This article will guide you on how to install ELM327 USB Cable / Bluetooth scanner on your MAC computer. It will then work with OBD2 software (like TOAD) and your vehicle. (If this step is missed, then OBD software is not going to work. So it's CRUCIAL that you follow below steps). |
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ELM327 USB Cable: |
Download the following ELM327 drivers: Driver Pack 1, Driver Pack 2
Install.
The best OBD2 scanner is the Autel Maxisys Pro MS908P, which features advanced diagnostics and ECU programming for professional users. However, it’s fairly expensive and has many complex features that the average car owner won’t use. In terms of value for money, the Bluetooth BlueDriver OBD2 automotive diagnostic scanner is the best option.
That's it.
OBD-2 software will now detect your ELM327 cable — and connect to car also. (If cable is still not found, then install Driver Pack 3.)
ELM327 Bluetooth: |

1. Locate OBD 2 connector.
Plug your OBD 2 Bluetooth hardware interface into OBD 2 port ensuring a solid connection. OBD 2 connector locations vary by vehicle make. Please refer to service manual to locate your vehicle's OBD 2 port.
2. Turn the car ignition switch to ON.
Turn the car ignition on. If this is the first attempt the BLUETOOTH DEVICE MUST BE PAIRED.
3. Pairing Bluetooth interface.
(NOTE: You only have 60 seconds to pair the Bluetooth scanner from the time you connect it to the car — to the time of entering the Pairing code. If more then 60 second pass — then Pairing code will be rejected and you'll have to plug out the scanner and try again. So have your Bluetooth devices window open, so you can immediately connect as soon as you see ELM327/OBDII/Unknown Device show up.)
In the upper right of the Apple menu bar click the Bluetooth symbol. Scroll down to set up Bluetooth device (You may need to turn Bluetooth 'On' first).
- In case the Bluetooth icon is not present in the menu bar, to go System Preferences » Bluetooth » and check the 'Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar' box.
4. Bluetooth Setup Assistant.
The Bluetooth setup assistant will search for devices automatically. The Bluetooth name for the ELM327 interfaces will be either 'OBDII' or 'CBT'. Or even different.
If your device does not appear, ensure the ignition is 'on' and your Bluetooth OBD 2 interface is securely connected. Verify that the OBD 2 interface is powered which is indicated by a steady red LED on the device.
5. Passcode Settings.
After initially attempting to pair, the Bluetooth Setup Assistant should display the message, 'The pairing attempt was unsuccessful'. This indicates the pairing passcode needs to be set.
Click 'Passcode Options...' in the lower left.
6. Selecting a Passcode.
Select 'Use a specific passcode' and enter '6789'. If that doesn't work, then enter '1234'. If that doesn't work, then enter '0000'.
Click OK.
If the interface paired properly, a Bluetooth Setup Assistant window will appear confirming, 'Pairing was completed successfully' and 'A computer serial port was created'.
Click Quit.
(Note: If the message 'A computer serial port was created' does not appear, the interface IS NOT paired properly and OBD-2 software will not connect to your vehicle.)
7. You Are Ready To Connect!
Launch the OBD software. And click connect.
If it doesn't connect, then you'll need to configure software preferences and specify which port number your ELM Bluetooth is on.
Connection Preferences In OBD Software |
This section addresses common connection preferences you'll find in typical OBD software. So this is a short guide in case you're stuck on what settings to adjust.
1. What should I select for Serial Port settings?
If the software has 'Auto' option to detect your ELM327 automatically — then choose it because it'll cycle through all ports on your computer until it finds the port with ELM327 connection on it.
However if it doesn't find your ELM327 interface, then you'll need to set the Serial/COM port manually to the same number where ELM327 is connected.
Typical example of OBD connection preferences.
2. What should the Port Speed (bps) be set at?
The interfaces we currently ship require the 38400 (bps) setting.
3. What is Parity and what should Parity be set to?
Parity is a method for error detection in transmission. For most interfaces Parity should be set to 'No Parity'.
4. What is the 'Timeout (sec)' for?
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The timeout is how long the software will wait before it gives up on hearing back from a serial port.
Some cars respond more quickly, in which case the timeout should be set for a shorter duration so time is not wasted when troubleshooting connection issues.
However, some cars respond more slowly, in which timeout should be set for a longer duration to ensure that OBD software does not prematurely terminate communication.
Quick navigation
- Automotive diagnostic software for Windows
- Automotive diagnostic software for Mac
A smart vehicle is able to adjust its productivity to lower fuel consumption, show the best direction taking into account traffic and weather conditions, detect errors in the engine and collect data to arrange lower insurance rates. Most vehicles are equipped with on-board diagnostics or an OBD2 port that provides access to data from the engine control unit (ECU). To get the information you need to plug in an external device.
An OBD auto scanner is used to receive data codes and other information about the car's general conditions. One can buy diagnostic software that will let connect laptop to the OBD system in the vehicle, but automotive repair knowledge is usually also needed.
The need for the development of various vehicle apps has been rapidly increasing and we in Archer Software have delivered a number of scanning solutions for different purposes of the automotive industry.
As usually car application has two components:
- a device - hardware configuration interface that connects to the onboard computer of the car
- and the application itself on the computer.
The car application analyzes the records and works as a smart assistant when the car owner drives the vehicle. It analyzes many sides of the trip and provides the user with helpful tips: how to drive more cautiously, how to reduce fuel consumption and how to extend the life of the car. The main goal of applications is to give the driver more insight into their car. Vehicle maintenance apps usually help to track the car's service and gas fill-ups.
With a vehicle monitoring application that can be customized based on the needs of your organizations and customers, you can be sure your drivers are following the best practices.
Archer Software is a recognized provider of custom automotive diagnostic software development for connected cars as well as mobile apps for car owners. Our process is SPICE 4 compliant and we have a vast experience providing mobile, web, desktop, embedded development, design and delivery (introducing Continuous Integration, moving products to the cloud, integrating Automated QA, etc.).
We've gathered 6 best automotive diagnostic software solutions that provide a simple and acceptable way to monitor your car's health.
AutoEnginuity's ScanTool is a great automotive diagnostic software for your Windows-based computer or laptop. Owners of AutoEnginuity’s ScanTool claim that coverage is the main feature of the application. The application supports coverage options for 48 carmakers.
And it's also about the depth of this comprehension. The app allows access to ABS, airbag, enhanced powertrain, instrument cluster, transmission, and dozens of other body and chassis controllers and consists of online data, bi-directional controls, adaptive resets and learns, system tests, and trouble code retrieval and clearing.
AutoEnginuity has great user-friendly interfaces without sacrificing its ease-of-use and can pan, allows zooming, and displays several plots on one graph.
Other features include Print DTC and IM/Mode 6 data in an individual report format. These reports help customers to customize necessary repairs and optional repairs.
The application allows displaying data in a comfortable form instead of raw data. Data is logged in two formats: XML to use in browsers, and CSV for spreadsheets with the capability to change the format and view logs offline.
Customizable sensor data. One can change the way it displays the data about the sensor's sampling rate, ranges, set audio trigger points, units, and scaling value. Using AutoEnginuity’s ScanTool one can be sure to receive a full-featured scan tool and professional-grade coverage.
ProScan
ProScan is considered to be one of the most user-friendly PC-based OBD scanners. ProScan is often sold as a mix with hardware and software and contains all of the necessary cables, equipment, and software to turn any PC into an OBD2 code reader.
This software has some important benefits, and here are they:
- Fuel Economy tool. This car diagnostic tool helps to adapt driving behavior to lower the fuel consumption of a vehicle. This tool could be launched during a test drive while buying a car. The analysis will be available after a quick drive and one can see the real fuel consumption data for the car based upon each driver's habits. This feature can help to make the best choice when buying a car and prevent large expenses.
- Vehicle Connection Manager. The Vehicle Connection Manager is an interface you see when launching the program. To make PC - vehicle connection user should select the vehicle profile and connect via the program. It will show the connection status and view the report if the failure happens.
- Freeze Frame Data. This tool allows monitoring any data at any period by saving all the previous information. It also shows all detected problems and helps to resolve them.
- Oxygen Sensor Tests. This tool allows displaying all tests your car had for all individual oxygen sensors. If the car has a problem, this tool will help to determine if the oxygen sensors have failed and detect exactly which sensor.
- Diagnostic Report Generator. ProScan allows generating diagnostics report for a car with one button. Check engine light detector. When a car's check engine light appears, a vehicle will save a code that recognizes the problem detected(DTC). And the tool will provide a list of such DTC saved with its description so the user can detect the problem.
PCMScan
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This tool is a generic automotive diagnostic scanner and a diagnostics tool that maintain a broad multiplicity of OBD2 hardware interfaces. It allows viewing, creating charts, logging, and playback of diagnostics data in the present time with the car's OBD2 diagnostic data slot. It also allows to see DTC's, Freeze Frame data, and other car info. It supports all US, Asian and European cars built after 1996.
Key benefits are:
- Customized dashboards,
- Drag Strip and Dyno feature,
- Data logging,
- DTCs,
- Test results, and other useful features like full support of printing reports, customizable alerts and other.
Automotive diagnostic software for Mac
EOBD Facile
Users can make a diagnostics of a vehicle using Mac OS and find out the reason for engine indicators without the manufacturer's pack. The connection is simple, and after that user can diagnose and see the results in real-time.
Main functions of EOBD Facile OBD Software Programming are:
- View engine faults of codes and find out their meaning
- Clear the check engine light
- Monitor special manufacturer error codes
- Make recordings of trips and save via iPhone/iPad, recover them later using EOBD Facile application
- Create and view records of GPS data
OBD Auto Doctor
OBD2 Auto Doctor is an advanced OBD2 car diagnostics tool. It is one of the best OBD software for the OS X platform. The Auto Doctor allows the user to examine and reset the alert codes. Using this OBD2 diagnostic software a user can interact with a car's OBD2 system readily, and make a computer or a laptop with OS X a very clever automotive scanner.
OBD2 Auto Doctor is an excellent tool for people who are interested in understanding more their cars. If one wants to monitor vehicle data in the present period of time or turn off the check engine indicator, this can be very gear.
Key benefits of this OBD2 software:
- User can see if the vehicle is ready for emission tests and the transcript of DTCs, Freeze Frame, MIL
- View fuel consumption and fuel emission
- View OBD2 indicators in real-time to detect breakings
- User can turn between numerical or graphical view of all OBD2 data, imperial and metric units
- Possibility to sen this data via email
- The tool helps to read VIN, Calibration Identifications and Calibration Verification Numbers of ECU
- This car diagnostic software supports a built-in DTC database including 14000+ alarm codes.
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Every failure (DTC) of a vehicle is saved in the engine control module (ECM). Reading this information can help professionals to identify the problem and fix a car. Movi™ car diagnostic software helps to see this trouble codes, extract the car's freeze-frame information, and clear it, so that can turn your check engine light off.
Movi tool has these features in comparison with other software:
- User can view real-time data to help in the diagnostics of numerous engine malfunctions
- Read or clear DTCs
- Define if emission tests are finished after a repair to provide a pass at an emission testing
- View and clear freeze frame data
- User can monitor passing and average fuel consumption and fuel economy
- The driver can see battery voltage for battery and charging system condition
- Monitor a virtual horsepower
- Monitoring of virtual torque
- Monitor and make a graph to 4 engine indicators at the same time
- The tool saves a driver's sessions to view it after
- Audio tips
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For more information on how we can develop connected car software solutions that are right for you, contact our experts at info@archer-soft.com.