98 v70 NA Scan Gauge II or Ultra Gauge installation

Post by **98v70dad** » 03 Apr 2015, 16:03

I have just a basic code reader and it generally has served me well. However, I'm thinking of getting an advanced scanner like the ones in my subject line because I think they would help me with my gas mileage. I drive about 75 miles trip every day and even a small mprovement in mpg really adds up over a year.

So, I have two questions:

1) In the 98 V70 the OBD II port is in the center console. Permanently mounting either of these gauges will not allow me to close the console top due to the wire. It looks like the connector will hold open the console top by a few inches. What have people done to work around this problem? One solution would be to push the obd ii connector out of the console and pull the wire harness and connector out of the side of the console at floor level. It would work but there has to be a better way to do it.

2) Which gauge do you prefer and why? I'm leaning toward the scan gauge II because it seems to blend a little better and it appears to be more full featured. However, the ultra gauge's big display makes it fairly easy to read and its about half the cost. I would like to monitor real time mpg , coolant temperature, and voltage and possibly something else useful.

Post by **rspi** » 03 Apr 2015, 19:13

Post by **98v70dad** » 03 Apr 2015, 19:29

Thanks rspi. I watched all of those videos last week. They are well done and they are what inspired me to get a better scanner. Your videos have answered many questions for me. Maybe they covered how to work around the fact that the console doesn't close when the scanner is plugged in. If they do I'm sorry I've forgotten the information already. I'll re-watch them.

I spend an hour in traffic both ways each day and i put my right arm on the console when the traffic slows to a crawl. It may seem like a small detail, but not being able to rest my arm on top of the console will be a big issue for me.

Post by **rspi** » 04 Apr 2015, 09:36

No, actually it is a pain. I use it in my daughter's S70 GLT sometimes and it does raise the armrest some. I have not worked a solution because it is usually in my 850. It is easy to pull the center console so I don't think it would be hard to move the plug somewhere and glue it with one of those hot glue guns.

The Ultra Gauge has a few features that I would like but from what I have read it has a little bit of a learning curve.

Post by **98v70dad** » 05 Apr 2015, 15:00

Anybody else? I'd like to add some sort of extra gauges to monitor a few things but the OBD 2 plug part will be a small problem on the V70 since its in the center console arm rest. I can come up with something, but why reinvent the wheel. Any ideas would be appreciated.

charleskennedy23 · Post by **charleskennedy23** » 06 Apr 2015, 05:17

I have the same issue for my 98 V70 T5. For what it's worth, I just let the center console rest on top of the scan guage plug. It's been like that for almost 5 months now and I have not noticed any issues. It looks sloppy and I would prefer the cable to be hidden, but I have not had any issues resting my arm on the center console with the scan guage plugged in. The plastic around the plug is pretty durable and the center console is not raised that much by the plug.

Post by **98v70dad** » 06 Apr 2015, 18:11

I agree that just letting the console top ride up will work but it will eventually break the wires on the scan gauge. Whether it happens in 6 months or six years is the unknown. Just my opinion. I may do just that though. I really don't need or want another project, especially something I don't need.

A block of wood of the correct size placed in the tray would probably solve it, but I use the tray to store my mileage log and the garage door opener. It would be great if the OBD 2 wire harness could be easily split and an additional plug in could be added. Probably easily done, but as they used to say out in the hanger "big dealing it again".

Post by **98v70dad** » 08 Apr 2015, 17:19

OK folks I learned some stuff and am sort of answering my own question, but it should benefit the group so I'll post it.

I found out that you can buy a scanner extension cord with a 90 degree fitting on the end. Also there are Y splitters available with many types of end connectors. Also you can get cords and splitters with "noodle" wire which is flat instead of round. Therefore there are many options.

The easiest is to buy the 90 degree end and let the rest of the cord flop. With a splitter you could possibly remove the existing obd2 male fitting, plug in the splitter and put one of the male fittings on the Y in the original obd2 location and plug the scangauge2 cord into the remaining male fitting (all done under the console so it doesn't show) I believe you could rout the scangauge cable through the console and up through the dashboard exiting on top of the steering wheel.

There are also many online DIY guides about making a scangauge 2 cord. Apparently it can be made fairly easily with an ethernet cable. Soooooo, I think its fairly easy AND possible to put in a scangauge and only have a few inches of wire exposed. This is't a priority for me right now so it may be a while before I do it but maybe this info will help someone else.

s10lowrider1994 · Post by **s10lowrider1994** » 11 Apr 2015, 00:03

We've got an UltraGauge and it works great, had more features than the scan gauge and doesn't look so retro. The easiest thing to do with the OBDII port is to simply relocate it. There's enough wire under there to move the plug underneath the dash somewhere.

Post by **98v70dad** » 13 Apr 2015, 17:59

Today I went to the junkyard and bought the under console wire harness for $10. I'll just splice it in and have two OBD2 ports.

I live in a place with mandatory annual smog testing and they use the OBD2 port to do the test. So, while that's an obvious solution it wont work for people in big cities with smog problems unless you're willing to fish the connector out every year so they can do the test. If you're suggesting that you move it and cut a hole in the side or top of the console that might work. The wire in the harness I bought is about 12 inches long so you could move the port about a foot.