dragartist Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Dear all,In the next months I will be purchasing myself a new ECU, most likely a LINK Ecu.My aim is to install this, and then link some kind of tablet (ideally an iPad) to display the engine information (speed, rpm etc.)I wanted to try and find out a little more about what options I have, what others are doing and what I can realistically expect. I found a few threads on this, but all were very old.Am I correct in thinking that it is impossible for the ECU to expose an OBDII plug? Is anyone already running some kind of tablet setup in their car? If so, do you have any more information/images/videos?Any advise would be greatly appreciatedThanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich RDE Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Dragartist,We are running a few tablets currently. You can populate a OBD2 plug say from a junk yard harness and set it up anywhere in the vehicle. We use a wifi/ BT adapter to this plug that goes straight to the tablet. We were having some trouble at first but now have the bugs worked out. Communication speed is going to be the key here. Most factory vehicle scanners have a pretty fast transfer rate. Making sure the transfer rate from the ECU to scanner is correct is key. You will get broken data or very delayed data coming through. Check out the PLX KIWI device. I love this device as you can also overlay track data to it from your app. It is great.Let me know if you need any help. PM me or email me [email protected]-RichRDE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragartist Posted June 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 Many thanks for the reply, it sounds interesting. So just to confirm, you manually wired an OBD2 plug into the ECU wiring harness? And then from here plugged a wifi/BT adapter?Which tablets/software do you run? Do you have any pictures/videos of it in action?(I thought it best to post here so others might benefit from the info)Thanks again, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich RDE Posted June 6, 2016 Report Share Posted June 6, 2016 We do not have any video of it in action. We are working on our new website and will be posting video's and content within the next couple weeks. We use the PLX KIWI device. Yes you can take a OBD2 plug and wire it. RichRDE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragartist Posted June 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 thanks again for your help. Would be very interested to know once you have pictures/videos.Especially interested in which tablets you use (iPad?) and which softwareThanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Torque and Rev are two apps that have been used. Also some people are using windows tablets as dashes and running PCLink on them.Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.prowl.torque&hl=enIphone: http://www.devtoaster.com/products/rev/Scott. Rich RDE 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragartist Posted June 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) Hi Scott,Good to get the views directly from you. So, just to be clear, can you advise how exactly these people are running these apps with your ECUs?I assume Rev is used by manually wiring in an OBD2 port and using a wireless reader/adapter?I assume PCLink is done slightly differently to a windows tablet? Can you advise?Lastly: When searching google I can see references to the G4 ECU but also the G4 "Extreme" ECU - this seems to have better connectivity to external devices - is this correct?Thanks again, Edited June 7, 2016 by dragartist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 (edited) So, just to be clear, can you advise how exactly these people are running these apps with your ECUs?I assume Rev is used by manually wiring in an OBD2 port and using a wireless reader/adapter?Both the Rev and Torque app receive data over blue-tooth or wifi from an OBD2 transmitter. The G4+ ECU is able to have it's CAN bus wired to an OBD2 port. So basically the data flow goes:ECU > CAN Bus > OBD2 Port > OBD2 to wifi/blue-tooth transmitter > Phone > AppI assume PCLink is done slightly differently to a windows tablet? Can you advise?This is the same version of PCLink that is run on windows XP/Vista/7/8/10 on a laptop. However the normal layout file needs to be adjusted to suit the tablet screen size and the data that is to viewed. When searching google I can see references to the G4 ECU but also the G4 "Extreme" ECU - this seems to have better connectivity to external devices - is this correct?No, this is not true. The G4 ECUs that had a CAN or serial connection (just about all) were all capable of the same output options. However the G4+ ECU range is superior, as it is able to transmit OBD2 data over the CAN bus, where-as the G4 range could not. Edited June 7, 2016 by Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragartist Posted June 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Many thanks Scott, very clear.One final question: How does the tablet connect to the ECU if I would like to use PC Link? Is it a simple USB?Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich RDE Posted June 7, 2016 Report Share Posted June 7, 2016 Many thanks Scott, very clear.One final question: How does the tablet connect to the ECU if I would like to use PC Link? Is it a simple USB?Thanks,I believe you can use a usb to wifi adapter. You can use many different platforms of tablets for the units our there. Like Scott mentioned. This makes things so easy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 For a windows 8/10 tablet another option is to use the standard ECU tuning cable, and then use an adapter to make the cable fit the tablet.http://www.dx.com/p/usb-female-to-micro-usb-male-adapter-connector-113791#.V1dsIJF96UkOne down side to this is that the tablet normally uses the micro USB port for charging, however someone may know a clever solution to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechDave Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Apparently these allow you to transfer data and charge the device at the same time http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C452XFO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01 Simon and Scott 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragartist Posted June 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 Thanks guys. Going to do some more research and download PCLink to see how good I can make it "look" on a tablet screen.Will report back here as I think it's useful for others to know, especially if the solution is quite straight forward to get working.Thanks again, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted June 8, 2016 Report Share Posted June 8, 2016 We have tested this ourselves on a windows tablet, it was straight forward to get it working. I did find it hard to adjust the 'views' on the tablet, so best to set them up on a PC and then load the PCLink layout file into PCLink on the tablet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosello Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Hi, the ground of ecu mest be connect or not?thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) Hi, the ground of ecu mest be connect or not?thank youcan you clarify your question? Are you wanting to connect a tablet? Edited February 25, 2017 by Adamw Spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosello Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) Yes i would like connect my ecu g4+ on the tablet but the ground of the ecu(pin1) is not connect on the wiring i do connect on the ground or not? Edited February 25, 2017 by Rosello Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adamw Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 You would normally connect a tablet via USB tuning port. The port you have shown above is RS232 and CAN only - no USB. If you connect via RS232 then you will need Rx, Tx & GND. If you connect via CAN then you only need CAN H & CAN L (you cant directly connect a tablet/PC using CAN, this is mostly for motorsport dashes etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosello Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 My tablet is android and is not possible work with usb, i need interface obd2 wifi but i can't connect my interface wifi OBD2 at the ECU? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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