Buy ScanGauge II Ultra Compact 3-in-1 Automotive Computer with Customizable Real-Time Fuel Economy Digital GaugesScanGauge II Ultra Compact 3-in-1 Automotive Computer with Customizable Real-Time Fuel Economy Digital Gauges Product Description:
- Programmable 3-in-1 automotive trip computer, diagnostic scan tool, and up to 37 digital gauges in one (vehicle dependent)
- Watch fuel consumption, cost-per-mile, coolant temperature, engine speed, horsepower, and much more in real time
- Works on all 1996 or newer OBDII cars, including gas, diesel, propane and hybrid vehicles
- Checks for Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), clears the codes, and can turn off the "Check Engine" light
- No tools required for installation, small size fits nearly anywhere in the vehicle
Product Description
The ScanGaugeII is a compact vehicle computer that connects to the diagnostic connector in seconds and gives you an extensive trip computer, real time gauges and 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 to run out of fuel and dozens of other functions. Installation takes only seconds and requires no tools. It can be moved from car to car. Works on gas, diesel, propane, and hybrid vehicles. The ScanGaugeII works on all OBDII protocols including the new CAN protocol.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
75 of 76 people found the following review helpful.
ECONOMICAL MULTI-FUNCTION FUEL ECONOMY COMPUTER AND CODE SCANNER
By L. G. CHARLOT
I have had the Scan Gauge II in my Toyota Yaris for about 3 months now, and have tested it's functionality in a wide range of city and freeway driving. Since the car is only a year old, I haven't needed to scan any trouble codes yet, so I am using the SGII primarily as a fuel economy computer.SGII connects directly to the OBD-2 diagnostic port that is present on most vehicles sold in the US since 1996. The manufacturer, Linear Logic, publishs a list on the company website showing specifically which makes and models of cars and light trucks that the unit will and will not work in.Features: The SGII reads the data stream from the car's engine control computer, and uses this data to calculate and display, in real time, the engine's fuel consumption, RPM, coolant temperature, throttle loading, and Trip/Tank statistics like how many miles you can go on remaining fuel, and how much $$$ worth of gas has been burned on the current trip. The unit offers something like 40 different functions and guage displays - go to the company website for a complete list.What I like about the product: Adds fuel economy displays, plus some other guages like Water Temp and RPM, that weren't available even as options on my Toyota Yaris. The fuel economy computer feature is something that you usually see only on up-scale cars costing over $30,000 - ScanGuage II adds this functionality to almost any OBD-II complient car for only $159. The Yaris fuel guage isn't very accurate, whereas the SG-II tells me to 1/10 of a gallon how much gas I have left. At each fill-up, you can re-calibrate the SGII with the exact amount of gas pumped. This is nice because fuel density changes with the seasons as average daily temperature rise and falls, which results in changes of up to 10% in how many gallons it takes to effect a fill-up.The SGII is pretty compact, so most owners will be able to find some place on or under the dash to mount it. At night, the display screen is backlit well enough. At night, with the backlight on, the contrast between the display background and the numbers isn't as great as I'd like, but the screen is readable enough. The backlighting is provided by a multi-color LED, and the user can select between about 16 different colors.The display update/refresh rate is once per second (fast mode), or once per two seconds (regular mode), so the unit's RPM display may not update quickly enough for use as a real-time tachometer in a manual transmission car. However, you could certainly use it to calibrate an analog tachEase of use: The SGII is self-powered from the OBD-II connector, and needs no batteries. It only uses a single ethernet-type cable to connect it to the OBD-II port. One 6' cable comes with the unit, and additional cables can be purchased for $20 if you want to use your SGII in more than one car.The SGII can be used in multiple cars, but moving the unit to a different car probably erases the "current" and "prior day" trip data.Usefulness: This gadget is really helpful on long trips to let you know when you need to make a gas stop. In mountainous terrain, most cars use a lot more gas than when cruising on the "flats", and SGII immediately updates the tank-remaining-mileage if terrain or driving conditions change substantially. The device is sensitive enough to show even small differences in fuel economy like the difference between air conditioning on or off, headlights on or off, and tailgate up/down. The most obvious difference in fuel economy comes with changes in speed, and SGII shows in hard numbers that 75mph cruising will hurt fuel economy as much as 30% compared to keeping it under 60.The other primary use for SGII is to scan your car's OBD-II engine control computer and display the actual trouble code when your "check engine" warning light comes on. Assuming you have a listing of the trouble codes for your car, this feature could tell you the difference between minor glitches for which repair can be delayed a few days, and major failures that need to be fixed right away. Once a fault has been repaired, SGII can be used to tell the car's OBD-II computer to reset the trouble code. I haven't used this feature myself yet, but the owner's manual describes the function well enough.Conclusion: For $159, this is a pretty cool gadget to have in your car, especially as the price or gas is now well above $3.00 (diesel approaching $4.00/gallon in some parts of the US!). And yes, SGII works in most Diesel vehicles made after 1996 (see the list on Linear Logic's website). Highly recommended as a really useful automobile accessory that offers a LOT of "bang-for-the-buck".UPDATE: September 2010. Have used this gadget for almost three years in my Yaris and in my Dodge diesel truck, and still functioning perfectly, despite being cooked in the hot summer sun on the dashboard several times.One issue I have noticed when using it in the Dodge: If I run through a tank of fuel while towing a heavy trailer, then another tank of fuel while the truck is unloaded (not towing or hauling anything), the calibration changes substantially. I usually use something like "45%" for unloaded, and "25%" when towing. However, even these numbers are only rough starting points. In general, over level ground at 55mph, I expect to get 20mpg unloaded, and 14mpg towing a 7800# RV trailer. But the Scan Guage is rarely consistant, even when I am careful to set the calibration to the same numbers I calculated the last time I towed the trailer. I guess other factors like average grade, temperature, and elevation must be affecting the fuel consumption/tank return ratio of the truck's fuel injection system, and this is resulting in inconsistent reporting of fuel economy from the ScanGuage. A typical inconsistency: I drove 300 miles at 45 mph, unloaded, and the scan guage reported 35 mpg (completely unrealistic for a 3/4 ton truck, of course). Actual fuel economy was 24. So I re-calibrated, and on the next tank of fuel, the ScanGuage reported only 10 mpg when I was really getting 16 (I was towing the trailer again on this tank). This is ONLY an issue with my diesel truck, when I install the gadget in my gasoline car, it is very consistant from one tank of fuel to another, and I rarely have to change the calibration after the two fill-ups. I still like the ScanGuage and recommend it, just be aware that apparently the way it interprets fuel consumption data from the ECM in a diesel engine vehicle isn't as stable or consistant as you would get in a gasoline vehicle.
89 of 95 people found the following review helpful.gives you all the information you want/need
By Thomas Mueller
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.
65 of 69 people found the following review helpful.
Be more knowledgeable about your car
By Brett Stewart
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.
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