OBD2 Scanner for Mechanics

How does this work

– the benefits of using an OBD scanner –

Each vehicle built after 1995 comes with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). You can look at it as the “brain” behind your car. Among many functions, the ECU also stores error codes when something goes wrong. As a result, the car will display an engine light on the dashboard, but if you want more info, you need to read those error codes. This is where an OND2 scanner comes in handy.

These devices are small Bluetooth-powered dongles that connect to the car’s OBD2 port and they can read error codes, delete errors, monitor various car parameters, and more. One of the most common types of such device is the ELM327.

Purchase an ELM327 Dongle
– needed for connecting your ARI to the vehicle’s control unit –

You can purchase an ELM327 dongle from any store or online. They are usually quite cheap and can be found in many different options. Although they may have some differences, most of them follow the same principle of working (OBD2) and use the same chip (ELM327)

ARI can connect to any OBD dongle that uses the EML327 chip. However, common sense dictates that more expensive devices have a longer lifetime and they turn out to be quite a good investment for any mechanic and auto repair shop.

Connect Dongle to ARI

– requires Bluetooth turned ON –

All ELM327 dongles use Bluetooth for communicating with the device, so you need to make sure your device supports Bluetooth and also that the Bluetooth is turned ON.

Here’s how to connect ARI to your OBD2 dongle:

• log into ARI
• go to OBD Scanner
• follow the instructions and then click Scan for Bluetooth devices
• select the dongle name

If connection is successful, then you will be redirected to a new page where you can select the type of monitoring you’d like to perform.

Select Car Metric

–  real-time data & error codes management –

Once your OBD2 dongle is connected to ARI, it is time to select the type of data you want to fetch. There are currently 4 categories you can choose from, depending on your car diagnostic needs.

• Real-Time Metrics

This allows you to monitor in real-time the data from your vehicle’s central unit. You can check RPM levels, fuel injection parameters, engine fuel rate, torque, and much more.

• Requests DTC

This function fetches all the existing DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes) stored in your car’s board computer. Once connected, ARI will request all the active DTCs and display them on your screen. You can then add those to your diagnose.

• Clear DTC

This option allows you to delete all active error codes stored on your car’s computer. Very useful when you want to reset the check engine light. Sometimes, deleting an error can fix the issue, however, in most cases, the mechanic needs to fix the underlying problem first before deleting the error codes.

Read Live Metrics

–  all PIDs available –

Diagnosing a car issue requires plenty of data in order to ensure a successful repair. Some of this data can be easily measured physically by the technician, while other may need to be accessed via an OBD2 dongle from the car’s computer.

ARI allows you to monitor various PID parameters live right from the vehicle’s onboard computer. Here are some of the most common motrics you can monitor:

• PID02: DTC that caused required freeze frame data storage
• PID03: Fuel system 1 and 2 status
• PID05: Engine Coolant Temperature
• PID06: Short Term Fuel Trim – Bank 1,3
• PID0A: Fuel Pressure
• PID0B: Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure
• PID0B: Engine RPM
• PID0C: Vehicle Speed Sensor
• PID0D: Ignition Timing Advance for #1 Cylinder
• PID0F: Intake Air Temperature
• PID1F: Fuel Rail Pressure relative to manifold vacuum
• PID47: Absolute Throttle Position B
• … and much more

ARI supports all PID metrics delivered via the OBD2 dongle. However, depending on the car make and model, some metrics may be unavailable