OBD adapter (ordered from Amazon) because it is as cheap as the cheapest alternatives and gives a free trial of the Carista app which lets you make some changes like turning off the seatbelt buzzer if required as well as a bunch of other defaults not otherwise available in the gen3 head unit.

Also, I fully agree about keeping things looking stealth.

Edit: One thing I didn't know when I got the Carista BT adapter is they have one for around $130 which is set up to give you the advanced code package for any vehicle for no additional charges, whereas the cheap one charges that ~$15 per vehicle type (e.g. your year of Tacoma but adjacent years usually work). If you plan to try to get the code library for several different vehicles, the advanced Carista adapter is the way to go.

This wireless Carplay adapter has been flawless for around a year now:

CarlinKit 5.0 Wireless CarPlay & Android Auto Adapter,Online Update,Two Channel Connection, Plug & Plug, for Cars with OEM Wired CarPlay & Android Auto(2016-2025)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C49Y1F6Z

In OBD Fusion under Settings|Preferences|Carplay you can configure multiple screens to switch between and each one can be arbitrarily long as far as I know. However only 6 fit at a time on the screen but you can scroll up and down the list and hit the icons at the top to switch between the lists. I think you can only have 3 lists.


Example of some of the temps. There are around 15 sensors in this list for engine temps list that I'm looking through for Tacoma.



I reconfigured one of my Carplay lists to have engine oil temp at the top. This is the Carplay config screen for that list.

 

watching another vid from the one posted, I haven't been using this to its full potential

 

I started looking into OBD Fusion for my iPhone 13.
There is no such thing as a free (or cheap) lunch, so I started pricing out everything that is needed.
Generic ELM327 adapters are NOT compatible with iOS.

$139.95 for the OBCLink MX+ for iPhone, with 3-year warranty
or
$ 41.95 for the Veepeak BLE+ Bluetooth adapter
and
$ 9.95 for the iOS app

It seems to me that the iPhone and OBD Fusion is at least 90% of the typical gauges I want to see (trans and oil temps).
This is a long way down from $269 for the SG3.

So the question: what does that $269 buy in truly usable features that are missing from the iPhone solution?

 

The Carista adapter I'm using with iPhone11 is $44 on Amazon

Carista OBD - Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner - Car Scanner Diagnostic Tool and Code Reader with Access to Diagnostics, Customizations, Service Tools, and Live Data

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BBS73F6J?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title