OBD MX +

[Robert1380]

Good morning guys. Gonna have to ask how the heck to use this scanner device since I’m not having much luck getting it configured.

It’s installed and able to connect so there’s half the battle. Unfortunately, the only information I can access is the 12v battery SOC and current speed. How do I set up the screen to view other critical information like the HVB health, etc?

Been messing with this off and on for a few months and gave up. Appreciate it

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[RickLightning]

Good morning guys. Gonna have to ask how the heck to use this scanner device since I’m not having much luck getting it configured.

It’s installed and able to connect so there’s half the battle. Unfortunately, the only information I can access is the 12v battery SOC and current speed. How do I set up the screen to view other critical information like the HVB health, etc?

Been messing with this off and on for a few months and gave up. Appreciate it

Install the Car Scanner app...

 

[Robert1380]

Install the Car Scanner app...

Have it. Or should I say had it. I couldn’t get that to connect

Install the Car Scanner app...

Rick, I had the CS app installed but couldn’t get the darn thing to connect to the device. I’ll download it again and give it another shot.

 

[fhteagle]

CarScanner connects to my OBDLink MX+ just fine. It does take up to a minute from disconnected state to actually have the "dashboard" start updating sometimes though. How long are you waiting for CarScanner to finish the connection cycle?

 

[chapba]

Man I’m having issues with my MX+. Have both car scanner and Obd app. Neither make connection to my ECU no matter how long I wait or reset/reinstall.

 

[Robert1380]

CarScanner connects to my OBDLink MX+ just fine. It does take up to a minute from disconnected state to actually have the "dashboard" start updating sometimes though. How long are you waiting for CarScanner to finish the connection cycle?

My problem was that I never got it to connect. If my
Memory serves me? It had some error message and never successfully configured

 

[21st Century Truck]

It sometimes helps to try and get an EPROM update on the OBD MX+. If there is a new EPROM update it'll say so on the home web page, and sometimes the OBD MX+ will self-update too if connected by BlueTooth to a laptop. That's been my experience with these over the past decade or so, until i got the newer cable-tethered OBD EX+.

 

[mr.Magoo]

Probably worth using the OBDLink App first to:
A) update firmware
B) make sure everything is working/talking

...before introducing other apps / sources of issues.

Also remember that the truck needs to be ON for it to work (you'll be able to connect but won't get any data if it's OFF).

 

[Robert1380]

It sometimes helps to try and get an EPROM update on the OBD MX+. If there is a new EPROM update it'll say so on the home web page, and sometimes the OBD MX+ will self-update too if connected by BlueTooth to a laptop. That's been my experience with these over the past decade or so, until i got the newer cable-tethered OBD EX+.

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it

Probably worth using the OBDLink App first to:
A) update firmware
B) make sure everything is working/talking

...before introducing other apps / sources of issues.

Also remember that the truck needs to be ON for it to work (you'll be able to connect but won't get any data if it's OFF).

copy that. I’ll mess with it again see if I can get it working. Thank you!

 

[chapba]

Thanks for the info. Appreciate it

copy that. I’ll mess with it again see if I can get it working. Thank you!

So I finally found the trick to get my MX+ to work. It’s still acted stubborn for awhile but is working pretty frequently now after:
1. Updating the firmware as mentioned with the OBD linkapp and then no close the app after updating. After updating I have never used the linkapp again.
2. Try to connect to CarScanner and if it gives you an error, disconnect within the app, then unplug OBD reader from the truck. While the CarScanner app is on and running in your phone, re-plug the reader in and connect within the app again.

I had to do this several times when first starting the OBD reader but now it connects almost every time I plug it in! Hope that helps!

 

[Jim Lewis]

IIRC, using the OBDLink app with the MX+ reader will give you more predefined Ford PIDs in the app than Car Scanner. To dive deep into module PIDs with Car Scanner, you have to know the PIDs you want to enter in the Car Scanner app.

 

[chapba]

IIRC, using the OBDLink app with the MX+ reader will give you more predefined Ford PIDs in the app than Car Scanner. To dive deep into module PIDs with Car Scanner, you have to know the PIDs you want to enter in the Car Scanner app.

Good to know! This is my first reader and still learning all the bells and whistles. The threads I looked at stated that the OBDLink app was not as useful but will have to look at it more!

 

[Jim Lewis]

@chapba, You have to select the advanced settings that you want to use in the OBDLink app. Here's how to do it (I don't remember the exact steps as I did it ~2.5 years ago).

Go to Settings on the main screen of the OBDLink app. Click on "Get Enhanced OEM Add-Ons."

When you open that option, you'll see a button to load in the predefined Ford, Lincoln, Mercury PIDs.

Once you've load the pre-defined Ford PIDs, when you go to connect, don't pick the generic OBDII reader settings. Below that on the CONNECT screen, you should see a list of all the Ford modules available to read, scroll down a bit and tap to the right of the list and that list should end up with a green check mark. Scroll all the way to the end and pick CONNECT.

When you go to create a dashboard gauge or graph using ADD DISPLAY, step through the process of creating the type of display you want, until you get to the screen that offers you a choice of the PID to use (see below). Tap the Right Angle Bracket next to the PID offered.

On the next screen, to get the enhanced set of PIDs available for Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, tap that category button. (You could search amongst all PID categories at the top but it's probably more fruitful to focus in on the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury ones).

Once you pull up the Ford, Lincoln, Mercury module list, you could look in specific modules for the PID you want to display in your dashboard gauge or graph. But it's easiest to just search for the type of PID you want, e.g., for "battery" (without the quotes). My recollection is poor, but IIRC, you get a list of modules that have a PID with the search term in the description, and you have to tap on each module to see what PIDs were found with the search term.

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