| ScanGauge Fuel Trip Computer & Diagnostic Gauge | |
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Fequently Asked Questions (Please note this is an American designed product, so many of the Q&A's reflect the US market) Will the Gauge work on my vehicle that was purchased outside of the US and Canada? Yes, it requires the vehicle to be either OBDII or EOBD compatible. In the US and Canada, cars and light trucks were required to be OBDII compatible starting in 1996. In Europe, EOBD was phased in between 2002 and 2004. Other parts of the world have required one of them starting in various years. Many vehicles made and/or sold outside the US and Canada had one of the protocols before they were required in that country. This was to allow sales to other countries and because they knew they would eventually be required to meet the requirements and designed it in when they redesigned a particular model. There is no comprehensive list of when particular vehicles began using OBDII or EOBD outside the US and Canada. Will the Gauge be able to clear my trouble codes and turn off my "Check Engine" light? Yes, it will clear the codes and turn off the check engine light on 99% of 1996 and newer vehicles. It has been reported that it can not do this on some trouble codes in the Dodge vehicles. How can the Gauge do all of these things with only a single connection to the vehicle? ANSWER: Since 1996, all cars and light trucks sold in the US have been required by law to have an On-Board-Diagnostic version 2 (OBD2 or OBD II) connector inside the passenger compartment. It is required to provide diagnostic information and allow resetting of the CHECK ENGINE light. It also provides a lot of other operating information. The Gauge performs the diagnostics functions like a conventional scan tool. It also goes beyond this and uses the other data to add many more useful functions. Do I need to know what Protocol my car uses? No. The Gauge automatically determines which protocol your vehicle uses and switches to it. Can I use the Gauge on more than one car. Yes. There are no restrictions on moving it from car to car. Can my 1995 Ford Mustang use it? Possibly: Some 1995 and even some 1994 vehicles are OBD2 (sometimes shown as OBD II) compliant. Look at the emissions stickers under the bonnet. If you find one that says OBD2 or OBD II, you should be able to use the Gauge. Can I use the Gauge to tell how fast and how far my teenager drove the car last night? Yes. This information is stored in the trip computer and it can be recalled by you for up to a day after he used it. What if my child disconnects the Gauge while they are using the car. If it was disconnected during the trip, a disconnect indicator will be displayed in the trip data. My speedometer only goes to 90MPH. Can the Gauge show speeds above this? Yes, the Gauge can show speeds up to 158MPH. Can I tell how high the coolant temperature has been getting on my wifes car? Yes. The maximum coolant temperature is stored by the trip computer and can be read back by you later. Can I use the Gauge to save fuel? If your car reports information on fuel consumption (99% of cars and light trucks do), and you use it to adjust your driving habits, you can save a lot of fuel. Do I have to reset the trip computers for each trip? No. The CURRENT trip can be reset manually if you desire. It is automatically reset after the ignition has been off for more than a few minutes. The DAY trip will accumulate the entire days trip information and reset itself after the ignition has been off for more than 8 to 9 hours. The DAY information is moved to PREVIOUS before it is automatically reset. The MPG gauge reading changes very quickly with slight changes in throttle or load. Can I smooth this out to better determine the affect of speed on fuel economy? Yes, use the TRIP MPG function in the CURRENT mode. After reaching the desired speed, reset the TRIP. The average MPG since it was reset will be reported. Can the Gauge show if there is a difference in MPG between using my truck with the tailgate up or down? Yes. See Tailgate Up/Down and Fuel Mileage. The Gauge shows a trouble code of E0468. How do I figure out what this means? There are many sources to decode this. A search of the internet for Trouble Codes for your particular vehicle is a great way to get them. Print them out and keep them in the car for future reference. You can also find them in the vehicle shop manual and after-market service and emissions manuals. What is FRZD in the Gauge? When a trouble code is set, the data at that time (RPM, Coolant Temperature, Speed, Throttle Position, etc.) are captured like in a freeze frame. FRZD can be used to recall this data to help diagnose the problem. When I press SCAN it says -Not Ready- in the lower line. How can I tell which OBD test has not been completed? There is a way to do this using the CMNDS feature in the Gauge. See Finding Incomplete OBDII Tests using the Gauge. Does the Gauge support metric units? Yes, the units of measure can be independently selected between Miles/Km, Gallons/Liters, Celcius/Fahrenheit, and PSI/KPA. If you choose Km and Liters, fuel economy is reported as liters/100Km (LHK). If you use Imperial Gallons when you do the calibration, fuel will then be adjusted to use Imperial Gallons. What does the Cutoff function do? Some vehicles will turn the fuel injectors off when coasting down. We sense this with the open/closed loop indicator and the throttle position. We have to know if the throttle is opened or closed but the minimum value for it is rarely 0. The Cutoff is the value the throttle has to be below in order to indicate a fuel cutoff and show 0 fuel flow. The default is right for most vehicles, but it can be adjusted for different situations. If set to "0" it disables this method of fuel cutoff sensing. How do I find the plug to connect the Gauge? The OBD2 connector is supposed to be located within 1 meter of the steering column. It is usually under the dash and just to the right or left of the steering column. Sometimes it will have a cover over its face. Other locations are under the dash on the passenger side under the dash, behind the ash tray and in a rare case, under the ash tray in the back seat armrest. |
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