Bluedriver OBD II reader

[Geoff]

I love this OBD Reader concept....plug it into your OBD port and read the codes on your cell phone (with the Bluedriver App). Code reading seems to work fine on my Lariat but it does not support live data (as they advertise) on my Ranger. These guys have great customer service but I'm giving up after trying two units and not being able to connect to it reliably.

I'd love to know if anyone else has tried one and what your results are.

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[RedlandRanger]

I love this OBD Reader concept....plug it into your OBD port and read the codes on your cell phone (with the Bluedriver App). Code reading seems to work fine on my Lariat but it does not support live data (as they advertise) on my Ranger. These guys have great customer service but I'm giving up after trying two units and not being able to connect to it reliably.

I'd love to know if anyone else has tried one and what your results are.

I'm no expert but I keep seeing recommendations to use a wired version when doing Forscan mods since the wired version is much more reliable. I think it is kind of the nature of Bluetooth (or anything wireless really) - it can be flaky at times.

 

[Geoff]

I'm no expert but I keep seeing recommendations to use a wired version when doing Forscan mods since the wired version is much more reliable. I think it is kind of the nature of Bluetooth (or anything wireless really) - it can be flaky at times.

I wasn't using it to do Fordscan mods. The unit supports live data (but not on my truck, or is it all Rangers?) which includes things like Manifold pressure, engine load, torque, etc. The problem my truck is having is it does not respond to pid 0100 which it should to be complaint, and mandatory, per SAE J1979. Now the question becomes, is it just my truck, or is this a universal issue.

 

[VAMike]

It's extremely unlikely that any vehicle would have a flakey obd port

 

[RedlandRanger]

It's extremely unlikely that any vehicle would have a flakey obd port

It isn't a flaky OBD port, it is the bluetooth interface to the phone that can be flaky - that is a function of the OBD adapter, not the port. Almost all of the Forscan tutorials I've seen recommend a wired adapter because they are more reliable.

 

[VAMike]

It isn't a flaky OBD port, it is the bluetooth interface to the phone that can be flaky - that is a function of the OBD adapter, not the port. Almost all of the Forscan tutorials I've seen recommend a wired adapter because they are more reliable.

Someone asked if it was just their truck. My response was to suggest that the obd interface should be one of the most consistent things in the truck.

 

[Geoff]

Someone asked if it was just their truck. My response was to suggest that the obd interface should be one of the most consistent things in the truck.

To be clear, I don't think there is anything electrically wrong with my trucks OBD port. The Bluedriver device scans for codes and it scanned quite a few components and it worked great for that (when it actually connected to the vehicle). But it would not output LIVE data (and I was told that is because it was not responding to pid 0100). I'm wondering if this is semi-intentional. It 'might be' that Ford disabled the LIVE data (ie, it's looking for certain handshaking that isn't happening or it was disabled in Forscan, etc.).

I was hoping to see things such as:


Fuel System Status
Calculated Engine Load Value
Engine Coolant Temperature
Short Term Fuel % Trim – Bank 1
Long Term Fuel % Trim – Bank 1
Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure
Engine RPM
Vehicle Speed
Timing Advance for Number1 cylinder
Intake Air Temperature
Absolute Throttle Position
O2 B1S2
Time Since Engine Start
Distance Traveled While MIL is Activated
Fuel Rail Pressure (diesel)
Commanded evaporative purge
Fuel Level Input
Number of Warm-ups Since DTCs Cleared
Distance Traveled Since DTCs Cleared
Barometric Pressure
WRO2 B1S1 (l/mA)
Catalyst Temperature Bank 1, Sensor 1
Control Module Voltage
Absolute Load Value
Commanded Equivalence Ratio
Relative Throttle Position
Ambient Air Temperature
Accelerator Pedal Position D
Accelerator Pedal Position E
Commanded Throttle Actuator
Current Fuel Type
Evap System Vapor Pressure
LTFT 2nd O2 B1 & B3
Actual Engine – Percent Torque
Engine Reference Torque
Intake Air Temperature Sensor
Commanded EGR and EGR Error
Exhaust Gas Recirculation Temperature
Exhaust Pressure
Engine Friction – Percent Torque
ISO/SAE Reserved
ISO/SAE Reserved
PIDs Support 0xA1-0xBF

 

[Geoff]

It isn't a flaky OBD port, it is the bluetooth interface to the phone that can be flaky - that is a function of the OBD adapter, not the port. Almost all of the Forscan tutorials I've seen recommend a wired adapter because they are more reliable.

Again, I was not using this for Forescan. It is 'strictly' an OBD reader and does not allow any changes to be made to any internal truck modules. Part of the advertised capability of that device is to output live data that you can setup widgets on the phone and display them in numerous ways (analog, digital, graphical). It would have been really nice and informative to look at some of those pids [see list above] while driving which is what I had envisioned when I purchased the device. It actually scans more stuff than most OBD readers and was pretty thorough in that regard. I'd actually give it pretty high marks as an OBD scanner.

That said, I did experience some connectivity issues. There were two types of connectivity issues....the Bluedriver device to the iPhone BT connection wasn't always automatic but it was easy to get it to connect manually if needed. The other connectivity issue was between the Bluedriver device and the vehicle. It would not connect to the vehicle for LIVE data at all and sometimes it would not connect to the vehicle for code scans, tho I think that was more of a byproduct of me trying to get LIVE data to work.

 

[t4thfavor]

I wonder if you can pair a PC with the bluedriver and see if forscan can read the modules (I know you're not using Forscan). That or if you can source a bluetooth Linux PC and see if you can use "scantool". It's possible that the app is just flaking out on your specific phone/phone OS.

I've never really had good luck with OBDII Adapters that weren't attached directly to a purpose built handheld PC.

 

[RedlandRanger]

Again, I was not using this for Forescan. It is 'strictly' an OBD reader and does not allow any changes to be made to any internal truck modules..

I got that you weren't using it for Forscan, but just passing along info that I hear repeated frequently - that the bluetooth adapters are not the most reliable ones to use.

 

[Geoff]

I got that you weren't using it for Forscan, but just passing along info that I hear repeated frequently - that the bluetooth adapters are not the most reliable ones to use.

Yeah, I definitely agree when using Forscan - it's just another connection that can break at the wrong time. That's not good, especially when writing data to the vehicle.

The Bluedriver I was experimenting with would never connect to the vehicle when I chose LIVE data. The app can send a data dump back to the designers and they could see the Ranger was not responding to pid 0100. Sometimes it would not connect to the vehicle for code scanning but I don't think that's a normal issue (I did not try to code scan very often when troubleshooting the LIVE data issue but when I did it usually worked. The few times I did have issues was probably the result the troubleshooting effort). I actually do think it's a decent [and evidently thorough] code scanner and if I was having the CEL come on like some folks I would have most definitely kept it (it can clear the clearable pids and turn off the CEL).

 

[VAMike]

My cheap Bluetooth obd reader (that works fine in other vehicles) doesn't work in the ranger. There are reports that a lot of the cheaper adapters are buggy in the specific protocol Ford uses.

 

[kep]

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFRFJG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has a app for my phone that works well with my ranger and my fusion energy. I also have a wired one to work with forscan. With it I can read live data including boost pressure.

 

[Geoff]

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFRFJG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has a app for my phone that works well with my ranger and my fusion energy. I also have a wired one to work with forscan. With it I can read live data including boost pressure.

Thanks, that's what I was hoping to hear. I'll give it a shot!

 

[Geoff]

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JFRFJG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has a app for my phone that works well with my ranger and my fusion energy. I also have a wired one to work with forscan. With it I can read live data including boost pressure.

I saw this but was a bit hesitant to try it until your post (shoulda tried this one first). Long story short this thing works beautifully. I also got forscan lite for the iPhone and I'm anxious to check this out on my next startup. Thanks for the tip - there were no connection issues what-so-ever.....

So much for the pid 0100 story from Bluedriver....the OBDLink MX+ unit is $20 cheaper, and more capable, but better yet, it actually works on the Ranger...

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