Hi all, I’m unsure if I should buy a OBD to usb cable and use a program on my pc (what program I should use i do not know) or by an actual scanner for cheap.
I take care of my family’s cars so I would like to buy the option that lets me do the most with it. I take care of my Seat Ibiza 6J, a Peugeot 208 from 2014, a Toyota ractis from 2010 and a Nissan march from time to time.

I’m looking for something that will let me get away with reading not only VAG cars but any car I need, if that’s possible and on a budget, I can let go of verity but the main issue is budget. I’m unsure if ODB cables that advertise VAGCOM or VCDS capabilities would still work on the Peugeot or Toyota.

I have a cheapo Chinese scanner from AliExpress that seems to read the Peugeot fine but doesn’t read the Ibiza I don’t think, as I’ve got an airbag light on due to the car being turned on when the seat was out and it doesn’t show the fault code or erase anything.

I would like some enlightenment as I’m pretty much drawing blanks. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hey everyone!

I've been working on my own Windows diagnostic tool called TT-V Diagnostic for Webasto Thermo Top V heaters, mainly found in older Volvos.

I started this because of the 800-hour limit that can cause some of these heaters to stop working.

I've spent quite a bit of time analyzing the W-Bus communication and developing my own software to communicate with the heater.

So far I've tested the operating-hour reset on two different Thermo Top V heaters, and both started working again afterwards.

The software can currently:

• Identify the ECU and read heater information

• Read operating hours

• Read and clear fault codes

• Read and back up EEPROM

• Reset operating hours on supported ECU versions

• Communicate using a USB K-Line/W-Bus adapter

This is only for Thermo Top V heaters. VEVO, EVO, Thermo Top C and other models aren't supported. EEPROM writing has only been verified on a specific Volvo EUCD ECU profile so far.

I've also made a free demo that lets you connect to the heater, check the operating hours and read/clear fault codes without changing the hour counter.

I'm looking for a few people with compatible heaters who'd like to test it. I can also provide a free 7-day full version for testing.

I'd really appreciate feedback, especially about communication, ECU compatibility or any bugs you find.

And of course, reaching 800 hours doesn't necessarily mean that's why the heater stopped working.

Here's a video of one of my tests:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWOAxk0dHjw

Send me a PM if you'd like to try it out!

I’m exploring a single-channel Classic CAN / CAN FD adapter for bench work and would like to hear how people handle this today. The idea is live capture on Windows over USB, Wi-Fi, or a small USB ESP-NOW receiver, plus Bluetooth LE access from a phone. It could keep logging to microSD with the PC disconnected, and transmit frames for bench testing.

Thinking of your last real capture, what tool did you use and what got in your way? Would you use the USB receiver, phone access, or standalone logging? What would you want to do from the phone, and what budget would make sense for a device that solves that problem?

Hi! Many of you already know LiteDash, and a lot of you have supported it: thank you! There are now **over 2,600 head units** running LiteDash, and it grows every day. Today I'm introducing:

- **LiteDash Connect (new, free phone app):** whatever plays on your phone (Spotify, YouTube Music…) shows on the head unit with cover art and controls. You can also change your car and its color from your phone and see your tire pressure.

And LiteDash itself keeps getting better every day:

- **Redesigned full-screen music:** big cover art, a progress bar and bigger buttons.

- **3D map like Waze** with street names and offline areas up to 200 km.

- **One-tap wallpapers** and speedometers with or without a card.

- **Sound calibration:** if your unit is silent at first, LiteDash tries and asks "Can you hear it?".

- **We actually support factory radios, and every new one that comes in:** factory radio and Bluetooth on TopWay (TS10/TS18), FYT, NWD, HCN, Microntek, Autochips, Clinkway, Jancar and Reglink. Yours isn't there? Send a report from Settings → System and I'll add it.

- **Customize everything:** your car in 3D in your color (16 models, more coming; Ko-fi supporters get priority on requests: ko-fi.com/irvingguerradev), widgets you move and resize, plus an OBD scanner and tire pressure.

Under 2 MB, Android 6+, free, no ads, open source (GPL-3.0).

Google Play or APK: **https://litedash.dev** · Source: https://github.com/IrvingGuerra/litedash

If you like it, a ⭐ on GitHub and a 5★ review on Play really help more people find it.

What head unit and car do you have?

After posting some videos on other platforms of my Honda cluster connected to my racing game, people were interested in an easy way to do it too.

Since I also wanted a simple way to do this and not solder a bunch of CAN pals and buck converter boards, I spent 10x as much time and money making a PCB instead lol! So if anyone is interested, please DM me. As of right now I can program it to work with any Honda cluster, since I have .dbc files for pretty much all years/models (they don’t change often). Otherwise feel free to buy it and hack on your own, I’m pretty sure most people in this group would be doing their own reverse engineering anyway haha.

It comes with:
- 4 low side drivers, 3 high side drivers, and an IGN high side driver with a wider trace.
- 2 CAN bus lines for FCAN/BCAN
- 12v 2amp DC plug input
- 12v battery+GND output
- header slot for esp32-c6

I wish I could’ve implemented LIN, a fuel sender, and the other optional CAN buses like SW-CAN, but the cost was way more than I was willing to sell them for. $50 is the max I plan on going, and that’s if I make the minimum of 5 boards. So let me know if you would like one, I am even open to commissions for sourcing a cluster of your choice and fully setting it up before shipping. I already have one fully setup 2017 Honda cluster if anyone is interested as well

Okay ehm where could I start... I'm a member of Digital Kaos and MHH Auto (I really regret that I registered to Mhh because it cost money and still not worth it) and all of these places seem so deserted. Like everyone left or I don't know. Back then it was so alive, 10 years ago and now I logged in to mhh and my inbox is full with what? Advertisements... they really want to scam the newbies with those tuning bulshitteries. I don't care about tuning by the way because I know enough engineering to know that it's an expensive game if you don't want to be the average ricer at 3am with the 5 inch exhaust tip. But just thinking about the fact modern cars are literally computers on four wheels and really because now every car is software based, why do those communities are so dead? Or everyone moved to somewhere else? People are hangin' out in discord groups or where the people gone? I feel like I missed the trolley or something or people are no longer interested in idk doing software modifications on their cars because it's 2026 and NEVs don't need an egr off? Also the only think I see on forums that people are asking for immo off solutions for 4th gen vw golfs and museal machines like that. So this whole eeprom and flash file sharing scene is dead? I wasn't there in the past few years so that's why I'm asking you guys. Maybe I sound lame, I don't know.

Hi everyone! I’m wondering if it’s possible to hack this TEXA Data Plug using AI and reverse engineering skills—specifically, to perform a wireless dump via Bluetooth and then flash custom firmware (generated by AI) over-the-air (OTA), so that it functions like an ELM327 device.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KmNOunRtB6e4R--xi-WV18w_w8k9mCHt&usp=drive_fs

https://efi2000.com/scanner

Free and fully featured.

Works over USB, Bluetooth & Bluetooth LE.

No install needed, it works directly from Chrome or Edge browser on your phone, tablet, laptop.

However you can install it as a Chrome app. Click "Install and create shortcut". No app store or apk needed.

Features:

• All OBD2 telemetry

• All OEM specific PIDs. ABS, Airbag, Transmission, Emissions, Multimedia, all of it.

For example on my VW Touareg I can read the parking brake air gap, DPF temperature, engine oil level, yaw sensor and 300+ more.

• All adaptation resets.

• High speed Logging in binary format, can easily be decoded by chatgpt & claude. Or you can replay it back in the main efi2000 tuning app.

• raw CAN explorer. For advanced users, it lets you poll the CAN network and send commands to your ECU, TCU, BCM & any other CAN enabled module.

I noticed many other posts for vibe coded slop apps requiring sketchy apk installs. And of course there is the existing app store offerings that gouge people with stupid high prices.

I'm not selling anything, there is no ads or other revenue stream. This is a free app.

This OBD2 scanner app was originally part of the efi2000 ECU tuning software, and is now released as standalone app for FREE.

Have fun!

Hi

I wish to change a few graphics elements (font size etc) on a stock kombi screen. So far I can use L3 auth to the kombi, but I am out of ideas what next. I was hopeful someone has a hint which might work like the SSH/CA part works for nbt evo idrive6 or similar.

Im building an open source app similar to bitbox, to flash my dirt bike ecu with a new tune.

I had some progress so far. I was able to get my hands on two dumps made with commercial software (stock and remapped from same model bike) and the xdf definition file with a friend.

So, i wanted to share the actual progress on the Bosch MSE8.0 ECU (SPC572, 1.5 MB flash) with the tool im building, and ask for help with the last missing piece.

What's working so far

- Reading the full 1.5 MB flash over J2534 (OpenPort 2.0), and identifying the ECU (software, hardware and part number).
- Validating the read against independent files: I compared my dump with an untouched original backup and with a remapped file. About 1.3 MB of the three files is byte-identical, and the differences sit exactly where expected: calibration tables, in blocks that line up with the table boundaries. I found no random bytes or communication errors in the dump.
- I got an XDF for TunerPro, so the maps can be opened and edited.
- On the checksum side, the code block (starting at 0xC0000) verifies with the public MG1/MSE8 CRC from the open moto-ecu-checksum (found in github) project on all three files. The calibration block (starting at 0x80000) does not verify with that algorithm, not even on the original backup, and I haven't found its real rule yet, but i think this does not matter.

What I still need for the write flow

The write sequence itself (programming session, erase, download) is implemented and passes my simulated tests, but nothing has been run on a real ECU yet, so I'm not flashing the bike until I have more certainty. I'm looking for:

1. How the SecurityAccess (level 7) seed/key works on this ECU, and how long the session stays valid while waiting for the key.

2. Whether anyone has flashed this ECU on a bench and what the erase/transfer behaviour looked like (timings, block size, any pitfalls).

3. What state the ECU is left in if a write is interrupted after the erase, and any known recovery procedure.

4. How the calibration block checksum (0x80000–0xBFFFF) is handled, or whether the ECU even enforces it. (this one i think does not matter as said above).

I'm doing this on my own bike and wanna be sure before pulling the trigger, because an interrupted flash can brick the unit. Any experience, even partial, would help a lot.

Thanks!

CANExplorer is a free, MIT-licensed desktop tool for CAN, CAN FD, and LIN.

CANExplorer is currently the best open source CANbus monitoring tool there is. The goal of this project is to make working with CAN easier and more accessible. Star the project to create awareness.

Here’s what landed since v1.6.0:

🎥 Capture & replay

Record camera video alongside a bus log and seek through both together.

Attach a GPX or NMEA track to see your position during replay.

Switch trace timestamps between relative, delta, absolute, and Unix time.

Capture live Ethernet on Linux, Windows, and macOS.

🔐 Security & diagnostics

Security Manager: encrypted key and certificate storage, shareable key bundles, and a tamper-evident audit log.

SecOC: verify MACs and freshness in the trace, send secured frames, and script replay and tamper tests.

UDS 0x29 authentication: certificate exchange and challenge-response, with a simulated ECU to try both.

DoIP with mutual TLS, plus decryption of supported TLS, IPsec, and MACsec captures when you have the keys.

Test UDS seed patterns and lockout behavior; export security events to CSV or JSON.

🛠️ Reverse engineering & bench work

Faster automatic field detection and signal correlation.

Undo/redo, signal search, and copy/paste in the database editor.

Restbus simulation: send cyclic messages from a database, including secured PDUs.

AUTOSAR E2E checks for supported CAN PDUs and SOME/IP messages.

K-Line via ELM327/OBDLink, J1708 capture via a compatible serial adapter, and RP1210 CAN on Windows.

Better adapter detection diagnostics and a fix for the Linux file picker crash.

No adapter? Start a virtual bus and run the example engine simulation.

Github · Downloads · Full changelog · Documentation

What’s the one thing you still reach for a separate tool to do on your CAN bench?

My Kia's head unit claims Android 6 in the settings. It's really Android 4.2 (API 17), from 2012. No Play Store, nothing installs, and the factory menu is ugly.

So I built StradaOS, a free and open-source home screen for these units. It installs like a normal app (no root, no flashing), and 5,000+ of you have downloaded it so far. Thank you!

What it does (as of 2.20):

- Animated analog/mixed speedometer (GPS), also as an overlay on the map, in any corner

- Maintenance reminders: oil plus your own (filters, brakes, insurance, car wash…) by distance or by days/weeks/months, whichever comes first

- Live OSM map with heading-up, plus offline maps you download per country

- Bluetooth/Android Auto music with cover art and big controls

- Android Auto & CarPlay buttons. Honest note: CarPlay needs your unit's app or an adapter, a launcher can't do it alone

- Dock with 4–10 buttons, any app on any button, icon packs, light/dark/auto, 10 accent colors, font size

- Weather, your car's photo, wide 1280x480 / 1920x720 screens

- Android 4.1+, under 1 MB, no ads, no tracking, GPL-3.0

Download / site: https://lordnordic-debug.github.io/StradaOS/?lang=en

Source: https://github.com/lordnordic-debug/StradaOS

If it's useful to you: https://ko-fi.com/stradaos

Most features came from feedback here, so tell me your head unit model and what you'd add.

Similar to my recent WRX project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxqAseB_9vA

Except the CAN messages are totally different, some with counters and a checksum. Reversed CAN messages using a Pico, and a custom C# program I wrote.

Used SimHub to hook it up to BeamNG. Serial commands to Pico to change parameters. Pico drives a CAN PHY on my development board.

I have control of every CAN controlled indication including EyeSight and SI-Drive. Fuel gauge and oil pressure light aren't CAN controlled, so those are not in my control.

Working on some cool stuff to control Hondas over OBD, using KLINE. Works for all cars!

I post all my research here for anyone who wants all the UDS commands/CAN bus signals/security access keys etc. I update it often! https://github.com/Ldalvik/NinePfive

Hi everyone!
I’m installing a rear-view camera in my 2018 Audi A3 8V Facelift.
The installation requires connecting two wires to the existing CAN High and CAN Low wires behind the MMI unit.
What’s the best way to make a reliable CAN bus tap?
Would an open-barrel crimp splice be suitable, or is there a better method?
I’m mainly concerned about long-term reliability, vibration, and signal integrity.
Thanks in advance!

Hyundai Gen4 Standard infotainment

Has anyone got any experience with this? Does anyone know what OS it runs, any way to sideload or modify the apps etc?

Thanks!

I was inspired by /u/MotorvateDIY and made a rudimentary CAN translator for my automotive networks class project. Of the ones that don’t recognize the G37 CAN data, I have got coolant temp, speed, and gear gauges functional. Still missing oil pressure (no sensor stock), temp, Boost (duh), and transmission temp. Hoping to get a few more to work this weekend.

Hi! 🚗 I'm looking for people with a VW / Audi / Škoda / SEAT / CUPRA to test my VAG Diagnostic app (Android). So far I've mostly tested it on a bench with a simulator, and now I need readings from real cars.

The test version only reads data: it detects control units, part numbers and fault codes. It does not clear faults, code anything, or change any car settings. The test takes about 10–15 minutes.

What you need:

• an Android phone,

• an ELM327 Bluetooth OBD adapter (e.g. Vlink); Wi-Fi adapters won't work,

• a VW group car, ideally from around 2012 onward (Golf 7, Octavia III, A3 8V, Leon III and newer). Older cars are useful too.

📥 Download the app:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-jvtmcPDvu_mjCv1VXyD7VxkI3PqVS8l/view

The current version is tester-2 from 4 November. The app is available in English, German and Polish, and it automatically switches to your phone's language.

How to run the test:

1. The car is standing still, ignition on, and the adapter is in the OBD socket and paired with your phone.

2. In the app, tap the OBD connection card at the top, then "Connect" next to your adapter.

3. Choose "Full diagnosis." The first time, press "Activate PRO test" (it's free, you're not buying anything), then press "Full diagnosis" again.

4. Press "Run Auto-Scan VAG UDS," then "Run full Auto-Scan UDS," and wait until it finishes without locking your phone.

5. Press "Show result and fault clearing," take screenshots of the result, and go back with the arrow.

6. Press "Copy diagnostic log" and paste it to me in a private message or by email at [email protected]. Add the car, year, engine, gearbox and adapter.

🔒 The app masks the VIN and serial numbers in the log by itself. In the screenshots, cover the VIN if it's visible. Please send logs to me privately, not to the group.

⚠️ Don't use clearing in "Engine diagnostics" or "OBD Terminal," since Auto-Scan is enough for this test. Scan only with the car standing still.

If you have VCDS, OBDeleven or Carista, please also send a screenshot of their fault list. That comparison would help me a lot. A log from a failed scan is valuable too, so send it freely.

Thanks for your help! 🙏

Cześć! 🚗 Szukam osób z autem VW / Audi / Škoda / SEAT / CUPRA do przetestowania mojej aplikacji VAG Diagnostic (Android). Do tej pory sprawdzałem ją głównie na stanowisku z symulatorem, a teraz potrzebuję odczytów z prawdziwych aut.

Wersja testowa tylko czyta dane: wykrywa sterowniki, numery części i kody błędów. Nie kasuje błędów, niczego nie koduje i nie zmienia ustawień auta. Test zajmuje około 10–15 minut.

Co jest potrzebne:

• telefon z Androidem,

• adapter OBD ELM327 na Bluetooth (np. Vlink); adaptery Wi-Fi nie zadziałają,

• auto z grupy VW, najlepiej od około 2012 r. (Golf 7, Octavia III, A3 8V, Leon III i nowsze). Starsze też się przydadzą.

📥 Pobierz aplikację:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-jvtmcPDvu_mjCv1VXyD7VxkI3PqVS8l/view

Aktualna wersja to tester-2 z 4 listopada. Aplikacja jest dostępna po angielsku, niemiecku i polsku, a język ustawia się automatycznie zgodnie z językiem telefonu.

Jak przeprowadzić test:

1. Auto stoi, zapłon jest włączony, a adapter siedzi w gnieździe OBD i jest sparowany z telefonem.

2. W aplikacji stuknij kartę połączenia OBD na górze, a potem „Połącz” przy swoim adapterze.

3. Wybierz „Pełna diagnoza”. Za pierwszym razem naciśnij „Aktywuj PRO testowo” (to bezpłatne, niczego nie kupujesz), a potem jeszcze raz „Pełna diagnoza”.

4. Naciśnij „Uruchom Auto-Scan VAG UDS”, a potem „Uruchom pełny Auto-Scan UDS” i poczekaj do końca, nie blokując telefonu.

5. Naciśnij „Pokaż wynik i kasowanie błędów”, zrób zrzuty ekranu wyniku i wróć strzałką.

6. Naciśnij „Kopiuj log diagnostyczny” i wklej mi log w prywatnej wiadomości lub na email: [email protected]. Dopisz: auto, rocznik, silnik, skrzynię i adapter.

🔒 Aplikacja sama maskuje w logu VIN i numery seryjne. Na zrzutach zamaluj VIN, jeśli go widać. Logi wysyłajcie mi prywatnie, nie na grupę.

⚠️ Nie używaj kasowania w „Diagnostyce silnika” ani „Terminala OBD”, bo do testu wystarczy Auto-Scan. Skanuj tylko w stojącym aucie.

Jeśli masz VCDS, OBDeleven albo Caristę, wyślij też zrzut ich listy błędów. Takie porównanie bardzo mi pomoże. Log z nieudanego skanu też jest cenny, więc wysyłaj go śmiało.

Dzięki za pomoc! 🙏

Hi everyone, does anyone know of a way to enable SSH on iDrive 8.5? I'm familiar with iDrive 8 and have already done this successfully, but I'm having trouble with iDrive 8.5.