OBDII - Some basic questions

Apologies in advance if both of these should have been added to existing threads. I am beat up today...

I'm not a pro but I have 7 cars to maintain, mostly Subarus. Paul's book has paid for itself many times over but there are some things I can't find answers to, at least so far. Within seconds of posting this I will probably find the answers somewhere. Anyway, at this time I am limited to either low budget solutions or using my existing hardware: OBDII/bluetooth to Android phone, special cable to a PC running RomRaider, a very old (but paid for) Genisys EVO scanner.

1) I like being able to log data while driving. When I'm chasing something like a P0420 it can take several attempts before the code is thrown. Remember, I'm under no pressure to fix it "today", as some of you pros are. But Subaru puts the OBDII port in about the worst place they could have picked. I had one of the female pins in the OBDII connector stop making (reliable) contact and it nearly killed me finding it AND fixing it. I'm getting too old to bend myself into a pretzel just to get under the dash. So, does anyone see a downside with relocating the port using an OBDII extender cable, especially on the early 2000 (pre CAN, or does that even matter), models? I'd like to move mine to where I can easily get to it and see what I'm doing as I connect something to it.

2) Does anyone have any warnings about these BLE (bluetooth low energy) adaptors. They draw so little power when the key is off that you can just leave them plugged in. I like being able to glance at my phone and see fuel trims, a/f ratio, etc. It's almost too good to be true and that phrase has opened a portal to hell for me 100% of the time so far. I'm still testing mine but so far, well, wow.

The only issue I see with relocating the OBD port would be come inspection time, and that's going to depend on your state regulations and your inspector.
One of the questions the inspector must answer in my state is something to the effect of "has the OBD connector been modified tampered with?".

As far as the dongle you leave plugged into the port, I have only seen one instance of such a tool keeping the on board monitors form running, also making it impossible to an inspection sticker.

Plug-in cable extensions for 16pin OBD2 are easy enough to find you can get ones with side entry plugs and slim cables. I have a couple as some of the cars I work on have the socket obstructing the brake pedal. You can also find extension cables with switches.

Diagnostic dongles generally draw about 25ma parsitic drain ---- roughly doubles the overnight parasitic drain on a small car not a problem if the car is in everyday day use but it can cause issues if the battery is failing or the car is parked up.

Yes, they are easy enough to find. If you use one that's good enough for me, thanks.

This dongle claims to draw 30 ma. in sleep mode and supposedly can be set to turn off and draw nothing. I don't know yet. Bluetooth LE is new to me and I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to pair mine, only to learn that you don't pair these. So I'm still futzing with it. amzn.to/3lYZ2Tw

This is going a little beyond my automotive pay grade, but I know there are people in the IT community have some concerns about BLE. My old Subarus that I'll be using it with require a jumper to be hooked up before the ECU can be reflashed. I have no idea how dangerous it might be to have your OBDII port exposed to anyone in range with any other car.

The automagic pairing feature sounds really iffy. If you don't have to do anything to connect to it neither does any else. It's definitely not something I'd leave in a vehicle 24/7.

Matt T wrote: The automagic pairing feature sounds really iffy. If you don't have to do anything to connect to it neither does any else. It's definitely not something I'd leave in a vehicle 24/7.

Yes, sir, that is the concern. I still have a lot of catching up to do on Bluetooth LE and the feature to power it down when the key is off, but I'm already a bit concerned.

tmcquinn wrote: Yes, they are easy enough to find. If you use one that's good enough for me, thanks.

This dongle claims to draw 30 ma. in sleep mode and supposedly can be set to turn off and draw nothing. I don't know yet. Bluetooth LE is new to me and I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to pair mine, only to learn that you don't pair these. So I'm still futzing with it. amzn.to/3lYZ2Tw

This is going a little beyond my automotive pay grade, but I know there are people in the IT community have some concerns about BLE. My old Subarus that I'll be using it with require a jumper to be hooked up before the ECU can be reflashed. I have no idea how dangerous it might be to have your OBDII port exposed to anyone in range with any other car.

I don't use that particular one --- these things are so generic that it is just an example of one with a nice flat plug. AES Wave to extra long ones with a fat cable.