OBDLink MX, sufficient information?

arlenn · Apr 8, 2015

I have been looking at the OBDLink MX, bluetooth OBD2 port adapter.

OBDLink? MX Bluetooth | OBDLink? ? OBD Solutions

I was curious with other experiences and if it displays enough information to facilitate repairs, or generally be useful, beyond just being a neat toy?

I get that it is not a mechanics tool, but is there sufficient information to assist the weekend warrior, like more than just CEL codes? Which isn't very much information at all. It's not the cheapest device, was curious if its worth the 100$

Fazerdude · Apr 8, 2015

I have this one. I don't think it does that much more compared to a cheap ELM327, which is what I used previously.

I don't feel it is worth the price in other words, except that it is much faster than any other bluetooth obd2 adaptor. That is why I wound up buying it. The only time that really has any impact is when logging though. It also connects quicker, usually instantly, but never more than a couple of seconds, where other adapters may take a second on up to 5.

I use it with Torque Pro App.

As for the functionality, these adapters give you any codes that are stored and lets you reset them. Torque lets you monitor many sensors and pids, track fuel economy, and do vehicle performance testing, like 0-60 and such.

I think a blue-tooth adapter, whether this one or a cheaper one, and Torque, is a worthwhile investment.

I just got an SCT X4 tuner so I could load Tom's tunes and log, and that is much more powerful(and much more expensive), but its still nice to easily see what your car is doing on your android phone any time.

sailor · Apr 9, 2015

IDK about the Canadian price, but in the U.S. once you reach that level you could get a mechanic's scan tool from a cheap source like Harbor Freight that has a lot of useful functions. Their basic code readers are cheaper, but for the little bit extra I like the next step up in capability.

Graphing is nice, code look up can be handy, there's even a patch cord to download a log to your computer. Being able to see a misfire count, long before even a 'pending" code would be set, saved me a lot of time/effort chasing down a single coil intermittent misfire. You can leave it plugged in to check operation as you drive, just not as convenient as a wireless adapter to a phone.

arlenn · Apr 9, 2015

Is there a particular harbour freight model you recommend? They appear to have 6.

The US exhange is a bit rough right now, about 1.28. Obdlink has a distributor that is doing a bit better than that selling them at about par.

Fazerdude · Apr 9, 2015

sailor said:
IDK about the Canadian price, but in the U.S. once you reach that level you could get a mechanic's scan tool from a cheap source like Harbor Freight that has a lot of useful functions. Their basic code readers are cheaper, but for the little bit extra I like the next step up in capability.

Graphing is nice, code look up can be handy, there's even a patch cord to download a log to your computer. Being able to see a misfire count, long before even a 'pending" code would be set, saved me a lot of time/effort chasing down a single coil intermittent misfire. You can leave it plugged in to check operation as you drive, just not as convenient as a wireless adapter to a phone.

Torque pro with the extended Ford pids will give you misfires. You can also add pids that are not in the list.

Some, but not nearly all, predefined things you can monitor and log are fuel pressure, 02 sensor voltage, long and short term fuel trims, abs wheel sensor speed for each wheel, cylinder head temp, fuel pump duty cycle, cat temperature, egr percent open, evap system pressure, drive cycle monitors statuses,

It's a very powerful app for $5 and another $15 for a bluetooth adaper that is only about twice the size of the obdii connector itself.

Its really nice to be able to throw the adapter in your pocket to help a friend diagnose a problem.

Torque OBD2 Wiki

Amazon.com: iSaddle Super Mini Bluetooth OBD2 OBDII Scan Tool Check Engine Light & CAN-BUS Auto Diagnostic Tool for Windows & Android Torque (Blue Color, Super Mini): Automotive

sailor · Apr 9, 2015

Mine is Model # 98614, one that some other members have mentioned using. No idea if it's still one they sell, prob. an updated version by now. At the time I got it, it was the second cheapest in the store - but a significant step up from the basic code reader.

Graphing to watch switching is particularly interesting to see, looking at the digital data instead of a reported average.

That OBD plus "torque" looks useful in the cheap version, you need to know how to use it & the limitations involved. I've seen some odd questions come up from data reported that way which doesn't make sense - like when it reports data for items that don't exist on the particular car.

My eye caught the mention of "CAT temperature", that would be one of the "inferred" outputs as there isn't a sensor to report on that. One of the recent posts I saw had someone worried about a FT2 reading, a 'bank 2" reading that should have been zero as the Focus doesn't have a second "bank' of cylinders to report on.

They really do look handy, it just seems you need even more knowledge to figure it out & use it well.

qweesy · Apr 9, 2015

Fazerdude said:
Amazon.com: iSaddle Super Mini Bluetooth OBD2 OBDII Scan Tool Check Engine Light & CAN-BUS Auto Diagnostic Tool for Windows & Android Torque (Blue Color, Super Mini): Automotive

There is a reason they are 5-15$..... its because they are absolute shit

DO NOT BUY this cheap bullshit they are filled with errors and you will not get the most accurate readings

The OBD link MX I also have and it has been the most accurate with sensor readings and the FASTEST reporting period of any OBD dongle Ive ever used the old dongle I used was a Kiwi PLX it was good but just not fast enough. OBD MX aslo has upgradable Firmware

The OBD link MX rocks it also has propriety FORD info that you will be able to access that you CANNOT access with a china obd POS dongle.

I also use Torque Pro

arlenn · Apr 9, 2015

Thanks for the help,

It was unclear from the website how to access ford specific information. It appears it requires +79$ for PC software +79$ for ford upgrade. Is this your experience?

Have you purchased the ford specific software?

iminhell · Apr 10, 2015

Knowing how to interpret the information is often times more valuable than the amount of information.

Also on the speed notes, keep in mind that the more information you want, the slower the individual data response. The BUS has a fixed data limit. One item will be faster than 10.

Things like mis-fires are assumed data and not actual. You must understand how the ECU comes to the conclusion of a mis-fire.
... and that you don't have the ability to log all the sensors involved in the process.

Fazerdude · Apr 10, 2015

qweesy said:
There is a reason they are 5-15$..... its because they are absolute shit

DO NOT BUY this cheap bullshit they are filled with errors and you will not get the most accurate readings

The OBD link MX I also have and it has been the most accurate with sensor readings and the FASTEST reporting period of any OBD dongle Ive ever used the old dongle I used was a Kiwi PLX it was good but just not fast enough. OBD MX aslo has upgradable Firmware

The OBD link MX rocks it also has propriety FORD info that you will be able to access that you CANNOT access with a china obd POS dongle.

I also use Torque Pro

I've been using one of the $15 adapters almost every day for 2 years. I now have an MX that I got a couple of weeks ago. The only thing I've found different between the two is the speed. It gets all the same data that the MX gets, including the proprietary Ford data that I use. As mentioned above, I bought the MX for the speed, and that is very discernible.

boba5069 · Apr 20, 2015

It just reads the OBDII data stream

I use an ELM327 cheapie and Torque (free version) and have done every day for about a year. It's great!

The details of the OBDII data stream details can be found at Wikipedia and search on OBDII and OBDII PIDs.

The ELM327 simply relays the OBDII data stream to your smart device so that it can be displayed and/or further processed by TORQUE (or whichever software you choose to use). There is no 'processing' or other data manipulation going on in the ELM327.

One interesting value reported in the OBDII data stream us "engine coolant temperature". Unfortunately, 23E engines like the one in my FOCUS do not have a coolant temperature sensor. So, the ECM dutifully sends out a computed value for coolant temperature. I have compared the reported value to the actual coolant temperature and can say it is only a 'fair' estimate and then only after things are fully warmed up and stable.

So my recommendation is definitely buy an ELM327 and learn more about how your car works. Other devices say they are faster but how fast do you need? My setup updates at least a couple of times a second. When you see the speed and precision of the engine management system operating in your car, you will be amazed.

Have fun...

bad_haze · Apr 23, 2015

Here is my Torque Pro setup.

First screen from top left and left to right:

Alternator voltage (monitor health of unit)
Battery voltage (monitor health if alt dies or my sub is hitting too hard for too long)
Pressure monitoring (air & fuel) from exterior to engine chambers and out the exhaust:
- Exterior barometric pressure
- MAF in cfm
- Intake manifold pressure
- Engine vacuum
- Fuel rail pressure
- Fuel Tank pressure
- Evap system pressure
- CO2 emission
Temperature monitoring from exterior to engine chambers and out the exhaust:
- Exterior air temp
- Intake temp
- Cylinder head temp
- Oil temp
- Transmission fluid temp
- Coolant temp
- Catalytic converter temp

Second screen:
Emissions readiness test

Third screen from top right, then downwards and (if necessary) to the left:
Following fuel from source:
- Fuel remaining in fuel tank
- Fuel tank pressure
- Fuel pump duty cycle
- Engine load (higher load means the fuel pump would work harder)
- Transmission gear (affecting engine load)
- Torque (gear affects torque)
- Power (estimated but affected by gear)
- Torque slip into converter
- Fuel flow (more fuel flow the harder the pump works)
- Fuel rail psi (the more fuel flow, the higher the fuel rail psi)
- Short term fuel trim (how much fuel the ECU adds/subtracts from the mix
- Volumetric efficiency
- Timing advance
- Long term fuel trim

20FocusDriver16 · May 7, 2018

bad_haze said:
Here is my Torque Pro setup.

First screen from top left and left to right:

Alternator voltage (monitor health of unit)
Battery voltage (monitor health if alt dies or my sub is hitting too hard for too long)
Pressure monitoring (air & fuel) from exterior to engine chambers and out the exhaust:
- Exterior barometric pressure
- MAF in cfm
- Intake manifold pressure
- Engine vacuum
- Fuel rail pressure
- Fuel Tank pressure
- Evap system pressure
- CO2 emission
Temperature monitoring from exterior to engine chambers and out the exhaust:
- Exterior air temp
- Intake temp
- Cylinder head temp
- Oil temp
- Transmission fluid temp
- Coolant temp
- Catalytic converter temp

Second screen:
Emissions readiness test

Third screen from top right, then downwards and (if necessary) to the left:
Following fuel from source:
- Fuel remaining in fuel tank
- Fuel tank pressure
- Fuel pump duty cycle
- Engine load (higher load means the fuel pump would work harder)
- Transmission gear (affecting engine load)
- Torque (gear affects torque)
- Power (estimated but affected by gear)
- Torque slip into converter
- Fuel flow (more fuel flow the harder the pump works)
- Fuel rail psi (the more fuel flow, the higher the fuel rail psi)
- Short term fuel trim (how much fuel the ECU adds/subtracts from the mix
- Volumetric efficiency
- Timing advance
- Long term fuel trim

How did you get the Volumetric Efficiency to read on the display? I have it showing but it does not give any data readings.. do you know what PID equation you have? I have the PID that is already built into the Torque app but it doesnt seem to work..

OBDLink MX, sufficient information?

arlenn

Fazerdude

sailor

arlenn

Fazerdude

sailor

qweesy

arlenn

iminhell

Fazerdude

boba5069

bad_haze

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