OBD II Datalogging

[jmgtp]

I want to be able to interface my laptop with an OBD II vehicle much like I already can with OBD I.

I know that I'd need an OBD II to serial/usb cable - that is the easy part.

The question: is the software for OBD II interfacing generic or vehicle specific? In other words, is there software that can scan/datalog ANY OBD II vehicle or are there only programs like TunerPro that require definition files specific to a vehicle (xdfs and .ecus) to make sense of the datastream?

I'm not looking into the capability to reflash or make changes, only looking to be able to datalog for diagnostic purposes.

[3400-95-Modified]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OBDII-Scan-Tool-Interface-USB-PC-OBD2-ELM-CAN-Scanner_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1205Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem2ea6508ebdQQitemZ200358792893QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools

Something like that would work, and typically the software supports 96+ OBDII...

Unfortunately there is not many "free" logging software is out there for OBDII like tuner pro where you can make your own definition files, your typically stuck with what Pids they come with, I think you'll be happy with what they support though, and you'll get plenty of info from them.

ELM has a free obdlogger software if you buy their interface.

[sprucegagt]

Yes, there are a number of different scanners on the market that can datalog any OBD II vehicle, depending on protocol. The one below I have been thinking about getting, just to keep in the tool box.

http://www.obd-2.com/index.html