Another new toy- Scangauge

[ElSupremo]

One of our local Tig owners put me on to the scangauge ii . Although it's somewhat redundant with the information I can get off my MFD (mpg, etc.), it's an extremely simple install. Some folks might want to put in the "cubby" just below the climate control, but I simply lowered the steering wheel, put it in there (see picture), then raised the steering wheel slightly to wedge it in. There's only one cable - a RJ-45 connector at one end (plugs into the scangauge) and an OBD2 connector at the other (I'll let you guess where that one goes...;o).



The website has a manual that you can download directly. Over 35 gauges available (4 displayed at any one time), and some functions do not seem to be reported on my Tig, like Manifold Air Pressure ;o(. It also acts as an OBD2 Code Reader and a pretty elaborate Trip Computer. I found out while playing around that there are some OBD codes that are "pending", i.e. do not trigger the "check engine" light or it's equivalent, but are there nonetheless.

Relative simple to set up and calibrate. I got mine used on eBay, Amazon and almost everywhere else has them new for about $160. Scangauge also makes other cheaper versions, see the website.

I did notice one simple discrepancy between my Tig dash gauges and the Scangauge- the analog water temperature gauge shows about 190 deg F, the Scangauge reports 211-213 deg F. But, to parphrase Confucious - "Man who has one temperature gauge always knows the temperature; man who has two gauges is never sure..."

And yes, I did know that my driving light warning indicator is on, that's getting addressed at the dealer on Thursday as well as the new transmission flash and a non-functioning left rear turn signal (duly reported by the MFD). Thanks in advance for pointing it out....

Note added 8/10/2012 - be careful when mounting the unit like I did above. I inadvertently "adjusted" the steering wheel position and popped the piece of trim that the top of the ScanGauge pressed against. Fortunately, I did not break the plastic clips that held the piece of trim in and it readily popped back in place.

[chadhargis]

I have one but haven't used it on my Tiguan. I loved having a boost gauge and exhaust temp on my turbo diesel Jeeps.

[ElSupremo]

I have one but haven't used it on my Tiguan. I loved having a boost gauge and exhaust temp on my turbo diesel Jeeps.

The only function on mine that I cannot get to work is the MAP/BST data- Manifold Pressure or Boost Pressure. Not a big deal, I do have the NewSouth VentPod boost gauge installed. Some of the available gauges duplicate the functionality on my 2012 SEL, but there's enough other data there to keep me amused if not informed.

[shawng]

I would love to use this as a boost gauge, if it will work. Does it also report vacuum? The manual is somewhat terrible. For this function they first refer you to one page that refers you to another and then under the programmable section refers you back to the first page. ACK!!! they took lessons from VW on manual authoring.

[ElSupremo]

Have the Tig in the shop today (see thread about tail light replacement), so they gave me a 2012 Golf as a loaner (just missed a GTI by an hour, oh well). MAP is reported just fine with the default gauge in my ScanGauge, so it's not clear why I can't get any info from my Tig unless it's the fact that the Golf is not a turbo. Need to call ScanGauge support to see wassup.

Anyone have success getting MAP or BOOST readings from their Scangauge on their turbocharged Tiguan?

[elabs75_VW]

You could try programing it. Was following this post and was unsuccessful.(http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread...=202184&page=2) maybe i missed something but at that point I bought a boost gauge and mainly used the scangauge to monitor Volts, Intake temp, MPH, and RPM. Plus Used it to check and clear error codes.

[ElSupremo]

I've seen that thread, thanks. ScanGauge says (in their manual) that only about 50% of the cars out there report MAP and BST. I have a tech support question in to them to see if they know anything more since the manual was published in 2011.

FYI, it does report MAP on a non-turbo 2012 1.8L VW Golf. Probably a different ECU (Engine Control Unit) module, don't have a Ross-Tech unit to test and in any case the car was a loaner, delivered back today.

[shawng]

VCDS can see boost data and other OBD tools can also, so VW is reporting it via the port.

[ElSupremo]

Hmmm... if that's the case, then you're right of course. I'll toss that into an amended tech support request to ScanGauge and see what they say.

Still not obvious why a 2012 Golf displays it and my 2012 Tiguan does not.

[ElSupremo]

Talked with ScanGauge Tech support, the good news is that you can use the "command" function to query your car to see exactly what OBD functions are supported.

The bad news is that it appears from another forum (Oct 2010 post) that VW reports a lot of stuff in a proprietary manner over the OBD port (see quote below), which is why VCDS (Ross-Tech) supports something like MAP and BST (or equivalent) data and, in it's current form, ScanGauge does not. That doesn't explain why the 2012 Golf reported MAP just fine, and my 2012 Tig does not.

"This is a list of all of the "standard" OBDII PIDs (VW probably supports most of them): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II_PIDs

As Uwe stated above VW only supports the OBDII PIDs required for emissions purposes. Everything else is proprietary. For full VW information you need a scanner designed for VWs. AFAK, the only good ones are VCDS (Vag-Com) and VAD Mobile. VCDS requires a computer running Windows and VAD Mobile requires a Palm device. VCDS (Ross-Tech) has plans to release a version for some portable (smart phone) devices, but I do not know which devices or when it will be released. VW uses things they call measuring blocks for most of the info you really want to see. These measuring blocks cannot be viewed with a generic OBDII scanner (like ScanGauge). Sorry, but that's the way it is."

But that still won't stop me from trying...

[shawng]

Thanks for the follow up! This info just save me some money.

[ElSupremo]

Even w/o MAP and BST, the ScanGauge is still quite informative. To get quantification for my gas mileage complaint to my dealer, I programmed my ScanGauge to display (1) Instantaneous gas mileage, (2) gas mileage on current trip, (3) gas mileage for today's driving, and (4) gas mileage for the current tank. How to select or program an display all these parameters is given in clear instructions in the manual.

For those curious and a bit off-topic, I had 24.2 mpg on the two trips I did today (10% city/90% hwy @ 75 mph), 24.2 mpg on the entire day (all on 91 Octane available in Southern California).

And that just scratches the surface for the 35+ gauges available, ability to scan/clear OBD codes, other trip functions (cost, etc.).

Also, IMHO, manifold pressure (+ or -) are best displayed on an analog gauge, due to the finite update rate (but selectable to FAST, NORMAL, or SLOW).

[shawng]

All i was really looking for was a boost gauge. Plugging into the OBD port is just quicker than plumbing a boost gauge. I have VCDS and a Snap-on scanner.

[diesl]

I know it's an old thread, and on a Tiguan (is that a van?) forum to boot, but I thought the info below, together with the instructions provided by ScanGauge, might help some people to figure things out.

Step 1: Figuring out which OBD PID variables are supported on your car:
Using the 'CMNDS' feature of the ScanGauge, you can read a bit map of supported OBD fields:

1. Send '0100','0120','0140', and convert the hex number in the answer to binary, e.g. using http://www.hexdictionary.com/hex/2CE3/. Each '1' in the answer corresponds to a PID that is supported. '0100' gives you the map for PIDs 01 to 20, '0120' for 21 to 2F, etc..
2. Look up the PID meanings on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II_...e_encoded_PIDs

Step 2: Test each PID you are interested in using 'CMNDS':
Send '01xx', with xx being the PID number in hex from above.

1. IF you get an answer for your query, i.e. one that does start with '41xx' , then the reply was a single-frame field, and you can write an Xgauge following the standard instructions, i.e. TXD 07DF01xx RXF 044105xx'.
2. IF you do not get an answer, the reply is probably in multi-frame format (or you misread your PID bitmap, or your car is lying...), and you have to shift your reply filter by one byte to the right: 'TXD 07DF01xx RXF 054106xx'

Step 3: Using the info in the wikipedia OBD entry, and trial and error, figure out the correct bit fields in your answer (RXD field), and the unit conversion that goes with it (MTH field).
Often there is more than one variable per PID.

Examples that work on my 2012 JSW TDI:

TXD is 07DF01+PID
name PID RXF     RXD  MTH          units   comment
 TIM 1F 0441051F 2810 000100010000 s       seconds since engine start
 BAR 33 04410533 2808 000100010000 kPa     atmospheric pressure
 CAT 3C 0441053C 2810 0001000AFFD8 ºC      DPF temperature
 FUF 5E 0441455E 2810 000500010000 L/hr    fuel flow
 TRQ 62 04410562 2808 00010001FF83 %       percent of actual torque
 BP1 70 05414670 3810 0001001E0000 bar     actual manifold pressure  ('4670' for hundredth
 BP2 70 05414670 4810 0001001E0000 bar     requested manifold pressure
 BP1 70 05418670 3810 00910BB80000 psi     actual manifold pressure  ('8670' for tenth
 BP2 70 05418670 4810 00910BB80000 psi     requested manifold pressure
 EPR 73 04410573 3010 000100010000 0.1mBar DPF differential pressure
 ICT 77 04410577 3008 0001000AFFD8 ºC      intercooler/charge air temperature
 ET1 78 05410678 3810 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. before turbo
 ET2 78 05410678 4810 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. before ox.cat.
 ET3 78 0321     2010 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. before DPF
 ET4 78 0321     3010 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. after DPF

 DPL 7A 0541067A 3810 000100010000 ??      DPF soot load ?
 FPa 6D 0541066D 3810 0001000A0000 bar?    actual fuel pressure ? (<=1755)
 FPb 6D 0541066D 4810 0001000A0000 bar?    requested fuel pressure ? (<=1740)


available info on this car:
PID contents
01 Monitor status since DTCs cleared
04 Calculated engine load value
05 Engine coolant temperature
0C Engine RPM
0D Vehicle speed
10 MAF air flow rate
13 Oxygen sensors present
1C OBD standards this vehicle conforms to
1F Run time since engine start
21 Distance traveled with malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on
24 O2S1_WR_lambda(1): Equivalence Ratio Voltage
25 O2S2_WR_lambda(1): Equivalence Ratio Voltage
30 # of warm-ups since codes cleared
31 Distance traveled since codes cleared
33 Barometric pressure
3C Catalyst Temperature Bank 1, Sensor 1 
41 Monitor status this drive cycle
42 Control module voltage
46 Ambient air temperature
49 Accelerator pedal position D
4A Accelerator pedal position E
4C Commanded throttle actuator
4F Maximum value for equivalence ratio, oxygen sensor voltage, oxygen sensor current, and intake manifold absolute pressure
5D Fuel injection timing
5E Engine fuel rate
61 Driver's demand engine - percent torque
62 Actual engine - percent torque
63 Engine reference torque
65 Auxiliary input / output supported
67 Engine coolant temperature
69 Commanded EGR and EGR Error
6D Fuel pressure control system
70 Boost pressure control 
71 Variable Geometry turbo (VGT) control 
73 Exhaust pressure
77 Charge air cooler temperature (CACT)
78 Exhaust Gas temperature (EGT) Bank 1
7A Diesel particulate filter (DPF)
7F Engine run time
81 Engine run time for Auxiliary Emissions Control Device(AECD)

[ElSupremo]

Hey, thanks. On travel now, but will definitely test this method outnagain for my 2012 SEL (and it is "Tiguan"...).

I remember doing something like this when I first got the Scangauge, and on some of the "unsupported" codes I got back what appeared to be random results. I'll do the mapping again and report back.

In any case, I'm very pleased with my real-time mpg displays. I've compared the two mpg displays on the Tig MFD and the latter are consistently 2 mpg better than that reported by the scangauge. When comparing the tank mpg (actual miles travelled/gallons needed to refill at te pump), the Scangauge is almost dead nuts on. The MFD mpg display is...let's be charitable... "optimistic" and is at least closer (but still less than) what the dealer sheet says. Marketing 101...

[artronics]

I've been using one for over 6 years - the Tig is the third car I put this on.

It supplements the MFI quite nicely, although I notice some differences in mileage between the two. I couldn't get the boost to work either and I would also love to get the gears to show. Apparently it's supported on some Ford or GM vehicles. If I find any info on that I will post it.

Sorry for not really contributing to the thread, but I wanted to "register" as a ScanGauge II user. ;-)

[shawng]

VCDS can get the gears to show. go into the transmission controller and it is there to enable. Or at least it was on my 2010

[seabird81]

VCDS can get the gears to show. go into the transmission controller and it is there to enable. Or at least it was on my 2010

Thanks for this one Shawn, just did this change to ROW and works great.

[diesl]

I updated my list on tdiforum: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4123931&postcount=33

[diesl]

Update: actual and requested boost were backwards. Ditto for fuel pressure. Corrected below.

I know it's an old thread, and on a Tiguan (is that a van?) forum to boot, but I thought the info below, together with the instructions provided by ScanGauge, might help some people to figure things out.

Step 1: Figuring out which OBD PID variables are supported on your car:
Using the 'CMNDS' feature of the ScanGauge, you can read a bit map of supported OBD fields:

1. Send '0100','0120','0140', and convert the hex number in the answer to binary, e.g. using http://www.hexdictionary.com/hex/2CE3/. Each '1' in the answer corresponds to a PID that is supported. '0100' gives you the map for PIDs 01 to 20, '0120' for 21 to 2F, etc..
2. Look up the PID meanings on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OBD-II_...e_encoded_PIDs

Step 2: Test each PID you are interested in using 'CMNDS':
Send '01xx', with xx being the PID number in hex from above.

1. IF you get an answer for your query, i.e. one that does start with '41xx' , then the reply was a single-frame field, and you can write an Xgauge following the standard instructions, i.e. TXD 07DF01xx RXF 044105xx'.
2. IF you do not get an answer, the reply is probably in multi-frame format (or you misread your PID bitmap, or your car is lying...), and you have to shift your reply filter by one byte to the right: 'TXD 07DF01xx RXF 054106xx'

Step 3: Using the info in the wikipedia OBD entry, and trial and error, figure out the correct bit fields in your answer (RXD field), and the unit conversion that goes with it (MTH field).
Often there is more than one variable per PID.

Examples that work on my 2012 JSW TDI:

TXD is 07DF01+PID
name PID RXF     RXD  MTH          units   comment
 TIM 1F 0441051F 2810 000100010000 s       seconds since engine start
 BAR 33 04410533 2808 000100010000 kPa     atmospheric pressure
 CAT 3C 0441053C 2810 0001000AFFD8 ºC      DPF temperature
 FUF 5E 0441455E 2810 000500010000 L/hr    fuel flow
 TRQ 62 04410562 2808 00010001FF83 %       percent of actual torque
 BP1 70 05414670 3810 0001001E0000 bar      requested manifold pressure  ('4670' for hundredth
 BP2 70 05414670 4810 0001001E0000 bar     actual  manifold pressure
 BP1 70 05418670 3810 00910BB80000 psi     requested manifold pressure  ('8670' for tenth
 BP2 70 05418670 4810 00910BB80000 psi    actual manifold pressure
 EPR 73 04410573 3010 000100010000 0.1mBar DPF differential pressure
 ICT 77 04410577 3008 0001000AFFD8 ºC      intercooler/charge air temperature
 ET1 78 05410678 3810 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. before turbo
 ET2 78 05410678 4810 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. before ox.cat.
 ET3 78 0321     2010 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. before DPF
 ET4 78 0321     3010 0001000AFFD8 ºC      exhaust temp. after DPF

 DPL 7A 0541067A 3810 000100010000 ??      DPF soot load ?
 FPa 6D 0541066D 3810 0001000A0000 bar?    requested fuel pressure ? (<=1755)
 FPb 6D 0541066D 4810 0001000A0000 bar?    Actual fuel pressure ? (<=1740)


available info on this car:
PID contents
01 Monitor status since DTCs cleared
04 Calculated engine load value
05 Engine coolant temperature
0C Engine RPM
0D Vehicle speed
10 MAF air flow rate
13 Oxygen sensors present
1C OBD standards this vehicle conforms to
1F Run time since engine start
21 Distance traveled with malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) on
24 O2S1_WR_lambda(1): Equivalence Ratio Voltage
25 O2S2_WR_lambda(1): Equivalence Ratio Voltage
30 # of warm-ups since codes cleared
31 Distance traveled since codes cleared
33 Barometric pressure
3C Catalyst Temperature Bank 1, Sensor 1 
41 Monitor status this drive cycle
42 Control module voltage
46 Ambient air temperature
49 Accelerator pedal position D
4A Accelerator pedal position E
4C Commanded throttle actuator
4F Maximum value for equivalence ratio, oxygen sensor voltage, oxygen sensor current, and intake manifold absolute pressure
5D Fuel injection timing
5E Engine fuel rate
61 Driver's demand engine - percent torque
62 Actual engine - percent torque
63 Engine reference torque
65 Auxiliary input / output supported
67 Engine coolant temperature
69 Commanded EGR and EGR Error
6D Fuel pressure control system
70 Boost pressure control 
71 Variable Geometry turbo (VGT) control 
73 Exhaust pressure
77 Charge air cooler temperature (CACT)
78 Exhaust Gas temperature (EGT) Bank 1
7A Diesel particulate filter (DPF)
7F Engine run time
81 Engine run time for Auxiliary Emissions Control Device(AECD)