Product Review: ScanGaugeII Trip Computer

[rmargoss Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close rmargoss]

Same problem with mine. Sometimes it chooses not to "wake up". Received the exact same response from the company in the US when I told them about the prob. Was finally asked to send it back to the US for a warranty repair but it seems something is really wrong if there are so many people with the same issue. Haven't sent it yet because I doubt they can do anything and I'll just have to fork out postage costs. I also have a 2007 D4D. Think I'll wait for the outcome here

[masso Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close masso]

Scangauge/Oil Pressure

Hi Folks,

A newby Scangauge II owner here.. so far looks the ducks guts! Question i cant seem to find an answer to tho.... if it reads the data from the engine management and dash gauges etc... how come it cant pick up oil pressure?... or can it??

Rick

[PeteS Member Find all posts View Profile Close PeteS]

Dave from Woodgers's is still pushing the barrow for us.

Dave's last email below:
Speaking to another Prado owner today, another issue may be that the voltage is not getting up high enough. This Prado owner mentioned that his voltage never goes above 13.7v. Not sure if this is related but it does seem coincidental. Will keep monitoring and investigating.
This is their (Scanguage) response:
The Diesels do use stronger batteries than needed for gas vehicles. This may keep the voltage from being able to rise quickly enough to indicate a start-up.

Cheers
PeteS



Cheers
Dave

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

Hi All,

As part of my investigation on what I believe is low voltage output from my October 07 built D4D (See Electrical, D4D charging voltage) I have purchased a ScanGaugeII from Dave. My intension is to monitor the vehicle voltage. To fully charge a deep cycle battery and (most car batteries I believe) the alternator should put out around 14.2 Volts (sometime higher) to bulk charge the battery. I have never seen my D4D put out higher than 13.7 Volts. Unfortunately at 13.7 volts the deep cycle battery is never being fully charged.

I would appreciate if all who have a ScanGauge could let me know the max voltage they see. Also the year and engine of their vehicles would be helpful to see if it is a new “feature”. :wink:

I am still waiting on Toyota to respond.

Cheers,

John

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

In a previous life when I was in signalling in the Railways, we used to set chargers to 13.5 to 13.8V on deep cycle lead acid batteries at level crossings. It was deemed that more than that would boil the batteries and would not be mtce friendly at levels higher than that.
Most of these batteries lived on trickle charge and only discharged when trains activated the lights. When they discharged they did so at up to 30 amps and would be recharged at 23Amps until they reached that level again. We would get 7-10 years out of these batteries before they failed.
Nowdays they use sealed gel cells and put 13.2 to 13.3 Volts on them. They are also deep cycle and should last just as long.
Dont know for sure how similar the characterists are for car batteries but I used that principle for my boat battery and got 5 years out of it, before I replaced it only cause I hate rowing. It was still working!!!
In the automotive world they charge the start battery higher, because you may not drive the car for long. The alternators dont bring the batt to fully charged then start a trickle charge like your battery charger at home does.
Perhaps the new Prado has a alternator that does this.
I know with landcruisers we had to replace the battery at 50 000KM regardless of the age of the vehicle which I believed was over charging.

Thats my opinion

[PeteS Member Find all posts View Profile Close PeteS]

I would appreciate if all who have a ScanGauge could let me know the max voltage they see. Also the year and engine of their vehicles would be helpful to see if it is a new “feature”. :wink:
Cheers, John

Hi John.
Without wanting to hijack the thread, my Feb07 D4D sometimes goes up as high as 14.1 when I first start. On average I sit around 13.7 and go as low as 13.3 v sometimes. The voltage drops very quickly as the engine (and likewise the alternator) warms up. I run a combo of the Toyota lead/acid and a AGM Deep Cycle. My understanding is the maximum voltage that should be applied to deep cycle batteries (an indded most batteries) is 14.1volts.
PeteS

[Pedro Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pedro]

My scanguage shows maximum 13.7 and usually sits around the 13.3

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

It will be interesting to see what max voltage people are seeing. My deep cycle battery is a Trojan and I have lifted the attached table from Trojan’s web site to show what Trojan believe is charge settings.


Table 2. Charger Voltage Settings for Flooded Batteries

System Voltage 12V

Charger voltage setting
Daily Charge 14.8
Float 13.2
Equalize 15.5


Cheers,

John

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

Sorry meant to add Trojans supplement comments. The first relates to the charging voltages


6. Correct the charging voltage to compensate for temperatures above and below 80o F. (Add .028 volt per cell for every 10o below 80o F and subtract .028 volt per cell for every 10o above 80o F)

10. Prevent undercharging the batteries. Undercharging causes stratification.


Cheers,

John

[andrewh Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close andrewh]

I have a Jan08 D4D . I've been doing some work on it with doors open and interior lights on for sometime, which has discharged the battery. When this is the case I find that the charge is up to 14.1 according to the Scanguage (14.2 according to my multimeter at the battery). After awhile it drops back down as the battery is recharged.

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

sounds like the alternator must have some smarts to it.

[Johnk Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Johnk]

I received the new ScanGaugeII from Dave and installed it on the weekend. - Nice piece of gear. The Scangauge is confirming the my D4D voltage is not getting over 13.7 volts which is what I am seeing on my multimeter. Will continue to monitor when I have the Engel running for a couple of days.

One thing I have noticed is I do not appear to have a wake up problem with the ScanGauge. So far it hasn't had any issues with the alternator voltage.

Cheers,

John

[JJT Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JJT]

Hi,

Just wondering if there is any further news on the "Wake up" issue with the Scanguage II. Has it been resolved? I am about to get one for my D4D.

Thanks

[PeteS Member Find all posts View Profile Close PeteS]

I emailed Dave from Woodgers on Monday asking if there were any further developments and also gave Dave a link to this thread if he wanted further information. Have not heard back as yet.

Cheers
PeteS

[joedan Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close joedan]

Just on the new Scanguage, has anyone got any of the extra Xgauge gauges working for the Prado?

http://www.scangauge.com/support/pdfs/XGAUGE.pdf

I couldn't find anything on the forum about this, perhaps we should collate a list of working Xguages.

I'm waiting for delivery of my Scanguage and will be happy to post what works and what doesn't.