ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
- Programmable 3-in-1 automotive trip computer, diagnostic scan tool, & up into 37 digital gauges in one (vehicle dependent)
- Watch fuel consumption, cost-per-mile, coolant temperature, engine speed, horsepower, & much more in real time
- Works on all 1996 or newer OBDII cars, including gas, diesel, propane & hybrid vehicles
- Checks for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), clears the codes, & can turn off the “Check Engine” light
- No tools required for installation, little size fits nearly anywhere in the vehicle
The ScanGaugeII is a compact vehicle computer that connects into the diagnostic connector in seconds & gives you an extensive trip computer, real time gauges & trouble code reader. It can read fuel economy as you drive, tell you how fast your friend drove your car last night, tell you when you are going into run out of fuel & dozens of other functions. Installation takes only seconds & requires no tools. It can be moved from car into car. Works on gas, diesel, propane, & hybrid vehicles. The ScanGaugeII works on all OBDII protocols including the new CAN protocol. The ScanGaugeII is a 3-in-1 automotive computer that combines a multifunction trip computer, diagnostic scan tool, & up into 37 digital gauges in one little package. It conne
Rating: 
(out of 249 reviews)
List Price: $ 169.95
Price: $ 159.00
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Review by Nismo68 for ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
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After reading several other reviews on the web for this product, I decided to place an order for one. I just received the unit this week and immediately hooked it up. You should set your engine size, fuel type (gas/diesel/hybrid), units of measure, and your fuel tank size – rounded down to the nearest whole number to allow for the best accuracy in the scangauge. It’s a simple installation. Just plug it into your vehicle’s OBDII port and choose a suitable mounting location that doesn’t interfere with your other gauges or present a safety hazard. (velcro strips are included for no muss/no fuss installation, but you could devise a more permanent mount)
Depending upon the parameters that your vehicle reports, here are some of the things this device can show you:
4 sets of trip data is stored – Current Trip, Today’s Trip, Previous Day, and Current Tank. In addition, fuel economy, fuel used, maximum coolant temperature, distance, maximum rpm, drive time, maximum speed, average speed, distance to empty, time to empty, and amount of fuel to empty.
The digital gauges are for fuel economy, fuel rate, digital speedometer, tachometer, manifold pressure, battery voltage, coolant temperature, intake air temperature, engine load, ignition timing, throttle position, and open/closed loop. You can display any choice of 4 of these digital gauges on the gauge screen at one time and it’s easy to cycle through them. Not all vehicles will report every one of the above parameters through the OBDII interface. If the data is not available for the chosen gauge, then there will be no display.
The final thing that this gauge is useful for is to read and reset trouble codes and your “check engine” or “service engine soon” lamp. It captures the conditions present and stores them in flash memory if a trouble code is thrown so that you can review what state the various gauges were in when the trouble code triggered.
Again, I just received this item this week, but did quite a bit of research on it before purchasing. I am very impressed by the amount of information the ScanGauge makes available. Utilizing the data, I believe I’ll be able to improve my gas mileage, as I will have instant feedback on my inputs as a driver. It’s fun to use too. One other thing I forgot to mention is that you can program the back-light to 63 different colors. It comes with 7 standard colors already programmed.
Review by Charlie for ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
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The installation of the SG2 is simple: attach the OBD2 connector to the DLC port and attach the RJ-45 jack to the SG2 unit. Routing the cable is really up to the operator. I chose to do it in a crude manner because I don’t plan to make it a permanent addition to the car. I zip tied the cable to my HVAC vents and anchored it to the empty traction control hole behind the glove box.
I used 1 of the provided velcro kits to affix the SG2 to the top of my steering column so that it is right below the instrument panel. It actually blocks my view of the shift indicator array, although I can still see it clearly if I lean forward.
The update rate set at FAST is still rather slow and that is to be expected with the outdated OBD-II network. The “fastest” aftermarket scan tool that I have seen is SCT’s Live Link for Ford / GM / Chryslers. If you want anything faster, you are going to have to borrow an OEM’s scan tool system.
The X-Gauge interface is a bit cumbersome since you are restricted to using 2 buttons to enter alphanumeric characters while if you pause for anything more than 10-15 seconds, the SG2 shuts down. According to Linear Logic, they are working on an updated SG2 with datalogging features so hopefully they incorporate a PC interface to speed up programming and setup times.
I have it set to monitor instantaneous MPG, RPM, Vehicle Speed, and a gauge that I frequently switch depending on my mood. I am monitoring the torque converter slip ratio. Whenever it reads below 1.00, it means the torque converter is “slipping”. Above 1.00 means the output side of the converter is spinning faster than the input side and theoretically it could just mean engine braking with some torque converter slip. You can program custom X-Gauges to monitor gross engine horsepower or torque input at the transmission.
I had previously used a Garmin Forerunner 101 to check my GPS vehicle speed and compared it to my speedometer readout (2000 Ford Crown Vic with mechanical speedometer). It revealed that my GPS speed was about 2-3 mph slower than the speedometer indicated speed. The SG2′s vehicle speed readout (from the Vehicle Speed Sensor PID in the OBD-2 system) is approximately 2-3 mph slower than the speedometer reading and I am assuming this is the same readout as my GPS (I didn’t get a chance to verify this yet).
Some of the gauges I like to monitor are Coolant Temperature, Intake Air Temperature, Transmission Fluid Temperature (XGauge), Torque Converter Slip Ratio (XGauge), Gross Horsepower (XGauge), RPM, Vehicle Speed, and MPG.
I still haven’t been able to figure out how to work the trip computer properly to display averaged fuel economy. The instantaneous MPG is more important to me because I want to see if anything is not working right on long cruises. I have often wondered if the torque converter was locking properly when I use cruise control or when cruising on the highway.
The data collection stability is impressive. I never ran into many problems with Car Code or SCT’s Live Link, but SG2 is just more convenient and compact. The backlight colors are interesting as they allow you to choose 4 different values of each RGB component (or 64 possible combinations). I have it set to R=3, B=0, G=0 so that it resembles Pontiac’s interior lighting (I drive a Ford).
My only real complaint is that there’s not a better way of attaching the SG2 to the car. A suction cup mount for the windshield would come in handy since I could mount it near my line of sight without relying on adhesive-backed velcro. The interface is quite intuitive but I would have liked a way to program the X-gauge more easily, like via a PC interface.
Bottom line: The SG2 is a great deal if you are interested in data readouts for your car. There are cheaper ways of pulling DTC codes, so the only real usefulness of SG2 is the “realtime” PID monitoring and the trip computer for cars that do not have such devices. If you know someone who is a bona fide gearhead and drives a car made in 1996 or newer, they may appreciate the SG2 as a gift.
UPDATE:
While the ScanGauge II provided a useful feature for cars without trip computers or onboard monitoring for various PIDs, I have noticed that it began to malfunction more frequently. The gauge readouts began to “flicker” between PIDs. For example, monitoring IGNition, the IGN began to switch rapidly between HPR. Just recently, the entire ScanGauge II shutdown while I was driving. It would refuse to reconnect with the OBD2 network. When it did find a connection, a lot of the text was garbled and it lost all of my trip data except for the total mileage. My car normally maxes out on 300 miles per tank of gasoline, so I was bewildered when the SG2 said I drove over 4000 miles. Other SG2 readers have reported similar quirks, albeit not as serious as the self shutdown and data corruption that I experienced.
Many newer cars already have features built-into the car. The Pontiac G8, and Nissan GT-R are two examples of cars that have very developed “trip computers” while many other modern vehicles like the Pontiac G6, have trip computers that can monitor most of the fuel-related data.
Review by Thomas Mueller for ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
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This little box is very useful. In my case it already paid for itself. I was able to clear some service codes (misfire of a cylinder). In the past I paid $69 for the mechanic to just look up and clear the code.
I really like the fact that ScanGauge displays all kinds of engine data in real time. Other devices such as the CarChip save it and then need to be connected to a computer in order to access the data.
In my opinion, the ScanGauge is worth every cent.
Review by Brett Stewart for ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
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Being a geek, I bought the ScanGauge II so that I could see more information in real time about my car. The ScanGauge should appeal to anyone who watched Night Rider and was envious of all the cool displays inside Kit. The good news is that this little device does give you so much more cool information about your car as you drive. Rather than guess why your car had bad mileage, you can tell immediately it was because you had the throttle down too much or your average speed was 85 mph. The real value of this gadget is that it gives you hard data to point to when your car acts a little funny.
The first thing you’ll have to figure out is where to mount it. I drive a RAV4, and I’ve found the best place is under the center console. It stays out of the way and gives your passengers something cool to look at while you’re driving. I would not recommend putting it in your line of site, like a HUD in an F-16. The numbers will distract you and then you’ll have bigger problems than bad gas mileage. Finding a good place to mount is critical. That leads me to my first complaint: the ScanGauge is just heavy enough that Velcro won’t hold it for long periods of time. After my car has been in the hot sun, the ScanGauge simply falls. It is a habit now for me to stick the ScanGauge back up every time I get in the car. I’ve contemplated using superglue to make sure it stays, but I don’t want to damage the interior.
The realtime data is very handy, but I wish the screen updated a little faster. There are multiple settings (slow, normal, and fast), but fast isn’t quite fast enough. The numbers always lag behind about half a second, making it impossible to drive your car to the data. The trip data is much more interesting and useful. Once I calibrated my speed and fuel mileage, I was surprised to see how accurate it was. Every time I fill up gas, I know how much I have to put in. It is usually accurate within a half gallon. Knowing my fuel mileage has been great for my lead foot too. When I see my mileage lower than normal, I know I have to start taking it easy. There are four trips computed by the ScanGauge: Current, Tank, Today, and Yesterday. These are hardcoded, and you can’t change them, so if you go on a long trip, you can’t keep one average for the whole thing.
Overall, I would recommend the ScanGauge to any geek who wants to know everything about the car.
Review by Gregory G. for ScanGauge II 3-in-1 Compact Multifunction Vehicle Computer with Customizable Display
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I’ve had the scanGuage II for about 3 weeks at the time of this review. I had bought the unit because I was interested in finding out about how my car, a 2002 Toyota Solara was holding up and what the car computer might tell me.
First the cons:
1. The cord is too long. The total run from the ODB II port to where the unit is
mounted is about a 15 inches, top. It would have been nice to have sockets
on both the plug and the SG II. Include a long and short cord, or just have it
so that cat5e network cable could be used.
Why? Because storing the excess cable somewhere is a problem, I ended up
storing in inside the panel protecting the steering column, and may have
created a short in one vehicle lighting circuits.
2. The velcro is too weak to hold the unit in place. I ended up using Radio Shack
LockTite fasteners (the clear ones) instead.
3. The manual leaves a lot to be desired, especially the pictures which are so low
contrast and dark they are useless. I had to go online and download the
manual as a PDF file.
Pros: The ScanGuage works as advertised. To me this is the Holy Grail of
advertising. It barely is worth repeating the items for sale that deliver what
they promise.
1. The display is large and very legible, even at night (or especially at night).
2. The diagnostics (both realtime and stored) are comprehensive
3. The codes are easy to read.
The biggest pro for me is being able to monitor my actual Miles Per Gallon
*mileage* I’ve changed my driving style from constant foot on the gas
pedal to gas-and-coast. A tank of gas lasts SO much longer now, because I
now know how much a lead foot costs. In fact for any given trip I can tell
how much it costs not only in dollars and cents, but also by engine load and
how far (or further) I got just coasting along.
The unit is (in my black & gray interior) inconspicuous, and the slightly
cheap look to the unit works to it’s advantage: no one takes it seriously as
“a thing worth stealing.”
If I had any indication that someone would understand what it does, I’d be
recommending it left and right. As it stands, it is something of a specialty
item, except you soon wonder how you ever got along without it.