Scangauge

[Gray999]

Hi,

I've had my Aygo Blue 2 weeks now, love it! I've read a few things about the Scangauge, are they good? Are they worth having?

[Jan van de Wouw]

If it's worth it is up to you, but I'm quite happy with mine.

Mounted it above the interior mirror with ahome made

custom bracket and a cable I extended myself by about 3'

My standard display is coolant-temp, actual economy,

calibrated speed and range, but I tend to play with the latter two...

TPS is fun to watch when running on CruiseControl :P

I won't say you'll get return of investment on increased economy,

but in my experience seeing the economy figures DOES tend to make me

drive more economical, even if the figures can be off by a couple of %

[johnan]

Hi,

I've had my Aygo Blue 2 weeks now, love it! I've read a few things about the Scangauge, are they good? Are they worth having?

I have had a Scangauge in my Aygo for 2 years and my current IQ for 2 years, and wouldn't be without it.

Being an engineer I like to know what is going on mechanically and electrically in my cars but not wanting to fit 70s style retro gauges with all the wiring complications and warranty issues that could cause, the Scangauge is the answer.

You just plug it into the on board diagnostic port (OBD) and thats it, apart from a bit of calibration that you have to do for your own particular car for accurate fuel and distance readings.

It gives a lot more information than I could ever use but it does give very accurate fuel consumption, voltage, coolant temperature and trip distance which are the things I like to monitor the most.

No wiring required, so you just move it on to your next car.

The only problem could be where/how to mount it, but it is a very neat and compact unit which I have not found too hard to position in my cars.

An excellent piece of kit.

(My IQ has a built-in onboard fuel computer but the Scangauge is easier to read and more accurate.)

[Teemu]

Scangauge is great, very reliable made in USA, excellent accessory!

[Gray999]

Thanks for the replies! I like gadgets, and this seems good to me. I like information so I think I'll have to get one. Where did you get yours from? I've seen them on eBay from the UK and USA.

[Jan van de Wouw]

I got mine through eBay from Greece. Since that's an EU-country too you never have to deal with extra taxes due to importing form the USA...

As for mounting, here's a set of pics of my own bracket:

I got my inspiration form a BlendMount that I saw on eBay... On the top row you can see two brackets: I made a "square" one first,

but got reflections thorugh the passenger window on the display, so I then set out to find an appropriate angle with bits of foam

and tape. I then made a new bracket with the angle in it AND added a small hook on top to stop it from vibrating.

The cable runs over the headliner and through the A-pillar, but I did have to extend it to reach the OBD-port.

You can do so with a standard network-extender and cable, but I chose to do so by stripping, soldering and putting

all connections in heat shrink tubing. The two seams are only about half a millimeter thicker than the original cable!

And I have a separate extra cable to use on other peoples cars to read error codes and reset them...

[Daveyonthemove]

Depending on what mobile phone you have, there are cheaper alternatives to get the same info, with no wires and very little cost.

Have a look at this post i made a few months back:

http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=117577

[WAYNEOLEEDS]

That look great Jan !

You are the man that can !

[johnan]

Thanks for the replies! I like gadgets, and this seems good to me. I like information so I think I'll have to get one. Where did you get yours from? I've seen them on EBay from the UK and USA.

It has been some years since I bought mine but I think it was from the "scangauge.net" website, which was drama free and arrived very quickly.

If you go to that site, have a look on the support pages and read the manual (english one!) re. the set up and calibration requirements.

They are not difficult and once done you will not have to repeat them even if you take the Scangauge off the car for a while, but I know of one person who bought a Scangauge 2, took one look at the instuctions and immediately put in on e-bay to try to sell it on!

Bit of a plonker in my opinion, but you might as well see whats involved before you commit yourself.

It is a sophisticated piece of equipment that needs to be set up properly to give the best results.

[Jan van de Wouw]

Setup and Calibration is very easy.

As for the solution with a "dongle": I agree you can get way more info that way, but using your phone will drain its Battery,

where the ScanGauge gets power from the car. And since it stays connected and powers up automatically it is more accurate

in keeping economy and range up to date, where on a phone you get missing data when you forget to turn everthing on...

[Geriatric]

Gray999 Hi Would appreciate it if you post how you get on with the purchase. From what I can ascertain Europe is serviced from Greece at €149 but how postage is charged I do not know.

[Teemu]

Gray999 Hi Would appreciate it if you post how you get on with the purchase. From what I can ascertain Europe is serviced from Greece at €149 but how postage is charged I do not know.

I ordered mine from eBay.uk, seller was official distributor Telematica of Greece and shipping was free to Finland. Should be free to ship to UK also.

[Gray999]

Thanks all, looking in to getting one, I'll let you all know how I get on!

[junebug1701]

I got mine through eBay from Greece. Since that's an EU-country too you never have to deal with extra taxes due to importing form the USA...

As for mounting, here's a set of pics of my own bracket:

Jan, that's a brilliant example of DIY engineering! I know the blendmount is rather pricey for what you get, and your homebrew bracket looks just as good. What type of sheet metal did you use?

[Jan van de Wouw]

The Blend Mount won't even fit with our mirros, as they don't have a "stem"...

I'm not sure what kind of metal it was: it's a bit of packingmaterial I found at my dads' company,

about half a millimeter thick, was able to slice it with my rotary multitool ("Dremel") with ease.

They used the plate material to protect the corners of a stack of panels whre the straps went.

If you're interested, I should have a drawing to scale here somewhere, cut that and

make the folds the opposite way and you should be good for use in a RHD car...

Allthough you MAY need to relocate the hole for the cable, not sure about that.

[Geriatric]

Gray999 Hi Would appreciate it if you post how you get on with the purchase. From what I can ascertain Europe is serviced from Greece at €149 but how postage is charged I do not know.

I ordered mine from eBay.uk, seller was official distributor Telematica of Greece and shipping was free to Finland. Should be free to ship to UK also.

Thanks was it by mail or a carrier ? I live in Portugal and PO box is only good for mail as otherwise I give home address for carrier as mail will not be delivered to it.

[AygoIronman]

Interesting article about Scanguage. I found this on Youtube. Its not Scanguage, but I d like a display with red didgits to contemplate the Aygos red night lighting. Anyone know what this is?

[Jan van de Wouw]

I know EXACTLY what this is: I made it!

What you're seeing is a Triple Info Display from an Opel Corsa B / Tigra A.

I modified it to fit my Aygo and did some work on it to get the proper illumination.

But this is nog on-board computer: the lefthand display shows time, the righthand one

outside temperature (from a sensor I put in the front left bumper) and the middle display

shows the date with the radio off and displays info from the radio with the radio on.

My Kenwood radio has a port on the back to hook up to these displays

and since I liked the challenge and missed a clock due to removal of

the OEM radio I decided to give it a try to wire this into my car.

My previous kenwood only had 2 lines of text-display, so it could only show artist

and trackname at the same time, not play-time, so I had the TID show play-time.

In radio-mode the radio displays Radio-Text, the display shows RDS-data

and while changing sources the display also shows info on that.

I meanwhile replaced the radio I had then with another, but made sure it had the port on it too :P

[AygoIronman]

I know EXACTLY what this is: I made it!

What you're seeing is a Triple Info Display from an Opel Corsa B / Tigra A.

I modified it to fit my Aygo and did some work on it to get the proper illumination.

But this is nog on-board computer: the lefthand display shows time, the righthand one

outside temperature (from a sensor I put in the front left bumper) and the middle display

shows the date with the radio off and displays info from the radio with the radio on.

My Kenwood radio has a port on the back to hook up to these displays

and since I liked the challenge and missed a clock due to removal of

the OEM radio I decided to give it a try to wire this into my car.

My previous kenwood only had 2 lines of text-display, so it could only show artist

and trackname at the same time, not play-time, so I had the TID show play-time.

In radio-mode the radio displays Radio-Text, the display shows RDS-data

and while changing sources the display also shows info on that.

I meanwhile replaced the radio I had then with another, but made sure it had the port on it too :P

Not bad piece of work. I d like to the same but I m not a qulified electrician. lol. It be good to have something similar with my car. If you were over here in the UK I`d pay you to do it. :D

[AygoIronman]

I know EXACTLY what this is: I made it!

What you're seeing is a Triple Info Display from an Opel Corsa B / Tigra A.

I modified it to fit my Aygo and did some work on it to get the proper illumination.

But this is nog on-board computer: the lefthand display shows time, the righthand one

outside temperature (from a sensor I put in the front left bumper) and the middle display

shows the date with the radio off and displays info from the radio with the radio on.

My Kenwood radio has a port on the back to hook up to these displays

and since I liked the challenge and missed a clock due to removal of

the OEM radio I decided to give it a try to wire this into my car.

My previous kenwood only had 2 lines of text-display, so it could only show artist

and trackname at the same time, not play-time, so I had the TID show play-time.

In radio-mode the radio displays Radio-Text, the display shows RDS-data

and while changing sources the display also shows info on that.

I meanwhile replaced the radio I had then with another, but made sure it had the port on it too :P

Not bad piece of work. I d like to the same but I m not a qulified electrician. lol. It be good to have something similar with my car. If you were over here in the UK I`d pay you to do it. :D

[AygoIronman]

I know EXACTLY what this is: I made it!

What you're seeing is a Triple Info Display from an Opel Corsa B / Tigra A.

I modified it to fit my Aygo and did some work on it to get the proper illumination.

But this is nog on-board computer: the lefthand display shows time, the righthand one

outside temperature (from a sensor I put in the front left bumper) and the middle display

shows the date with the radio off and displays info from the radio with the radio on.

My Kenwood radio has a port on the back to hook up to these displays

and since I liked the challenge and missed a clock due to removal of

the OEM radio I decided to give it a try to wire this into my car.

My previous kenwood only had 2 lines of text-display, so it could only show artist

and trackname at the same time, not play-time, so I had the TID show play-time.

In radio-mode the radio displays Radio-Text, the display shows RDS-data

and while changing sources the display also shows info on that.

I meanwhile replaced the radio I had then with another, but made sure it had the port on it too :P

Not bad piece of work. I d like to the same but I m not a qulified electrician. lol. It be good to have something similar with my car. If you were over here in the UK I`d pay you to do it. :D

[Parts-King]

No need to keep repeating it

[Jan van de Wouw]

I'm no qualified electrician either...

I just picked up electronics as a hobby when I was 12,

so I've been tinkering with it for about 22 years now :P

I just read a lot and I'm not afraid to ask questions when I get stuck ;)

But the main topic here is the ScanGauge: that's plug&play...

[AygoIronman]

No idea why its been reposted 3 times! PC was running slow so clicked on add reply a few times. Whoops!

[-Ub3R-]

Does a scanguage give accurate real-time mpg and average mpg?

That's the main thing i'd use it for.

I'd also love a tutorial on fitting it above the radio. It's the wiring i'd need help with mainly.