ScanGauge II

dumboat2 wrote:
How difficult is it to hook up one of these gauges?

With the scan gauge you just plug it into your OBD II connection, enter a few things like eng. size, type of fuel and you're good to go.

How difficult is it to hook up one of these gauges?

Snowman9000 wrote:


I will add, so far I don't know that it helped me gain any MPG. The instant reading varies so rapidly that I find it hard to have a feel for it. I wish they offered a smoothed instant MPG reading as an option.

Scangauge II does have a option for amount of scans to use for readings.

I have an Ultra Gauge, which is similar. It offers several pages of screens if desired. I'm assuming the Scangauge does too. The basic format is six readings per page. Two are big, the other four are smaller.

My main page, going from memory:
Instant MPG
RPM (I don't have a tach)
Avg MPG
% throttle
Gals remaining
Distance to Empty

My second page is more specifically devoted to MPG
Instant MPG
Avg MPG
Gallons per hour
% load
can't recall the other two

Page 3 is a set of trip figures, resettable:
Avg MPG
Avg speed
Avg GPH
Miles
Gallons used
something else

Page 4 is a a duplicate of page 3, but for "short trip", which means during the current run cycle only.

I have not calibrated it yet. So far it registers about 3% fewer miles than my trip odometer, and likewise lower MPG than my hand calculations. I can calibrate the miles on it using mile posts, and calibrate something else too. I'm sorry I can't recall all this today, I'm worn out.
:)

I will add, so far I don't know that it helped me gain any MPG. The instant reading varies so rapidly that I find it hard to have a feel for it. I wish they offered a smoothed instant MPG reading as an option.

After recently installing a ScanaGuage-II in our rig, we went on a 600 mile 24 hour round-trip journey to attend an out of state family funeral.

I quickly settled into displaying

- Average MPG
- Real Time MPG (I forget what it's actually called in the display)
- MPH
- RPM

Our trip out we averaged 11.8 MPG
Our trip back, we averaged 10.5 MPG
To get those numbers, we had to reduce our cruising speed to 60 MPH. There was a steady wind from the north/west which played on those figures.

On our up-coming 4 week trip, I'll be tracking fuel economy the old fashion way and see how it compares.

I have yet to read through the manual, but the MPG figure on the SG-II resets to zero with each engine start-up. Is there a way to accumulate Trip-Average data over the course of 4 weeks?

As you can see, I bought it to monitor fuel economy to drive smarter.

ADDING ON 10/3/2013
During our 4 week trip last August, I changed RPM to TPS (throttle position sensor). TPS ranges from 12 to 76. At 12 my foot is off the gas pedal. At 76, the pedal is plastered to the floor. I quickly learned how much gas I am giving by the position of the gas pedal.

I finally found the codes for my RAV4's transmission temp. In addition, I monitor water temp, real time MPG, and battery voltage.

Dakzuki wrote:

I use LOD to determine downshift points when climbing to go easy on the equipment. I will downshift manually at or before 90% LOD in a climb (if I haven't already in anticipation).

That is the one I use the most. Also use it to tell how much pressure to put on throttle pedal to keep exhaust brake from kicking in on a downhill run.

I use Water Temp, Average fuel economy, LOD (Load), and Boost.

Trans temp is not available on the Sprinter (bummer) or I'd be watching it.

I use LOD to determine downshift points when climbing to go easy on the equipment. I will downshift manually at or before 90% LOD in a climb (if I haven't already in anticipation).

Oil temperature
Coolant temp
Tranny temp
And I switch between battery voltage and FICM voltage (specific to the Ford 6.0 diesel engine).

You can probably improve your gas mileage by 8 to 10% by monitoring average and real time current mpg. The game becomes trying to keep your real time mileage higher than your average. On the very first trip my right foot got quite and education and we improved 9% on a roundtrip we had made several times before.

I also run transmission fluid temp and coolant temp, nice to see the digital display, no guesswork. We are currently negotiating on a new C purchase and you better believe I will be taking the Scan Gauge out of my truck and putting it in the new rig. :C