It has been a fairly common question that has come up lately as to whether the Torque app for Android devices will work on an OBS Powerstroke. In my attempt to find an economical way to monitor some basic engine parameters (and as a result of having others tell me this was possible) I came across THIS thread up in the SD section. I purchased the app and a cheap Bluetooth OBDII dongle. All I can say is WOW! This thing works great! So, for the rest of OBS-dom I thought I would do a little writeup and give some reassurabce that this is a very doable and economical alternative to buying AE or an Aeroforce Scangauge to monitor engine parameters.

First a word of caution. Don't expect this app to do everything that AutoEnginuity will do. AE is a very powerful piece of software and it does a lot more than this app is capable of (it had better, for about 20 times the price). So far, Torque will not monitor a few parameters that AE will (namely Throttle position) and it will not perform a Buzz Test or Cylinder Contribution Test. I also want to clarify that I have a 5 speed in my truck so I cannot verify that Torque will monitor anything in the E4OD. I suppose I could hook it up to my old truck and see what it will read if anyone is interested.

Now, for the obligatory specs and such. The BT dongle I am using is THIS one from Newegg. Supposedly there are others out there that work better (faster), are smaller, and will shut off automatically when the ignition is turned off (which this one doesn't) but this one is $12 and the other one (the one that is recommended and can be found HERE) is $100. So I took a gamble that the less expensive one would work and WHAT DO YOU KNOW!? It works. It's not perfect but for my curiosity's sake, it was worth a $12 gamble.




It works! I can see where a faster data throughput would be nice, but the slower speed works like somewhat a buffer and evens out the rapidly fluctuation readings of some parameters (ICP especially).



I have the app set up on both my phone Samsung Galaxy S III) and my tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1) and it works really well with them both. The tablet is a lot easier to see everything on and really makes a nice display. I think I may have to find a creative place t mount it since I have a 5 speed, but it really seems to work well.



One thing I was unable to get on the display (that I would really like to have is the TPS position. I tried all 5 or 6 of the different PIDs and none of them display anything. I may have to work on that. All in all, I'm extremely happy with how well it works for the $17 I have in this setup!

The screens are completely customizable. You can change the size, number, type, scale, and style of the gauges on the home screen. You can have up to some ridiculous number of screens (17 or something) and a bunch of gauges on each page. There is a cool HUD display mode (I have yet to try) that mirrors the images off the windshield when it's dark. I may try that out later on.

The app pulls and resets trouble codes, reads tons of live data, wil log data out the wazoo and seems to work really well.

I like that the app is open source and everything is customizable. You can even edit the formulas for the different PIDs that are displayed. Don't like that the RPM's display in thousands, change the formula and have it display in hundreds, then change the gauge to read "RPM X10" There are a few little things that don't come right up and work like I liked them, but they were easily changed.

All in all, I really like this app. I may eventually invest in the better dongle, but for right now, the el-cheapo dongle works just fine! This is a great way to spend $20 and get the ability to pull and read data. I can't wait to start logging my drives and comparing data to help pinpoint the issue I'm dealing with now.

 

Very cool Nate! I may finally have an excuse to buy a tablet. Going to try and send reps.

 

Thanks Nate! Sweet write up. I asked a few weeks back about this and no one seemed to know the answer. Going to buy a dongle tonight.

 

Thanks Thomas, here are a couple more shots just for kicks and giggles.

Another layout that I think is easier to see at a glance.


And.... HUD anybody? It's not perfect because you get a little twinning off the laminated safety glass, but it is definitely cool!

 

Actually Rick, your question about it is what got me started looking into it again. For that, I think I owe you a big THANK YOU!

 

I bet I know the answer before I ask, will this app work on a iPhone?

 

Negative ghostwriter. That's a big fat negative.

I can't say for sure that there isn't something similar on the iPhone side of things though. I know there are other apps that work similar, but I don't know how they work with our old trucks.

It's taking all the restraint in me to keep from taking potshots at Apple right now. It's kind of an oil and water thing with me and Apple products.

 

I am pleased to find this thread as I just received my ELM 327 dongle earlier this week and have been using it on my DD Saturn SL and my girlfreind's TJ. I was hoping to research using it on my OBS this Sunday and wouldn't you know here is a thread answering the questions I have been tossing around my head. I have been geeking on this all week.

Mr. Glenn, in response to your question on an Iphone/Ipad comparative as of yet Torque isn't available but there are two alternatives, REV and DashCommand as well as Dynolicious which is more geared toward everyday readings rather than OBDII. As a disclaimer I will say I have no experience with any of them but from what I have gathered the latest version of DashCommand is getting solid reviews in general , albeit I have not heard any thing directly pertaining to the OBS platform. As for Apple to Android I just went with the platform that I am more familiar with but am borrowing an Ipad in the near future to compare Torque to DashCommand for the heck of it.

I am using Torque on a Motorola Razr HD and the next project the gf and I have is using one of the cheap $79-$99 knock off tablets to make a mobile set-up than can be moved from car to car and mounted cleanly.

-Craig

 

I have a iphone for one reason and one reason only, to FaceTime with the grandkids because we live 1200 miles from them. I wanted a android but it wasn't going to happen. Cell phones give my wife a headache so she doesn't have one. Its so bad and so convining, I can be in another room and turn my cell on and she tells me to shut it off.

Thanks Craig for the info!

 

I found this iPhone app, not sure if it's been discussed before or not...

Outdoor Apps In The Palm Of Your Hand

But reading about it you can load custom PID's. I have not used this yet, just wanted to throw it out there.

 

That's something I forgot to add as well. When you download Torque you have to load the extra PIDs for the PSD. They don't come preloaded on it. It's a simple process that is outlined in the thread that Tugly started in the SD (I linked to it above) section so I won't go into how that works here. It's not tough. It takes literally 5 minutes to get started.

Glenn, I would suggest just getting an inexpensive tablet for this if the cell phone is an issue. You can get a tablet pretty inexpensively if you don't need a big one and many of them don't have a cell antenna in them. Truth be told, my tablet is bigger than it really needs to be for this application. A 7" model would probably be easier to find a place to mount. Many of these tablets will only work on wireless internet and if that doesn't bother your wife then you're golden!

 

Gonna sound stupid here, but, instead of fighting with the iPhone, I could get a used 7" tablet (not iPad) and put the torque app on it and use that???

 

You sure can, I have it on my Nexus 7 and the Galaxy S3 phone
Works better on Nexus 7 as I have a floor pedestal mount like Tugly shows in his sd thread

 

Looks like I have some shopping to do...lol. Thanks

 

Awesome find! Will you keep this updated as you progress with the monitoring points, I'd consider buying a used tablet or other non "I" devise to monitor for sure.. What have you found that you can monitor so far or if its easier what cant you monitor? Do you see boost there somewhere? BTW, I just bought a Kenwood head unit similar to yours, love it...
NOTE; a quick search reveled this http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...030xMPTLxCPA25 I'm sure rolling w Nate's find would yield some "I" friendly hardware. If its ok w you Nate maybe this could be the Pioneering thread on wireless monitoring with people adding what they find?