kinakoes2

Hi, this is a review of the above device, along with its app. Mods, if this post needs to go elsewhere, please feel free to C&P. I'm using the tool with my 7th-gen so thought it should go here.

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I already had a BT scanner -- the excellent-value BAFX PIC18F2480 BT scanner, along with the Android OBD/dash app Torque. Both of these together cost less than $30, and they worked well for my last car, my father's vehicle ('07 Nissan Frontier), and this Civic.

However... like many bargain OBD BT diag devices, it lacks a lot of features vs. a handheld scanner, namely


1) the inability to stop automatic BT polling, which drains the battery even when the key is off, and...

2) data rate is quite leisurely, esp when the refresh rate on your smartphone isn't the best (since fixed).


Both of these aren't dealbreakers, but the fact that I have to plug in, connect manually, then open Torque to get my data, does get a bit tedious. Add to that the limited things the BAFX could report vs. a dedicated scanner, and it put me on the lookout for a better one.

My industry blogs puked up the ScanTool dongle about three weeks or so ago. It's considerably more pricey than the BAFX (almost triple the cost, $70). But the BAFX can't graph, log, or freeze-frame, three things I was bumping into the more I learned about OBD, and at least for the Civic, was a need to properly diagnose. So saving my beer money, I bit.

Got it in the mail today. It's tiny -- like 2" x 1.8" x 1". There's a physical BT connect button, which prevents the unit from polling automatically when plugged in all the time. The small size also saves your DLC mount as your leg isn't kicking it all the time (in the Civic, I can't drive and use the BAFX at the same time due to the DLC location). The OBDLink app is free, so downloaded it and started the unit up.

First off -- it's fast. Whereas my BAFX would give me changes maybe 3-5 a second, this one is smooth as glass (62/sec). It also takes just two button presses to get scanning -- the one on the unit, and the 'connect' button in the app. Ready to scan.

Like Torque (which is also compatible), the OBDLink app has dash features as well as diag. However IIRC I wasn't able to get my lambda (LAF) sensor's data to display in Torque, whereas it's standard here along with many more others that Torque lacks AFAIK. It's cool to see how the Civic's PCM takes sensor data, makes a change, and checks it again through the exhaust stream. I went from full cold to full warm, WOT run through the gears, then A/C and cruise, without seeing the lambda change much past %u00B10.03 on the readout. Only when the throttle was stabbed and slammed shut did I see anything >%u00B10.10 change.

It also allowed me to see fluctuations in charging voltage that the data rate on the BAFX was too slow to catch (though it isn't a bad alt or regulator, thank goodness). Same with IAT sensor data. Just much more granularity in what you can see, which means you can solve smaller, more intermittent problems more accurately.

There's also the more premium MX, which 128-bit-encrypts your data over BT and has a lot more software bundled with it for pros -- but the Franklin asking price was too dear for my beer. May as well get a dedicated handheld with a screen at that price. Besides, the only real difference was that it can read Ford's MS-CAN and GM's GMLAN CAN protocols, neither manufacturer of which I will ever purchase a vehicle from anytime soon.

So far, I like it a lot. Just the faster data rate was well worth it, just a sharper, more accurate tool. More subjectively, the build quality is a helluva lot better than the slightly-whiff-of-Guangdong BAFX, though in practice it wasn't a problem... its longer casing vs. the LX though, is a dealbreaker in this Civic due to the DLC location. Wish the DLC had a nice little door in the kick panel like a Subaru... but then again this is the stepchild of the modern Civics... one more vote for the ScanTool LX.

More when I do a bit more testing later this week. Hope this helps someone looking for a good BT scanner.

kinakoes2

Whoops -- forgot to post links for the product: ScanTool OBDLink LX

Poopies

iTrader: (4)

Tall people.

Nice review! I'm using the BAFX one too, and I think it's time for an upgrade. I'm looking forward to seeing more info on it!

kinakoes2

^ Hahaha, yeah I'm only 5' 10"... but my calves are pretty thick.

Watching my intake temps rise and fall through the IAT widget on the dash, really makes me appreciate that the stock resonator intake is in the far front corner of the engine compartment -- with the A/C fan blowing extra hot air throughout the space under the hood, intake temps at toodling-around-town speeds can rise as much as 30 degF over highway speeds. That corner is lowest and probably coolest without causing freezing in winter conditions... too bad the resonator setup is as restrictive as it is.

kinakoes2

So a quick capsule about the ScanTool LX...

So far nothing to report as far as diagnostics (no codes)... just how the app uses what you input in order to give you options...

One thing I'm not a fan of with this app on my particular smartphone, is that the software's not all that well-written to prevent severely racheting the gauge refresh rate. Could be a few memory leaks in the code... but after a few mins of using a dash with ten gauges on it... even rpm begins to hang before reporting accurately again. In Torque, this isn't a problem... though to be fair, it's also a much simpler app to code. Still, it is annoying to see your rpm, coolant temp, and IAT all hang for a second or two, one after the other like a follow-the-leader game...

Another bit of annoying software dev issue, is that you have to long-press a gauge, then select 'drag or move', in order to move a gauge. This is a pain when you're setting a gauge dial just right, and in letting go of the screen, you accidentally drag slightly sideways, setting it in the wrong spot. Long-press... select, then drag again. Had to do this at least six or seven times with a smaller gauge, since your finger is atop it and makes it hard to place.

Last thing I found annoying was, at least on my Samsung GS4 32GB with 4.4.2... trying to use the Style menu selection's slider controls to move titles and values on the faces of the gauges, would also swipe the screen up or down at the same time. Need to write the devs and let them know about this, as it's a dealbreaker as far as I'm concerned.

All else though, is quite a bit more sophisticated than Torque, if not as well dev'd. Will write again when I have an issue to pull a possible code from.