Anybody have experience with the ELM327?

[HeavyMetalMasterTech]

Just curious...ordered one on a whim tonight...wondering if anyone has used one in the past....

 

[TimDaToolMan]

Please enlighten us on what that is.

 

[byoungblood]

It is a Bluetooth OBD-II adapter. I've had one for about a year or so, I use it with DashCommand on my iPhone and Torque on the wife's Android and have had no issues with it.

It is a cheap solution if you just need something to pull codes and look at sensor data.

 

[nnoble83]

Been using one with android and torque for a few years now and love it recommend to all my friends. A lot cheaper than a $100 auto zone scanner

 

[jayoldschool]

I use one with my Android phone. 15 dollar full function scan tool, data logging, too. Great!

 

[fordzilla90]

Just got one a couple weeks ago, works great with my Android.

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2

 

[Warrenator]

I use one with android phone, torque app, won't work with an iphone on bluetooth as apple only lets certain apple certified devices work on ios. Works great, used it to diagnose a coolant temp sensor problem, gives you all the temps and sensor info as well as any obd2 codes. Great unit.

 

[Danglerb]

ELM327 refers to a PIC processor that is copied by all the cheap Chinese OBDII adapters. They are just protocol converters, no smarts, that is all in the application that runs on the tablet etc. The chip is now so common and so cheap that many software packages will work with it, and expect it. So cheap these days for the adapter and software its a no brainer.

I would avoid any of the software bundles that force you to use only "there" special version of the adapter as it locks you out of any improvements in adapters like bluetooth, and you pay through the nose for replacements. I have Autoenginuity and if you lose your adapter you have to pay for a whole new software package ($400 in my case for the full Ford support, $100 for just annual software update).

 

[byoungblood]

I use one with android phone, torque app, won't work with an iphone on bluetooth as apple only lets certain apple certified devices work on ios. Works great, used it to diagnose a coolant temp sensor problem, gives you all the temps and sensor info as well as any obd2 codes. Great unit.

It will if you jailbreak the phone.

 

[pmohr]

As said, the ELM327 has been around for a long time, but if you're paying less than ~$50 for the adapter, you're getting a clone chip that may have...questionable reliability. Usually these will report as a firmware version that doesn't even exist yet (ex ELM v 1.5).

The real ELM chip by itself costs ~$30, not to mention all of the other components required for it to be useful (CAN transceiver, a bunch of passives and other components, the housing, etc).

If you're looking for something with more functionality, an STN1110 (or STN1170) based tool is a much better option (the STN11xx has many more features and actually costs ~1/3 the price of a true ELM). The STN1170 also supports SW-CAN and MS-CAN, which is nice for talking to various other modules than the ECM.

The only reason I know even this much about all of this is a project I've been working on with an AVR and an ELM (which will be replaced with the STN1170s I've got on order due to a necessity for native MS-CAN).

 

[billymade]

While the Bluetooth issue with a iphone seems to be well known (non jailbroken); has anyone had any luck with the wireless versions of the ELM? People seems to be saying that they are more compatible, if you use that version of the adapter. Any experiences?

Here is one on amazon: (wireless not bluetooth)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AOIM2CC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[CJCar]

While the Bluetooth issue with a iphone seems to be well known (non jailbroken); has anyone had any luck with the wireless versions of the ELM? People seems to be saying that they are more compatible, if you use that version of the adapter. Any experiences?

Here is one on amazon: (wireless not bluetooth)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AOIM2CC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

The WiFi versions will work on Iphone/Ipad. Most of these seem to be kiwi based or cloned. http://www.plxdevices.com/product_info.php?id=GSSTWIFI for more info.

Finding a free good app is another issue. EngineLink will get you started for $6. Rev, DashCommand and others are much better apps in the $40+ range.

 

[beamrider]

Picked up a cheapo elm327 "clone" a while back, think i paid $10 for it off fleabay. That, and Torque Pro, give me all the info I need, and I've had no problems with the cheapo adapter.

 

[Danglerb]

Such a weird market based off widespread pirating of the Elm327, I 'm not sure if people doing the applications software will ever support a new or different chip without a real good reason.

 

[Sloper0204]

I've been looking at this one for the work truck for a while now:

http://batman.homelinux.com/blog/stn1170-bluetooth-obdii-adapter/

Thoughts?