Advanced, Ultra-compact Vehicle Monitor

Exclusive Programable Gauge System

Brand New Performance Monitor

Learn to Improve Your Gas Mileage

Trouble-shoot Your Vehicle

Catch Problems Early

ScanGaugeII provides real-time gauges to show you what is going on "under the hood" so you can catch issues early before they become more expensive problems.

Turn off That Check Engine Light!

Clear Trouble Codes

Is Your Vehicle Ready for Emissions Testing?

Some states now require that vehicle self tests have been completed since the codes were last cleared, before running emissions checks. The ScanGauge reports this "Readiness".

Read & Clear Pending Trouble Codes

If no codes where found and your Check Engine light is still on, your vehicle may be storing pending codes. ScanGauge provides a method to force clear any detected or undetected Trouble Codes.

The ScanGauge II can also be extended through the XGauge feature to add additional vehicle specific gauges such as transmission temperature, air-to-fuel ratio and much, much more.

Automatic Trip Computers

Five built-in trip computers keep track of everything from fuel cost to distance traveled and everything in between.

There is also a TANK Trip which you reset when you fill up the tank. It can provide you with "to empty" data as well as other useful information. The information is available anytime during the trip. The CURRENT trip can be reset. This is useful for making fuel economy measurements at a steady speed.

The GAUGE mode can display instantaneous fuel economy, but small variations in throttle, terrain or even wind will cause this to wander around some. The CURRENT trip computer and its RESET capability can smooth this out over a longer distance. A demonstration of how to do this can be chosen below.

The TRIP modes in the ScanGauge II can be used to save gas. Improved driving habits can improve fuel economy by up to 30% according to a US Government source. The ScanGauge II lets you try different driving techniques and routes and gives quick feedback on how they affect fuel use.

You can use the Performance Monitor various aspect of your vehicle's performance such as:

• Track your quarter-mile times and speeds at the track.
• Determine your vehicles 0-60 time.
• Measure your vehicles braking performance
• Save and Recall performance runs
• Monitor specific Digitial Guages
• and much more…

Helpful Tips

The Performance Monitor can provide a wealth of information about your vehicle's performance. Here are a few quick tips on how to use the data after a Performance Run to help get the most out the Performance Monitor.

On the Data Screen, set the step-through parameter to Distance (D) and step through the data until distance shows 1320ft.

On the Data Screen, set the step-through parameter to Speed (S) and step thru through data until speed (MPH) shows 60MPH. The time displayed on the bottom line is your 0-60 time.

Get Braking Performance — 60-0 MPH and Braking Distance

On a closed course, start by bringing your vehicle up to speed­­­, just below 60 MPH, and hold your speed while your passenger arms the Performance Monitor. Then, bring your vehicle's speed up to 60 MPH and then begin braking. Once your speed reaches 0, the Performance Monitor will automatically stop recording data. Finally, set the step-through parameter to Speed (S) and step through the data until speed shows 0 MPH. Read the distance (ft) parameter for breaking distance and the time (Sec) parameter for breaking time.

Finding Incomplete OBDII Tests

Some states are now using the OBDII connector for emissions testing. The good news is that if the vehicle has completed testing its emissions systems since the last time the battery was disconnected or the trouble codes reset, the test takes only seconds to pass. The bad news is if it hasn't completed them the vehicle may not be passed. If you see "—Ready—" in the second line after pressing SCAN, all the tests have been run and there are no trouble codes. You are ready to pass the emissions check. If you see "-Not Ready-", some tests haven't been run. Even though there are no trouble codes, you may still fail emissions because some required tests have not been completed.

Some states allow the vehicle to pass emissions even if certain tests have not been completed. The ones that are allowed differ from state to state. Although the ScanGauge II cannot tell you which ones your state allows, it can tell you which ones have not been completed.

The CMNDS function in the ScanGauge II allows you to send OBDII requests and receive OBDII responses. The trick is in the encoding and decoding of the requests and returned data.

Data in the OBDII system uses hex-a-decimal bytes, just like most computers. This should make it easier for those familiar with the language of computers. For those who are not that deep into computers, don't worry, it can be broken down into some simple sequences of numbers and letters.

Hex-a-decimal uses the numbers 0 to 9 just like decimal, but adds the letters "A" through "F" as "numbers". Each "Byte" actually contains 2 hex-a-decimal digits. "7F" is an example of a hex-a-decimal byte. 1A23D4 is an example of a hex-a-decimal number. I'll leave the discussion of why computers like 16 numbers instead of 10 for someone else. You don't really need to worry about it.

OBDII Commands

OBDII Commands have a structure which depends on the protocol (MODE in the ScanGauge II). You will have to know the MODE your vehicle is using. When the ScanGauge has connected to the vehicle computer, CAN capable ScanGauges (Version 2.xx) will tell you the MODE by using MORE>MORE>MODE. The MODE will be shown on the top line. Non-CAN ScanGauges will show the MODE by using MORE>MODE>READ.

The commands use a checksum to verify that the data was received correctly. The ScanGauge adds this to what you tell it to send, so you don't have to worry about it. The responses also include a check value which is displayed by the ScanGauge II. The ScanGauge II validates the response by using the check value before the response is displayed. If a response is displayed, it has passed the check and you don't need to bother with the check value.

Making and Sending an OBDII Command

The ScanGauge II has 10 memories which can be used to store an OBDII command. It uses "Flash" type memory which doesn't require power or a battery to be retained. You can change it as often as you like or keep it as long as you want, even if the ScanGauge II is unplugged.

Access to the memory is through MORE>MORE>CMNDS. This get you to a Memory screen. You can use the upper buttons to select which memory (0 to 9) to use. The inputting of the command is reached by pressing EDIT. This opens a screen where the command can be created or, if one already exists, changed. The upper buttons move you through the hex-a-decimal number locations which extends clear through the top line and most of the way through the second line. Most OBDII commands are shorter than this.

The lower left button is used to change the character at the blinking cursor. It steps from a "space" to the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to F, then starts back at "space". This allows you to build the command using the upper buttons to position the cursor and the lower left to set the value at the cursor.

When you have completed the command, you exit the memory edit screen by pressing the lower right "OK" button. This returns you to the memory screen. The lower right "SEND" button causes the command to be sent. You can move from memory to memory sending commands as often as you like.

Receiving an OBDII Response

The ScanGauge II sends a command after you press the Send button when it is proper to do so according to the OBDII rules. It then looks for a response. It will capture, check and display the first response it sees after sending the command. This is an important point.

OBD busses can contain a lot of things being passed from one computer in the vehicle to another or to the ScanGauge II. The first response may not be the response to the command you sent. It may be a response to a command sent by the vehicle computer or other ScanGauge II command. The vehicle can sort the responses out because the response contains values which shows what command it is responding to. You have to do this by checking some of the characters in the response. If it is not the response to your command, you would send the command again.

Asking for Emissions Test Status

The command you need to put into the ScanGauge II and send to retrieve emissions test status depends on the protocol/MODE.

If your vehicle mode is PWM, the command would be:

616AF10101

For VPW, ISO and KWPx use:

686AF10101

For KWPx use:

C233F10101

For CANxx use:

0101

The Response

After entering the command, press OK and then SEND. Any response will appear in the display. If no response is seen, make sure the engine is on and gauges are responding and try again. The response you are looking for will have some values that verify it is a response to your request, other numbers that verify the data has been received correctly and numbers that contain the information you requested. Just like the command, the response depends on the protocol/Mode. The lower-case letters x,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q and z are place holders in the following sequences. The actual values displayed by the ScanGauge II will be hex-a-decimal numbers (0 to 9 and A to F)

For PWM, the response will look like:

416Bxx4101jklmnopqzz

For VPW and ISO:

486Bxx4101jklmnopqzz

For KWPx:

86F1xx4101jklmnopqzz

For CANxx:

4101jklmnopq
If the response doesn't contain the hex-a-decimal numbers shown, send the command again until it does. If you can't get a response, either the command is not set up correctly or the vehicle doesn't have a response for the command.

Decoding the Response

The information we are interested in is in the j through q numbers. The j and k tell whether the "Check Engine" light is on and the number of trouble codes if any. The l and m values indicate the status of the continuously monitored systems. The n and o values indicate which type of tests are supported in the vehicle and the p and q values tell which of the tests have not been completed. The p and q values are what we are after.

Table 1 shows how to decode the p value. The x's indicate which tests have not been completed. For instance if the value in the q position was 4, the Evaporative System Monitor tests have not successfully completed. This could be caused by a missing or loose gas cap or other leak in the fuel tank system, or just indicate that the vehicle hasn't run long enough to perform the test since the trouble codes were reset or the battery disconnected.

Table 2 shows the decoding for the "q" value.

An Example

The following command was sent to a VPW vehicle which was showing "—Ready—" after being scanned.

686AF10101

The Response received was:

486B1041010007E50021

The 0's in the p and q locations (just before the 21 at the end) indicate there are no incomplete tests. This verifies the "Ready" status.

After disconnecting and reconnecting the battery, the same command was sent again and the following response was received:

486B1041010007E5E5FA

The "E" in the "p" location indicates the Oxygen Sensor Monitor, Oxygen Sensor Heater Monitor and EGR System Monitor tests have not been completed.

The "5″ in the "q" location indicates the Catalyst Monitor and Evaporative System Monitor tests have not been completed.

A Scan shows "–Not Ready–" as we would expect.

Fuel Economy

The next step to improve the feedback was to show the average fuel economy as you drove. This allowed you to see what adjustments in your driving styles could be used to actually raise your average fuel economy. When you stepped on the gas, the average would start decreasing. When you let off the gas, it would start increasing. It became easy to figure out how to make the economy go down less when it was going down and up more when it was going up. You could make it into a game to see how high you could get the MPG. The best part was, you got to redeem your points at the gas pump!

Although some cars have this feature today, many don’t. The solution to this problem came from emissions requirements called OBDII. Starting in 1996, all cars and light trucks sold in the US and Canada were required to follow standards on how to report information about what the engine was doing in the way of emissions. A gadget could be made to plug into the OBDII connector inside the car that could provide all kinds of data on how the engine was running and if there were any problems. The ScanGaugeII is a commercial product that can be plugged into this connector and provide real time information on the vitals of the engine as well as retrieve the codes when there was a problem and the “Check Engine Light” was on. Another neat thing came from this – the vehicles fuel use and economy could also be determined.

In order to get good real-time feedback, you would set up the CURRENT TRIP MPG as a gauge. You could also display the actual amount of fuel used on the trips, since using the least amount of fuel is the actual goal. This allows you to compare different routes to places you often travel to, like work, school, the mall, etc.. When you fill up, you input the amount you paid per gallon. This allows the ScanGaugeII to show the actual cost of each trip as you are driving. This is a good way to see what each trip is costing. You may find that driving further to get a lower price on gas is actually costing more then you save.

Who knows, you could even become a hyper-miler. These people use every trick that they can find to get trip MPGs that are more then double the EPA ratings! At Hybrid Fest in Madison Wisconsin at the end of July in 2007, dozens of hybrids did a mileage challenge. The course was 28 miles through downtown Madison, out into the country and back through the city. ScanGaugeIIs were used to measure the amount of fuel it took to cover the course. One Prius used 0.19 gallons (147 MPG) Most of the others got well over 100 MPG. These people don’t lose sleep over the price of gas anymore.