Scanguage II

[KraftyPg]

Been proven time and time again, I've had the Scangauge in since the car was new and it only got taken out the day it went in for it's 1000k look over at Nissan.

Across the Nullarbor it was extremely accurate but as I said long distances without stop starting and where a tank is used without turning the ignition off and near perfect accuracy is expected. Just like slight inaccuracies after stop starting is bareable.

The gauge can display K's to empty but you have to be a little bit careful as it is calculated on the lph average that you are getting at the time you check. So if you've got the foot down and using 40lph and check the k's to empty it will take the litres left and work out the distance based on 40lph. Drop the LPH and the distance rises, obviously this goes the other way too.

I use the k's to empty some times and was using it a bit on the Nullarbor trip but around town it's really only good for a rough guide, litres to empty and a little bit of mental calculations based on your known figures probably gives you a more accurate figure.

 

[Krankin]

Goodo,

I can appreciate the rationale to your preference in the litres to empty readout.
Might be some psychological persuasion in that too, with me anyway.

Should be getting mine late this week, cant wait.

 

[KraftyPg]

Enjoy the new toy, just don't get caught using it while you're driving, like mobiles and pda's some cops (maybe not all) could easily deem these things as illegal to use while moving. I'm not sure on the exact legalities of playing with something like these while driving but it's easier not to get caught.

 

[Krankin]

Found a mounting bracket kit some might like.

BlendMount Custom Mount for ScanGauge II (ScanGuage) : eBay Motors (item 170457319095 end time Apr-09-10 12:16:10 PDT)


Cheers.

 

[KraftyPg]

My two issues with that would be it's location if you plan on looking at the gauge regularly (and you no doubt will) and it's rigidity when pushing the buttons.

Given the speedo inaccuracies and the other information I like to keep on the gauge full time I tend to use it quite a lot and looking up to a mirror that I rarely use (truck driver habit and at times the canopy renders the inside mirror useless anyway) wouldn't suit me. As it is mounting mine above the cd player has sort of created a center dash but it does seem easier than looking at the mirror.

While the buttons don't require a hard push to make them work being high up and a little bit harder to reach while driving I also wonder if maybe a regular user might keep knocking their mirror out of adjustment.

Obviously these are only my opinions and I wouldn't want to hamper anyone decisions on such a product because it might suit them perfectly. I still don't think I've found my ideal spot for the gauge but for the time being it's a compromise

 

[Krankin]

Its not for me either but it might be for someone.

 

[Jason]

I put the second tank in this morning, it's the first one the SGII uses for calibration.

I put in 49 litres and the SGII reckoned I had used 110 litres, haha. I noticed that it thought I ran out of fuel when the gauge was still above half. Anyone else experience this? Might be because it is set on Gas? Diesel A & B don't work.

 

[FreestyleCab]

As this is the first calibration time the SGII will often show a fuel load figure that is out by a massive amount. Also the maths used to calculate fuel usage for each fuel type (diesel a, gas etc) will probably cause the fillup calculation to be further in error as you are using the GAS setting on your diesel Navara. It will take a few more "fillups" to get the SGII down to some degree of accuracy.

 

[Jason]

Thanks Brett, I'll keep an eye on it over the next few tanks.

 

[Krankin]

Query fo 'Freestylecab' or anyone that knows,

want to add an 'Oil Pressure Gauge' to my SGII.

Cheers.

 

[KraftyPg]

After nearly 12 months I'm still playing with the Scangauge now and again but for the most part it just sits on the dash and shows a few readings. One recent play has proven that while you can take some of the information shown as close enough to accurate some of the information is in no way accurate.

Point in case. On the second last fuel visit I deliberately forced an error by not filling the tank but still telling the scangauge that the 20 litres I put in was a "fill up" too see if there was any effect. This in turn did create a negative percentage error on the "litres in" screen of the gauge. I expected things like distance to empty and time to empty to be effected but the one figure I wasn't expecting to see effected was the LHK because I figured that although it's not a true reading at all times it's a reading off the ecu for any particular time based on how many drops of fuel are going through the system however that is not entirely the case.

Like any basic input device it accepted the figures no problems. The majority of the ks for that tank were done on either highways or 50-60k zones with very few traffic lights and while cruising the scanguage was reading between 4 and 6 LHK, no ecu reset, no change to driving conditions just a deliberate error in the fuel the scangauge thought went in.

So yesterday when I filled the tank again I put the exact pump figure into the scangauge and once again due to the previous out of whack measurements there was another percentage error only this time it was a positive percentage. The result, same highway driving for 220ks and the scangauge reading between 70 and 110 LHK for the majority of the trip and peaking at 254 LHK on a few of the hills. Basic maths suggests that I couldn't have traveled at 70 LHK for 220ks without stopping to refuel at least once however I still got home with about a 1/4 of a tank according to the dash gauge.

I haven't got a calculated figure for the current tank given that it's only done 220ks but for the tank where scangauge was reporting such brilliant figures of 4 - 6 LHK (which I knew were extremely unlikely before I did the calculation) I still only returned mid to low 10's.

I'll still use scangauge the same way I've been using it and once it's re-calibrated I'll put the figures in on each re-fill as I have been doing up till now but while I've never taken each LHK figure I see on the gauge or the average LHK as gospel I will be taking them with a few more grains of salt and only ever basing long distance travel or comparison LHK figures on calculations I do myself.

That being said, for any new comers to the scangauge scene don't be scared off from buying one of these quite handy toys just be aware that if you a traveling down the road in a 2 tonne wind break and the gauge is telling you that you are getting 2 LHK it doesn't automatically mean it's true, likewise with the readings massively high.

 

[WoodyD40]

Well i've just bit the bullet, and ordered a scangauge II - should be here by end of week so i can start playing with it on the weekend.

So, with what i've read on this thread - i need to set the unit up to dieselA, choose some quages that i want to read data from, choose a colour scheme that looks ok (to me), tell it how much fuel that i've got in the tank (i assume best to start with a full tank then?)

Any other tips and tricks I should be aware of ?

 

[KraftyPg]

Diesel A is most likely but there is other options if you need them, the book tells you how too choose and it's done by watching the RPM's.

Colour schemes are nothing fancy, the standard ones don't come close to matching the standard Nav lighting so you'll probably get sick of that before you've been through the 8 standard colours.

As for the fuel reporting, they suggest once you've set it up you run the tank down to 1/4, fill it up (don't trickle it in to the top) and then run it down to 1/4 again and do the same thing with the same pump if possible. Then the figures should be close to reasonable. Bear in mind they are not real time figures, they are real time averages so while you can get over all tank figures and you can get litres per hour and litres per hundred they are based on averages and may not always be correct. You can influence the error in the reporting by making mistakes in the inputs at each fill however even with a large error you can still save fuel by watching the gauge.

Things like RPM and water are usually fairly accurate. I've found my voltage gauge is reads about .2 of a volt low on scangauge compared to a multimeter but even that is accurate enough for most trips.

I'd never rely on this thing entirely as being 100% accurate but once set up the litres to empty can be fairly close. Think one of my posts above stated that scangauge was within about 2 or 3 litres at the bottom of one tank (coming into a servo near your place actually) which is pretty good considering.

I'm still playing with mine constantly and it's got many things on it I don't use but once you get over the possible errors and learn to read it for what it is you will get benefits from it, even if you don't learn the possible errors you'll still find some of it useful.

 

[WoodyD40]

Krafty, U mean i actually have to 'read the manuel' ... bugger, i was hoping it would be 'plug and pray', oops, 'plug N play'.

Thanks for your advise, i love playing with new toys and am a bit disapointed with the lack of information i have available on the dash board compared with most new cars these days - I think ScanguageII will provide the data i'm keen to be viewing whilst driving.

 

[KraftyPg]

Don't worry it's only small and hasn't got that many pages you'll be right, skim it once and then refer back as needed.

Given that we are to some degree still driving farm utes I'm not overly suprised at the lack of detail on the dash but what I was suprised at is just how some people expect these things to be any more reliable than the same item that is provided by the car manufacturer.

Many manufacturers have been putting in fuel consumption gauges and the like for years and you'll find heaps of people who will happily tell you that the manufacturers figures are bogus and shouldn't be taken as right, (Commodore fuel usage meters really seem to be grossly inaccurate) but then they buy one of these and suggest the figures are going to be 100% accurate. It's not true, they can be inaccurate because they still get their information from the same spot, and user error can be introduced quite easily whether deliberate or inadvertently.

The speed gauge is one such example, the KPH reading can be inaccurate, mine isn't and it appears most on here aren't but the fact that they give you a correction function to change that shows that not all cars will give 100% accurate figures to every function.

Anyway it's some food for thought, don't believe everything you see is entirely accurate and you'll use it more than you use any other function on your dashboard.

 

[KraftyPg]

Woody one other thing I thought of this arvo which it pays to remember if your using SG to monitor your fuel usage is that to stay accurate (and that includes LPH, LHK etc) you have to fill up each time.

In most cases you'll probably fill the tank to the top but there are times when you might just want a splash and dash (for instance your heading out of a rural area and need 20 bucks worth to get you back to city priced fuel or your camping and use jerries to get you home).

At these times SG can't handle you putting in 20 litres because if you tell it you put in 20 litres it will assume you filled it with 20 litres and create a massive percentage error. This error is then used to calculate your LPH etc and you'll find you can easily have massively high economy figures.

The alternative is to put 20 litres in and don't touch the gauge at all. This will have the effect that SG will suggest you are driving around with 0 left in the tank when you know you could have maybe 20 litres. When you do eventually fill it up the error will be out and will cause the LPH etc to read extremely low.

In preference I'd always use the second method because the error of having SG think you used 80 litres when in fact you used 100 is a lot less than telling it you added 20 litres and it assuming that 20 litres filled the tank from near empty. Doing the second method is also a way to show off to your mates that your Nav can maintain 5LHK when they all bitch they are getting 14's.

Another reason the second method is my preferred way is because it takes SG less fills to recover from the error, (usually 2 maybe 3 fills) where as going the other way can take a lot more than that.

 

[WoodyD40]

Thanks Krafty for that extra info.

I usually fill the tank to the brim each time ..... unless i'm off road and re-filling from Jerry Cans.

I'll be using a lot less jerry cans though once i have the long range tank installed (should be next week).

 

[Krankin]

The bloody thing would be useful if it showed more than half of its potential

 

[KraftyPg]

It probably doesn't need to live up to it's potential on the grounds that so many people use so little of it's features. I understand they went for the compact easy to install size but only having 4 things on the screen at any given time while traveling means that the driver is forever playing with it to get all the information or they are only using a small part of it's potential for most of the time.

To me it's a fair trade off for what I use it for and one day down the track I might decide that I need to upgrade to a unit that is a little more accurate in some areas and runs through a pretty GUI on stereo screen but right now I'm happy knowing that I've got the regulars I want to keep an eye on at all times and a few others I might want at odd times through the press of a few buttons.

 

[Krankin]

What i mean is, for my case anyway...there's enough gauges on one screen at a time,
but the functions i want most do not work/show a reading.