yeti Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 I have a Fiat Ducato based Hobby Siesta,the poor vision of the speedo and other items on the instrument panel can be overcome by a head up display(HUD) drawn from the OBD port. However my problem is that the port is occupied by what appears to be part of the alarm,can I use a splitter to give me an extra port and where are they obtained? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 I think connecting a HUD to a Ducato’s OBD port to provide a speedometer function has been discussed here before and that it ain’t as simple (or as cheap) as you might think. Good luck - if you manage to get a digital speedometer to work off the OBD port, please say, as that approach might avoid fiddling about with replacement speedometer faces on imported LHD motorhomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Try eBay... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/16pin-OBD2-Male-to-Dual-Female-Splitter-Extension-Cable-Connector-ELM327-Scanner/323110468240 Plus many more options. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 I've tried both OBD & GPS HUD's preferring the GPS as less info on screen Have it mounted on back of steering column projecting display on speedo glass. Don't forget you can get speedo apps for your phone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted March 26, 2018 Author Share Posted March 26, 2018 witzend - 2018-03-26 9:26 PM I've tried both OBD & GPS HUD's preferring the GPS as less info on screen Have it mounted on back of steering column projecting display on speedo glass. Don't forget you can get speedo apps for your phone If I had a phone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Derek Uzzell - 2018-03-26 6:53 PM I think connecting a HUD to a Ducato’s OBD port to provide a speedometer function has been discussed here before and that it ain’t as simple (or as cheap) as you might think. Good luck - if you manage to get a digital speedometer to work off the OBD port, please say, as that approach might avoid fiddling about with replacement speedometer faces on imported LHD motorhomes. Derek, I have a ScanGauge II permanently connected to the diagnostic socket in my Sprinter, it can show four different parameters at any time and one of those available is Road Speed. It may take a very small amount of setting up but will then turn on and off with ignition and display required info in a slim display. https://www.scangauge.com/products/scangauge-ii/ It may not be the cheapest solution but should work in a Ducato with the standard OBDII port. (My Sprinter is pre OBD with an MB specific round connector and hence I have to use an adaptor lead, but it still works). Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 This is the earlier (2015) forum discussion I mentioned above http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Head-Up-Speed-Display/38409/ and the idea was suggested again in 2016 http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Fiat-instrument-illumination/41380/?DisplayType=nested&setcookie=1&go=Go There are lots of cheap 'speed-displaying’ devices (HUD or otherwise) advertised that connect to the OBD port (example here) https://tinyurl.com/y7p636qe Such devices are attractive as they provde an obvious way to side-step the speedometer visibility issue. However, I can’t find any on-line indication that they have been installed successfully by just plugging the device into a the OBD port of a X250/X290 Ducato/Boxer/Relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul2 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 Derek That last link to Autool x50 I have one just plugged it in the OBD port on my x250 and speedo worked on kms (without having to select anything) not tried to use it to read anything else very happy with kms. I had it at Christmas only fitted the other week worked fine to Devon and back, very clear reading. It came from amazon and I think It was one of your links that got me looking at it in the first place.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 paul2 - 2018-03-27 11:53 AM That last link to Autool x50 I have one just plugged it in the OBD port on my x250 and speedo worked on kms Paul Hi Paul thats looks impressive will it work with out HUD I'd rather use it as a stand alone unit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul2 Posted March 27, 2018 Share Posted March 27, 2018 HiI just use double side sticky tape to hold the unit on dash as in that ebay link. My satnav has a small speedo reading with is not easy to see and does not work when a route is planned, on the m5 the Autool was reading the same as satnav. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 yeti - 2018-03-26 6:35 PM I have a Fiat Ducato based Hobby Siesta,the poor vision of the speedo and other items on the instrument panel can be overcome by a head up display(HUD) drawn from the OBD port. However my problem is that the port is occupied by what appears to be part of the alarm,can I use a splitter to give me an extra port and where are they obtained? Evidently OBD ‘splitters’ are widely advertised https://tinyurl.com/y87o9mc5 (I’ve no idea how well they work...) For what it’s worth, my 2015 Ducato X290 was serviced yesterday and the Fiat Professional technician told me that two ‘flash’ software revisions had been applied to it. One was an (undefined) body-computer update and the other revision automatically illuminated the instrument-cluster's backlighting when the vehicle’s ignition was switched on. The latter revision used to be available on-demand if a Ducato X290’s owner requested it: now you get all-time instrument backlighting without asking for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted March 29, 2018 Author Share Posted March 29, 2018 Just spoke to the alarm engineer who will 'hardwire' the alarm in,I thought he should have installed it that way as a matter of course,presently, IMHO the alarm is vulnerable, Meantime I have ordered an ODB splitter.I will keep you all appraised of progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 Thank you Derek for the info on the cluster lights. Did you go always to fiat. and not your dealer? In other words, the dealer is unable to fix this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted March 30, 2018 Share Posted March 30, 2018 The software revision can only be carried out by a Fiat agent not by a motorhome dealership (unless the dealership also happens to be a Fiat agent). Poor Ducato speedometer visibility has been discussed here several times (example here) http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/fiat-dashboard-lighting-/45838/ and it has been widely publicised that owners of Ducato X290s could ask Fiat to apply a software revision that would turn on the instrument-cluster’s backlighting whenever the vehicle’s ignition was on. I believe that Euro 6 Ducatos have this feature as standard and (based on my recent experience) if a Euro 5+ Ducato X290 is being serviced by a Fiat agent, the feature will be imposed on it without the owner needing to request that it to be done. Having the instrument cluster backlit at all times could be useful during poor daylight conditions, except all the software modification does is illuminate the instruments at the maximum setting available for nightime driving whch, in daylight, does not make the instruments much more readable than if there were no backlighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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