NeedHelp

Hi guys,

I bought a cheap ELM327 bluethoot OB2 adapter on ebay, I just wanted to know why my car would throw me a CEL from time to time.

Everything works fine until it tries to read my ECU or something like that. Now I remember reading that with Trifecta your ECU was locked or something like that, so that only Vince at Trifecta could read it.

Is it not working because I have a Trifecta tune ?

Thank you, any help will be appreciated

LTBALTBMX

That shouldn't be the case. I dont think Trifecta disabled OBD. My car is trifecta tuned and OBD works on it.

I've heard the cheapo ELM327s on eBay may not work with all cars.

What year is your cobalt? That will tell us if it uses CAN bus

09CobaltSS1

ELM interfaces are actually decent units. A Trifecta tune shouldn't effect it's ability to read codes and monitor parameters in the least. Try checking your setting in the program and make sure you selected the ELM interface as you desired input.

cluelessk

What phone you using?

Mine doesn't connect with my Nexus 4 but works fine with my old S2 and my brothers Nexus 7 tablet.

LTBALTBMX

The ebay ones are clones. Most don't support CAN bus because that will require an extra transceiver.

cluelessk

I got mine for around $15 on Amazon and it works great.

NeedHelp

Hi guys thanks for the answers,

My car is a 2009 Cobalt SS, so I think it should work..

I use a Sony Xperia Z3. I will try with my mom's phone, she use a Galaxy I think.

But I doubt the phone is the problem, as I have no problem connecting my phone to the adapter.. It just can't read the ECU it seems.

I will try again tomorrow, and I'll be a little more patient I guess.

LTBALTBMX

08+ Cobalts use CAN bus. I'd try your ELM with a different car (08+) and phone to rule out the source.

NeedHelp

You said your adapter work and you own a 09 Cobalt, what adapter are you using ? Is it the blue and orange one ?

Thanks !!

LTBALTBMX

I have an OBD scanner.

The ELM327 adapters are all made differently even though they look the same on the outside. Your best bet is to test with different cars and phones to see if you get differing results.

09CobaltSS1

I personally have no experience with knock off brands, so I only assumed he had a legit ELM interface. I've always had good luck with their stuff but I also again have never purchased any sort of knock off brands when it comes to scan and tuning components. Word to the wise OP, don't buy cheap knock offs. Case and point, your thread here. You clearly get what you pay for when it comes to these sort of things. Lesson learned I guess.

NeedHelp

I tried again today, and after a little while it finally worked.. For 2 minutes then it stopped working again haha. I don't know why it does that, probably because it's a cheap one off Ebay.

Anyway, I still had time to see why my CEL was on so for 8$ it's well worth the price :P

Thanks for the answers guys.

Albertsstc09

Anyone know of one that will work with my ipad4? Don't want to waste money guessing. Thanks

LTBALTBMX

For starters, you will need one that is WiFi based. Among which of them will work? I don't know. I can guarantee none of the bluetooth ones work with non jailbroken iDevices.