OBD2 scanner for EV recommendations?

Just got one of the Vgate models in the mail yesterday so am going to spend some time tinkering/familiarizing. I see the free version of the app has some restrictions on it (limits amount of viewable metrics at any given time). Have you come across any decent video tutorials for this? TIA!



Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

Here is a video tutorial for installing an OBD2 Reader and torque on Android.
It's a little bit older but should be fine:

 

The video that set me off to get a scanner was Bjorn Nyland's although it just showed me enough to know what was possible, and isn't really a tutorial. I see I have got the pro version of the Car Scanner app, so I must have paid something for it though it can't have been much or I'd have remembered! Best wishes for getting it going - the app itself is quite helpful, and don't despair - the list of sensors it could measure is extensive because it handles ICE vehicles as well. The battery cell information is near the very end of a very long list.

 

So I got this:
Vgate iCar Pro Bluetooth 4.0 and run it with the Car Scanner App on iOS 15.3
Works fine, does what it's supposed to do. But: I'd like to monitor battery charging, and haven't found out a way to do this with the car locked.
So is there a way to use the dongle with the ignition off (or alternatively, to lock the car with the ignition on)? I use public chargers and don't fancy spending hours in the car... TIA

 

You shouldn't leave the car on and locked. It can be broken into and driven away even if the key is not in there. I had that experience at the car wash.

You can put it into utility mode in that move it will still supply everything with power from the battery even while charging.

Here's how to get into Utility mode:

 

The OBD port is live while charging but are you saying it isn't with the car locked?
I've logged charging events at home several times with a low-cost Android smartphone left in the car, not locked.

 

OBD port is always live, even when car is locked. I once left the phone inside (hidden under the seat) and locked the car to record charging curve in Car Scanner.

For remote monitoring from anywhere (with cell coverage) you need a second phone left inside the car, then use EVNotify app on both phones.

The OBD dongle will pretty quickly drain the 12v battery when left connected in diagnostic port, it should be removed when car is turned off and NOT charging.

 

There are reports of this for some dongles, but this doesn't happen with Vgate ICar models. I have 2 of these which have been continuously plugged in for years spanning 3 hybrids and 2 EVs. They activate at Ignition On, and auto-shutoff after 30 min inactivity - totally reliable, never had a battery problem..

 

Thanks for your replies. I'm aware of utility mode, but that's not the problem. It's the auto-shutoff after inactivity, like @hieronymous describes.So how to monitor charging after 30min?. Do I have to get a different dongle? @Esprit1st, it appears you can lock your car with ignition on, how do you do it (I believe in my area a locked car will be sufficiently safe from theft during daytime)?

 

If you are monitoring charging, then your monitoring app is communicating with the dongle, it Is not inactive. I can sit at breakfast with Torque displaying charging of the car in the basement garage underneath, in bluetooth range...

 

@duende I believe people take the key fob and put it in the glovebox (remove the physical key and keep it on you).
Then open the window on the driver's side. Get out, close the door. Reach through the window, lock all doors, then push the auto window up button. Car is on and locked.
You still have the physical key on you to manually unlock it to get back inside.

I've never done it and would never do it since it's unnecessary, but there you go.

In my experience the obd port doesn't shut down during charging. I used a second phone to monitor charging and never had issues, but once when it actually shut down. I was never able to figure out why.

 

Gosh. Sounds like a contortionist's act. I don't think I'll try that. So I guess I'll experiment a bit more, and report back if and when I find a satisfactory (for me) solution

 

So I was being impatient. Turns out the dongle does transmit obd2 info when ignition is off and doors are locked. If the connection is stable (I'm not sure why some sensors don't re-establish contact to the app after parking and re-ignition... maybe I had too many running at once?), the app is running, and the iPad doesn't auto shut-down.