OBDII ELM327 diagnostic software

You can often re-assign the COM port assignment in Device Manager, thus moving ports > 8 (usually USB to serial adaptors or devices containing them) to ports < 8.

Err yes I know that, but given the number that I use it's tedious.

Just how many have you got on a laptop?

JB

Normally at least 6 in use, I use a lot of something to something random adapters that go via a "serial port" on top of that.

Jesus! What _are_ all of those other serial devices? I'm curious now. When I'm using a laptop for auto diags with VAG-COM or my BMW scanner, I only ever use either a single scanner on a serial port, or very occaisionally with a USB oscilloscope, at any one time.

JB

well the pcmcia modems normally grabbed 2, i do a lot of industrial control so every time you plug a new canbus/RS485/422/whatever adapter in it creates a new serial port. Never mind Toshibas bluetooth stack:-( Normally the OBDII ends up at about number 33.

get an OBD / Bluetooth dongle?

I'm tempted by one of these (about £80) for my Nokia 770, as that would be wondefully portable and the software is free. However I still don't have a car with a vaguely OBD-compliant interface to it.

yep, got one. But that doesn't solve the software.

There's open source software to do anything OBD II can do, and to do it over a Bluetooth dongle.

There's your software, there's no serial port involved, so what's your problem?

Ok, where?

JB