One item off the List...
Finally, after what seemed like Centuries, I have finally gotten a OBD-II Display for VeeChai or in other words, my own car. I know both my Wife's and Daughter's also have OBD-II ports but doing such stuff on their cars would be nuts. There was a reason why I chose Veechai in 2011 as the SE (Special Edition) was the last leg of the G1 production before they start on the next gen cars. This version comes with very nice side skirts, front & bumpers, and a rear wing. The interior is flushed with leather seats, leather steering wheel and a leather gear knob. And its speedometer console uses red leds. Once I get used to it, the meter looks OK, lah.
The Search for a OBD-II Meter
However, the euphoria did not last. With the purchase of the Bengmobile II, I still felt he is a little incomplete. My original Bengmobile had a collection of meters located on both the dash and the a-pillar. There was an Air/Fuel Ratio, a Vacuum meter (NAs can't do Turbo) and a Voltage meter. The Satria was originally a fourth-generation Mirage/ Colt and at that time, OBD-II Tools or meters exists in Dealer premises with the latter only accessible to those who knows where to get them. And does have a Turbo system. Otherwise, it's practically just a non-functional show-off. To overcome this, being young Engineer, we had to drill holes for the oxygen sensor, temperature probes and so on.
The Bengmobile II came to be during the last decade and although OBD Meters were starting to trickle into the local market, it was meant for the Second Generation of the car. Mine was still classified as First Generation and although it does use the OBD system, it was of the Japanese variance, which is called J-OBD. Some have told me that in order for things to happen, there is the need to modify the connectors or something similar. So, it's a non-happening thing because, it would be senseless to open up a RM400 unit to see how it worked.
It was possible to get some via the Internet and the next hurdle would be the unit's compatibility with Japanese cars. So, that literally pushes me back to the same starting point. And that folks, is why that meter was so illusive to me. That was, until just two days ago where, during a normal Internet Group post, someone highlighted one such meter which is available locally. I quickly fired up my B2C platform and lo and behold, the little sucker was being sold for less than that I had imagined. But more importantly, through customer reviews (yes, I do read them), they are compatible with my VeeChai.
The only problem is, information for the Source or rather, the ones doing it has dried up. And suddenly, just yesterday, through a Facebook Group discussion, there was a link to get one of those rare displays. And at a very affordable price to boot.
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| The package arrived in just about 15 hours... |
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| And the irony is that this meter was so 'common' in Shopee, with the going price was just under an embarrassing sum RM80.00, a fraction of what I was willing to pay long ago. |
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| The Seller even included some free gifts, namely a nice lint free cloth and a sticker bearing their Logo. |
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| There were more things inside the Box such as a small screwdriver, an orange seam opening tool and a spare double-sided foam tape. I was mulling on using the windscreen stand but it makes the meter jut out too much. |
Installing the OTP-P6
Well, that was what it was named on the Box. Installing the Display should not be an issue since I just wanted it to be at the bottom right of the A-pillar. All that is needed is to snake the USB cable from the Display down to the OBD-II Socket below. Without removing the covers to the A-pillar, I just dealt with the speaker grille instead.
Using the supplied orange tool, I was able to pry out grille cover. Then using a #10 (aka 10mm) socket, I moved the Speaker out of the way and dropped the USB cable in. Once that is done, I secured the speakers again and gingerly close the speaker grill AFTER I measured the required distance. The grill will be pushing the cables against the a-pillar cover so everything is going to be squeezed tight.
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| Using the orange tool, I was able to remove the front speaker grille. Yeah, after more than a decade, I can see some deterioration on the speaker. |
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| Using a #10 socket, I was able to remove the 4" speaker so that I can drop the USB cable though the hollow dashboard. |
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| Seriously, this is the first time I've seen a 4", 6Ω, 10W speaker |
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| With that, I rolled up the excess wired and slipped them into the corner of some plastic covers and I'm done. I was expecting to see more connection pins for the OBD-II but then again apart from Power, the pins of interest would be Pins #06 and #14 which could be the ones for J-OBD. However, since I do not have another OBD-2 meter, I am not so concerned anymore. |
What else can this meter do?
Through out the Internet, I discovered that this is a HUD P6. Other sellers would spin their own names around the P6 title. Anyway, the shop I bought it from was called imart88. Apart from showing OBD data, this unit also has the following functions which completely surprises me:
1. Alarms for most of the Data,
2. Clear OBD Errors, and
3. Has GPS (for time, and calibration, satellite version of car's speed, altitude, compass and driving time)
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| This is the image I took from the Meter's box. I kinda like the Yellow Template but the bars on the right is confusing when you forget and just glance at it. You'd think the car's RPM is between 9,000 to 10,000 but it is actually the water temperature. |
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| The ambient light sensor works wonders because the meter is readable during under the bright Sun and not too glaring during night driving. |
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This is the screenshot I took from the Vendor's Shop and with the firmware version v5.31D, there are now 12 templates instead of 11.
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| The bottom shows the two ways to mount the Display. The left uses a double-sided tape while on the right, you'd have to use the windshield holder. Although the image shows a square base, mine is a round base with vacuum seal. |
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| In a nutshell, this picture explains the function of the three buttons during normal use. Although the display does look fancy, it is actually a rectangular screen with a fancy plastic bezel on top. |
Checking the DTCs
I am not sure about other OBD-II Displays but we're in the 2020's, so they should be able to do more than just display OBD data. And so, mine can scan for DTCs and best of all (OK, that's a little risky) delete them.
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| By pressing the middle button for more than two seconds, the display enters the PID mode. |
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| Like all 'Universal' OBD-II reading, there are usually some unknown DTCs. If the meter has the Daihatsu or Perodua's databease of error codes, then it would be shown. |
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This is the only error I could find: P0108.
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Settings
Another feature of this Display is that you can set alarms for most of the OBD Data.
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| First thing first is to set the Engine capacity from 2.0L to 1/3L |
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| For the alarms, I'd set the Speed limit to 120Km/h because I'm good boy. |
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