DashDAQ Info thread

[liquoredonlife]

I talked with Pharoh prior to buying a DashDAQ and eventually got one myself. I can't make comparisons to other OBD II readers having never tried any others, but I just wanted to start this thread to get others informed about what's currently capable with this $535 doohickey, how to program various aspects of it, as well as what I've observed with my car.

If you're interested in buying one, I highly recommend tunertools.com. Ordered Thursday morning, got it Saturday noon from CT to CA via USPS Priority. Very pleasant folks to deal with.



It's a linux-based programmable OBDII/CANBUS device than can monitor/log various engine sensors that generate numeric signals and do calculations to those signals on the fly. It can read and clear check engine lights. It also features connectivity to aftermarket sensors as well as GPS support. It is definitely not cheap, in comparison to other available OBDII readers but the support, updates and programmability are what give sense to the cost. The 2nd gen Mazdaspeed3 has an immensely revamped ECU rendering other non-upgradeable OBDII readers somewhat unhelpful in monitoring vitals necessary for tuning.

Random stuff:

-Supports SDHC cards (using an 8gb card currently, documented to support 16gb)
-Ford Enhanced Parameters are now free (but aren't relevant to the gen2 ECU)
-Device has three USB ports. Left USB port is for flashing the DashDAQ, top right is for powering the unit to configure in the normal environment (so you don't have to sit plugged to your car the whole time matching PIDs to gauges)
-Log files can be huge (I have a 64 meg file spanning 90 minutes of 16 parameters logged)
-You can use LogWorks3 to view and analyze the logs.

Current readable signal list: (to be expanded)

DashDAQ Available Signals Report
Time: Mon Jun 21 20:07:41 2010
Firmware Version: DashGUI-2.1.2-1949
Device: a-Generic OBD2 Version:2.1.2-1949
   9998   "Latency"   "OBD Latency"   "ms"   0
   9999   "Updates"   "OBD Update Rate"   "Hz"   0
   9996   "NET"   "OBD Network Type"   ""   0
   33   "LOAD_ABS"   "Absolute Load Value"   "%"   0
   14   "TP"   "Absolute Throttle #1 position"   "%"   0
   37   "TP_B"   "Absolute Throttle Position B"   "%"   0
   39   "APP_D"   "Accelerator Pedal Position D"   "%"   0
   40   "APP_E"   "Accelerator Pedal Position E"   "%"   0
   13   "MAF"   "Air Flow Rate from MAF"   "g/s"   0
   36   "AAT"   "Ambient air temperature"   "°C"   0
   27   "BARO"   "Barometric Pressure"   "PSI"   0
   1   "LOAD"   "Calculated Load Value"   "%"   0
   28   "CATEMP11"   "Catalyst Temperature Bank 1, Sensor 1"   "°F"   0
   20   "EGR_PCT"   "Commanded EGR"   "%"   0
   34   "EQ_RAT"   "Commanded Equivalence Ratio"   ""   0
   22   "EVAP_PCT"   "Commanded Evaporative Purge"   "%"   0
   42   "TAC_PCT"   "Commanded Throttle Actuator Control"   "%"   0
   32   "VOLTS"   "Control module voltage"   "V"   0
   17   "MIL_DIST"   "Distance Travelled While MIL is Activated"   "miles"   0
   25   "CLR_DIST"   "Distance since DTCs cleared"   "miles"   0
   2   "ECT"   "Engine Coolant Temperature"   "°F"   0
   9   "RPM"   "Engine RPM"   "RPM"   0
   26   "EVAP_VP"   "Evap System Vapor Pressure"   "PSI"   0
   23   "FLI"   "Fuel Level"   "%"   0
   19   "FRP"   "Fuel Rail Pressure"   "PSI"   0
   300   "FUELSYS1"   "Fuel System 1 Status"   ""   0
   301   "FUELSYS2"   "Fuel System 2 Status"   ""   0
   4   "LTFT1"   "Fuel Trim Bank 1 - Long Term"   "%"   0
   3   "STFT1"   "Fuel Trim Bank 1 - Short Term"   "%"   0
   11   "SPARKADV"   "Ignition Timing Advance (#1)"   "°TDC"   0
   12   "IAT"   "Intake Air Temperature"   "°F"   0
   8   "MAP"   "Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure"   "PSI"   0
   200   "MIL"   "Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) Status (On/Off)"   ""   0
   24   "WARM_UPS"   "Number of warm-ups since DTCs cleared"   ""   0
   132   "O2B1S1wr"   "O2 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Current (wide)"   "mA"   0
   180   "O2B1S1w"   "O2 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Lambda (wide)"   ""   0
   103   "O2B1S2"   "O2 Bank 1 Sensor 2 Fuel Trim"   "%"   0
   102   "O2B1S2_V"   "O2 Bank 1 Sensor 2 Voltage"   "V"   0
   303   "OBDSUP"   "OBD Requirements"   ""   0
   35   "TP_R"   "Relative Throttle Position"   "%"   0
   16   "RUNTM"   "Time Since Engine Start"   "sec"   0
   10   "Speed"   "Vehicle Speed"   "MPH"   0

Currently, I'm interested in monitoring the following signals (this list will grow):

[x] Intake Air Temperature
[ ] Boost Air Temperature (this signal is not documented yet)
[x] Air/Fuel Ratio
[ ] Engine Knock (this signal is not documented yet)
[x] Engine Coolant Temp (ECT)
[x] Short Term Fuel Trim
[x] Long Term Fuel Trim
[x] Fuel Rail Pressure

Air/Fuel Ratio is monitored from an oxygen sensor in the downpipe. The signal is a value of lambda, and ranges from 0 to 2. The normal Air/Fuel ratio is 14.7 : 1, so to make the value meaningful in terms of display we can apply a calculation to the signal so it'll always display Lambda x 14.7.

So, you'd go into Device Manager and add a Rescale Signal Calculator. In Parameters, you'd find the Rescale Signal Calculator and select the following:

Input Signal: O2 Bank 1 Sensor 1 Lambda (wide) = Generic OBD2.O2B1S1w
Multiplier Signal: Rescale Signal Calculator.m (Constant Multiplier)
Multiplier Sign (1 or -1): 1
Constant Multiplier: 14.7
Offset Signal: Rescale Signal Calculator.b (Constant Offset)
Offset Sign (1 or -1): 1
Constant Offset: 0
Name: AFR
Units:
Precision: 3

Boost Pressure is calculated by subtracting the Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure with the Barometric Pressure, so you'd create a Rescale Signal Calculator Parameter and set the following options:

Boost Rescale Signal Calculator:

Input Signal: Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure = Generic OBD2.MAP
Multipler Signal: Rescale Signal Calculator.m (Constant Multiplier)
Multiplier Sign: 1
Constant Multiplier: 1
Offset Signal: Barometric Pressure = Generic OBD2.BARO
Offset Sign: -1
Constant Offset: 0
Name: Boost
Units: PSI
Precision: 1

Observations

Engine load at idle/warmed up: ~20%
Engine load in gear, going downhill, no gas: 3-5%
Engine load in gear, going downhill and maintaining speed: 5-7%
Engine load caused by air conditioning turned on (regardless of fan speed): 3-10% additional
Engine load is largely affected by road incline/decline, as well as rate of acceleration, gear, rpm

Fuel rail pressure at idle: 400+- PSI
Fuel rail pressure will jump to 1200 PSI almost as soon as you touch the gas
Moderate pressure on the pedal will bring it up to 1600 PSI. I believe the highest I've seen is a hair over 1700.

Long term fuel trims range from 5-9% (only performance mod is cp-e short ram intake/turbo inlet pipe)
Short term jumps wildly between +- 5%

Intake air temperature will climb rapidly at standstill/slow speed. Once moving over 40mph, intake and ambient deviate by no more than 2-5 degrees. At over 70 mph, intake and ambient become the same. Not sure what boost air temps are unfortunately. (intake air gets heated by the turbo and cooled by the intercooler, best possible estimate from first gen is anywhere from 30-50 degrees warmer than intake)

I have most of my drive up from LA-SF data logged.

Recorded boost, intake air, ambient air, fuel level, MAF air flow, AFR, LTFT, STFT, and some other parameters.

On a pull from 30 to 100mph, boost spiked to 17.69 PSI.

[PapaSmurf]

nice write up. This might be the way I go unless dashhawk ends up supporting the gen2.

[liquoredonlife]

The primary software developer for DashHawk left almost two years ago, hence support is nil.

[snailD]

EDIT: ^^^ damn you beat me

[mituc]

Don't forget to add the wastegate duty cycle to the list of logged signals (Ford specific -> Wastegate control duty cycle (TCWGATDC)). You should also add BAT (Boost Air temperature, the temperature of the air entering the intake manifold), Engine Knock Retard (knockr).
Also, please note that the params monitored by your gauges are logged by default, so no need to add them to the list of logged signals again, you can use that slot for some other signal.
Btw, signals like MIL_DST, CLR_DIST don't make much sense to look at.

Btw, I'm using mine with the mazdaspeed skin and this particular gauge screen because I can have 7 values on the main screen at the same time (there is another one with 9 params in the default skin, but not as nice as this one).

[PapaSmurf]

Originally Posted by liquoredonlife The primary software developer for DashHawk left almost two years ago, hence support is nil.

-1 to me... thats good to know.

Now I know what i shall be eventually getting

[liquoredonlife]

Originally Posted by mituc Don't forget to add the wastegate duty cycle to the list of logged signals (Ford specific -> Wastegate control duty cycle (TCWGATDC)). You should also add BAT (Boost Air temperature, the temperature of the air entering the intake manifold), Engine Knock Retard (knockr). Also, please note that the params monitored by your gauges are logged by default, so no need to add them to the list of logged signals again, you can use that slot for some other signal. Btw, signals like MIL_DST, CLR_DIST don't make much sense to look at. Btw, I'm using mine with the mazdaspeed skin and this particular gauge screen because I can have 7 values on the main screen at the same time (there is another one with 9 params in the default skin, but not as nice as this one).

Unfortunately these Ford-specific parameters are not detected in the gen2 MS3 like they are for the gen1.

[mituc]

It has to be. Make sure the "complete signal list" parameter for the ford specific list driver is set to 3: Setup -> Devices -> Parameters -> Ford Specific -> Complete Signal List -> Change and set to 3 (by default it's 0 or 1 AFAIR).

I just found that you have AAT (ambient air temp) while on my gen1 this signal is not detected (same driver version, 2.1.2-1949).

[pharoh]

Originally Posted by mituc It has to be. Make sure the "complete signal list" parameter for the ford specific list driver is set to 3: Setup -> Devices -> Parameters -> Ford Specific -> Complete Signal List -> Change and set to 3 (by default it's 0 or 1 AFAIR). I just found that you have AAT (ambient air temp) while on my gen1 this signal is not detected (same driver version, 2.1.2-1949).

No, they aren't available because the 2010 ECUs are different. Otherwise we'd all be sporting DashHawks.

Also, you can change the complete signal list paramter to "7", which is a more indepth scan and will take a bit longer to discover. However on the 2010's it still comes up with no PIDs.

[CCC]

Yeah after talking to pharoh I picked one of these up for my gen2. I got it from tuner tools with a coupon for 5% off plus a 5% donation to the armed forces (some code I got on a military forum) so it came out to be $507 shipped. Pharoh has been helping me get it setup and I really like it so far. I still have to get that mazdaspeed skin, I like the layout of it.

I tried to download a datalog onto my pc last night but I don't think I was doing it right. I guess I need logworks to read the files on the memory card?

[pharoh]

Originally Posted by CCC Yeah after talking to pharoh I picked one of these up for my gen2. I got it from tuner tools with a coupon for 5% off plus a 5% donation to the armed forces (some code I got on a military forum) so it came out to be $507 shipped. Pharoh has been helping me get it setup and I really like it so far. I still have to get that mazdaspeed skin, I like the layout of it. I tried to download a datalog onto my pc last night but I don't think I was doing it right. I guess I need logworks to read the files on the memory card?

Sorry man, I got your msg but I had passed out early last nite hahaha. You can actually open up the log files in excel, it opens as a spreadsheet.

[CCC]

Haha no problem. Do I have to plug the card directly into the pc or can I just connect the whole unit to do this?

[liquoredonlife]

Is the file format .dif? You can open it in any text editor, but you'll just get a ton of values- one per line. If you want to visualize it, Logworks3 is great. If you're looking for a very specific value, you'd still be better off using a log analyzer.

One thing to note, LogWorks3 isn't terribly stable in Win7 x64. But it seems to help with changing the compatibility mode to something like Win XP if you're in Vista/7.

You have to plug the card into the PC.

Updating the original post with some logs.

[CCC]

Cool I'll try it out, thanks!. My PC is down, so I have to use my friends. I usually use a mac, but I don't think I can view these logs on it, correct?

[mituc]

You can if they're .CSV files (which can be opened with excel, openoffice calc or pretty much any spreadsheet app or even a text editor). Just make sure the logs aren't too big, my DD takes like 60 samples per second, so does your probably, so if you want to still be able to open these logs in a spreadsheet application make sure they are less than 18 minutes long (or so).

Since I do even 3-4 hours logs I just import them into a local postgresql database using a perl script and I do anything from there. I'm thinking to write another perl script to deal with the graphs as well, so that I won't need logworks or any other crap, and I'll be platform independent as well (now using linux).

[ROADWAR]

I emailed Drew Tech last week about 2010 Ford/Mazda specific PIDs. They indicated that they should be available in the third quarter of this year. I hope that will prove to be true even considering that Ford no longer "owns" Mazda and I wonder if Mazda isn't doing more independent work in many areas like this. Anyway, I ordered my Dash DAQ today from tuner tools. Looking forward to getting some engine monitoring going!

[starscream]

Ive recently got a DashDaq and bought the Ford Enhanced PIDs.

I find that the STFT and LTFT are off between the Generic OBD2 and Ford Specific (sometimes by alot).

Also the FRP is off by a slight bit between the Generic ODB2 and Ford Specific.

Does anyone else find that? What gives?

[Texas Speed Demon Fag]

Is this thing updated now for 2010-2011 PIDS? Specifically KR, FP, MAF, etc.?