Scan Guage(s)

[OverlanderFJ62]

Hello Everyone

I was hoping to get some feedback on Scan Gauge(s) that represents a integrated Trip Computer that provides real-time feedback such as the ScanGuage II.

This is another alternative that I found, and was wondering if anyone has had experience with this product. "Ultra-Gauge". The price is reduced from $200.00 to $59.95 with rebate on their web/page, I am sure other sources are available for purchase. I do not own either of the two mention or any other make or model. Thinking this may be an alternative as mention for my 04 Tacoma.

http://www.ultra-gauge.com

UltraGauge is both an OBDII Scan Tool and an Information center that displays selectable engine gauges. UltraGauge displays a possible 75 gauges, such as RPM, Engine Temperature, Intake Air temperature, Distance, Intake Pressure, Mass Air Flow, and many more. UltraGauge can display an assortment of mileage gauges including Instantaneous MPG, Average MPG, Trip gauges, gallons per hour, and more. UltraGauge can scan and read vehicle trouble codes and can even display potential trouble codes. UltraGauge provides customizable alarms for every gauge.

Regards to all

 

[Co-opski]

Word is they are made in China and cheaper than Scanguage II. They have a questionable marketing strategy to join forums and start threads SPAMing about their product. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm? Is that happing here? I've read mixed reviews comparing Ultraguage and Scanguage with a simple internet search. I went with the SG over the UG and I am happy with the product.
Now tell us more on you FJ60 and how well does the UG work on that? BTW welcome to EXPO!
:coffeedrink:
Just a little some some from one of the reviews on: miata.net

19th August 2010, 16:51 #29
Truowa
New-tral

Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Mesa
Posts: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by miata400
Yes, I have one. **Insert glowing review of the UltraGauge here**
Quote:
Originally Posted by nikkidanjo
Again, another new poster praising the device. Sorry if I'm suspicious.
I think your suspicions are correct. It would seem people from UltraGauge (possible the owner) have been going around registering on forums pretending they are customers who just bought an UltraGauge and are very satisfied with it. I've found them on several other forums doing the same thing miata400 did in this thread.

Let me just preface this post by fully disclosing that I work for ScanGauge. I've posted on this forum in the past to help develop a few XGauges and answer questions forum members have about our product (mostly in this thread). I also have no problem with competition as we've had plenty of competitors throughout the years and we'll undoubtedly have more as time goes on. However, I do have a problem with UltraGauges practice of spamming forum threads that are primarily discussions about the ScanGauge and even pretending to be satisfied customers in some cases. When I saw they did it in a forum that I frequent, I felt I should at least say something here.

Their product was released a few weeks ago, and since then several forums have had mysterious new users register and use their first post to immediately claim how much they love the UltraGauge. Here are some examples.

http://www.v8chevycolorado.com/showthread.php?p=11914 - Oh hi, let me bump a 9 month old thread about the ScanGauge to pretend I'm a customer who bought 2 Ultra-Gauges and is very happy!

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5408895 - Post #35, blatent spam advertising that one of the forum members calls them out for.

http://www.mcx7.com/showthread.php?7...6572#post76572- Post #7, user is looking to read out boost, and they think their product which can only read MAP which is certainly not boost is perfect for them.

Also, just as a side note - the ScanGauge can read boost utilizing a MAP XGauge that compensates for ambient pressure. An excellent write up on how do read boost with the ScanGauge can be found Here

http://clubsciontc.com/forums/mobile...auge-ii-18047/ Scion-Down joins August 12th to let everyone know he bought one for his family car.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/sh....php?p=3287794 Post #958 - This new poster on the Toyota forums decided to jump into a ScanGauge Group Buy thread to let everyone know he just purchased an Ultra-Gauge.

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/showthr...=1#post4890205 - Uses funny wording to make it seem like Trans Temp (which is an enhanced gauge) might be available, when their product absolutely cannot read Trans Temp at all or any enhanced data for that matter.

All of these posts were made very close together, and all the users that I could see their location were registered from California. It's also funny to note that when we initially found out about this new product we did a whois lookup on the URL and found it was registered to a Bruce Melvin from an address in California. Since then the information has been changed to some address in Oregon, but luckily we had the presence of mind to take a screenshot of the info in case it was modified. You can view that un-altered screenshot Here. We also found in one of the Amazon discussions about the ScanGauge (located here) a poster by the name B.Melvin thinks you should buy an UltraGauge! I wonder if that could be our friend Bruce from UltraGauge. Finally what really makes me laugh is the fact that their forum admin claims "I'm really not that familiar with SG" after they spent several days trying to poach ScanGauge II discussions.

It's up to you to decide if you think the company that sells the UltraGauge is up to these forum shenanigans. If I'm mistaken, I'd certainly would like to hear about it. However if I'm right, it's really irritating to see such shady behavior and dishonesty when it comes to promoting a product that I am proud to say Linear Logic would never engage in nor have any of our other competitors up until now. We actually have real customers who are satisfied with our product and don't have to make phony reviews.

I would be wary of buying a product from a company that has no problem blatantly lying to it's customers.

James DeLong
Linear Logic LLC

 

[Herbie]

That was.... comprehensive.

As far as gauges go, I've had nothing but good luck from both Scan Gauge and their customer service folks.

I had a bit of intermittent issues with the green backlighting on my ScanGaugeII, unfortunately a few months after it went off the 90day warranty. Even after confirming my purchase date, ScanGauge's customer service gave me a list of things to check on my own and also offered to fix it for free if I couldn't nail it down. Their advice was solid and it works 100% now. Using their MPG and Average gauges, my MPG has come up a bit, as seeing those values in real time has helped me adjust my driving to fit the van's (lack of) aerodynamic profile.

 

[Dave Bennett]

Yeah, my money will be going to Scan Gauge

 

[02TahoeMD]

Another vote for ScanGauge. When I installed mine the radio started doing random, strange things. So, I contacted ScanGauge. They were already on top of the issue and mailed me a different cable free of charge, and I got it three days after contacting them about it. Apparently one of the pins in their regular cable caused the GM computer to spaz out a bit. Anyway, stellar customer service and I love mine, just the convenience of reading and clearing Check Engine codes makes it worth every cent, I look at the gauges as an extra bonus.

 

[User_Name]

Love my Scangauge II :victory:

It taught me my thought to be conservative driving was pretty sloppy and within a week I was getting 3 more mpg average just by paying more attention to shift points

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

If it helps your truck (assuming this is the one you're looking for it for) is OBD-1 and has a self-diagnostic system that tells you what sensor is not working, etc, when your check engine light comes on or whatever codes it has stored - no scanner required. It is helpful for things like temp etc, but vote is not needed personally (but I've never had one as well).

 

[off-roader]

If it helps your truck (assuming this is the one you're looking for it for) is OBD-1 and has a self-diagnostic system that tells you what sensor is not working, etc, when your check engine light comes on or whatever codes it has stored - no scanner required. It is helpful for things like temp etc, but vote is not needed personally (but I've never had one as well).

Not only that, most OBDII readers wont read OBDI codes unless they're made to read the codes for that specific vehicle nor is there an OBDII scan port on an OBDI vehicle.

 

[AxeAngel]

I picked up my scanguage II for $100 shipped in the classifieds section on here.
Very happy with it, still need to get into the more advanced features.

Other than the easy code scanning and the gauge feature(with numerous backlight choices), i like the speedo calibration for those of us running big tires, all the instantaneous vs max gauges also help out to analyze what your peak IA or WT or TPS were during a trip, etc. You can also do a miles left till tank is empty, etc etc.

Good piece of kit and really doesnt detract a lot from the stock look of a rig.

-Sam

 

[arcteryx]

Search IH8MUD- big discussion on it in the last 2-3 months

 

[cruiseroutfit]

A different option from a not so new user

Edge Products is a local company that has been dealing with diesel performance chips for 10+ years now, at one time we were a dealer for them as I had a lot of customers pulling their Cruiser around with Cummins and Powerstrokes and Edge chips really work the trucks up. We focused our product line to Cruiser stuff only (and limited it down to just the highest quality manufactures) hence I didn't do much with Edge for the past 5 years. Last year a member of their staff buys a Cruiser and joins our local Land Cruiser forum (Wasatch Cruisers). He lets us on to a new product they are offering called the Edge Insight CT and CTS. As I was looking for a engine monitoring setup these piqued my interest. I've now had the CTS in my '04 Tacoma for several months and I'm very pleased with it. While it has far more options than I will personally use it is very 'customizable' in many ways including the ability to use it as a back-up camera monitor, clear diagnostic codes, perform performance tests such as 0-60mph and 1/4 mile runs. The overwhelming use I see out of it is the ability to monitor engine load, instant miles per gallon and speed relative to each other to find that 'sweet' spot while Cruising down the highway.

 

[StumpXJ]

Ive had my Scan gauge II in a couple vehicles over the past few years, and have had ZERO problems. The customer service is awesome too, as I had trouble figuring out how to setup an X gauge and they walked me through it. If this one craps out for some reason, I will buy another.

~ James

 

[OverlanderFJ62]

I would like to thank everyone for replying with their comments. Its just great when you can digest information from others who have experience / personal product views with their ownership/purchase, then provide elaborate / informative feedback to very simplistic "Thank You All" Great approach when someone is reaching out for feedback.

I think I will go ahead and move forward with the SG II for the 04 TACOMA, its an all around vehicle (4x4 Double cab) that I spend the majority of my time with on a daily basis.

For The FJ62 well lets just say, very simplistic diagnostic features, You know the drill, "Service Wire, TE1 and E1 and your off and running. Never really worried about gas mileage, its just the nature of the beast, its all good when your out and about on your way to your next destination. Next project is to finish my rear storage unit for the FJ62.

Thanks again

 

[HenryJ]

Heads up.

This is sort of a long story and the conclusion has yet to be determined. I thought I'd put the feelers out there and see if anyone else was having any difficulties that may be connected to their Scangauge II.

Since the sale of my old S-series truck I have been using the Scangauge II in a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx. These cars have electronic power steering. The Malibu since 2000 has been known to have power steering issues due to a defective part in the steering column assembly. Earlier models received a recall for these repairs. There is now a "Special policy" in place for our 2006 that covers repair and replacement of the column should a problem arise.
Our Maxx did exhibit this problem once prior to the special policy, but it had not recurred. Fast forward to a couple months ago when I sold my truck and invested in a new one. Now the Maxx is having problems with loss of power steering pretty regularly. I am starting to think , "Great! Just blew the bucks on a newer truck and the car is falling apart!". We made arrangements with the GM service department to check it out and perform the column replacement.
That went without a hitch. The parts were ordered, column replaced and we are back in business, right? Nope.
Same problems.
Looking deeper into the "Special Policy" it was JUST a column replacement. Not a fix for the loss of power steering issue. They would do no more. This was now OUR problem. I know the service manager at that dealership, and while that might make some of you mad, not me. I told him that I would figure it out and then we could see what needs to be done. He was more than willing to help how ever he could. I do understand that his hands were tied as to seeking reimbursement through GM.
We ran the codes and came back with U2100 and U2109. These codes were related to loss of communications with the PCM and another module. Nate checked the TSBs and found that low voltage or power spikes could create the situation where these codes might surface. He related a story about a bad coil pack triggering such a failure. It seems that they don't like power fluctuation and shut down to save themselves.

As soon as I saw the codes, I thought about a bad battery connection. The errors always seemed to coincide with wet weather events. That puts connections in question. I checked the battery and it was good. I asked about the column replacement and any connections that they might have disturbed. No leads there as nothing was suspect.
My suspicion that wet weather was a contributing factor did not pan out.

I HATE to blame an aftermarket device for a problem. That is something the dealer is all too quick to do! They did not even mention it. I disconnected the ScangaugeII for over a week and we had no problems. Then reconnected it and within a week the errors occurred again. Loss of power steering, and I assume this was due to a communications error with the PCM. The gauge has been disconnected for a month now and no errors.

Yesterday I contacted Linear Logic, LLC the manufacturer of the Scangauge II by email and was promptly replied to by Leah O'Campo.

Thank you for your inquiry. It is possible that your ScanGaugeII may have a hardware malfunction. Please send in your ScanGauge II for free repair. Along with your unit, please include a note explaining what issues you are experiencing with your ScanGauge II, what year and type of vehicle the ScanGauge II is plugged into, your contact information, and your return shipping information.

I shipped the unit yesterday and await...."the rest of the story."