May 10th 2016

New features – OBD 2007 Version 1.0.15.0

Revised Installation:

Unlike previous versions of OBD 2007, our latest version does not require administrator rights to run. A user can now install OBD 2007 as either an Administrator or a Standard user.

OBD 2007 has been upgraded to use later versions of Microsoft’s .Net runtime, necessitating changes to the required Microsoft runtime for use with Windows 10, whilst maintaining compatibility with prior versions of Windows including Windows 8 and Windows 7.

New Connection types:

Alternate Bluetooth connection

We have added an alternate Bluetooth connection type for Bluetooth Elm327 compatible OBDII scan tools. The new Bluetooth connection type results in a much faster connection speed for those scan tools that are capable of supporting the new connection technique as compared to the existing serial port Bluetooth connections.

Wi-Fi connection

Support for a new connection type for all Wi-Fi Elm327 compatible OBDII scan tools.

For more details of each of these connection types, please see our new Programming Guide. The Programming Guide is included with each installation of OBD 2007. Alternatively it can be viewed from our Purchase page of our web site.

OBD 2007 Web Reports:

A totally new concept of OBDII web reporting. No more lost printed reports, OBD 2007 will now store the condition of your vehicle via an OBDII Services report on our server. These reports will allow you to study the condition of your vehicle(s) over time and give you the ability to share the report(s) with whomever you choose via any device with an internet connection.

Programming Guide:

Our new Programming Guide is now over 50 pages with approximately 40 illustrated figures of all the aspects of OBD 2007.

Product Activation:

Activation keys now only work with versions of OBD 2007, 1.0.15.0 or greater. If you have previously downloaded, but not activated OBD 2007, and receive a message that the activation key is not valid with this version of OBD 2007, please download the OBD2007 zip file again from the link contained in your email. You must then uninstall and reinstall from the latest zip file for the activation key to work.

Upgrades for Registered Users:

Because of these major changes, we have temporary disabled OBD 2007’s automatic updater for registered users. Registered users who would like to upgrade to our latest version are requested to contact GLM Software via email (support@glmsoftware.com) for the upgrade. Future versions of OBD 2007 will have the automatic updater reactivated.

September 13th 2012

New version of OBD 2007 Lite

This build of OBD 2007 Lite (Build Number 1.0.2.0) introduces a number of new features which should eliminate the installation problems some users have experienced.

OBD 2007 Lite no longer requires Administration rights to run. A user can install OBD 2007 Lite as either an Administrator or a Standard user. Microsoft now requires that all user data should be stored in a different directory (folder) than Program Files.

The executable and associated dlls will still be installed in the folder Program Files as before, but our database OBDLite.sdf and the diagnostic log files that OBD 2007 Lite produces for every connection will now be stored in the Local Application Data folder. On a Vista or Windows 7 machine that folder is C:\Users\[your_username]\AppData\Local\GLM Software\OBD 2007 Lite. On an XP machine the folder is C:\Documents and Settings\[your_username]\Local Settings\Application Data\GLM Software\OBD 2007 Lite.

On the User's Programs Menu we now supply a new shortcut called “OBD 2007 Lite - Diagnostic log files” that will directly open the correct folder.

For some users many of these folders will still not be visible by default. To make all folders visible and accessible you should set those options in Windows Explorer via the menu item Folder Options. If you are not familiar with the exact procedure please Google “How to show all folders in Windows 7” or something similar.

The second change is that OBD 2007 Lite now requires the Microsoft prerequisite Microsoft Sql Server Compact 3.5 SP2. Previously OBD 2007 Lite used the older Sql Server 2005 Compact Edition. If the OBD 2007 Lite installation determines that you do not have Microsoft Sql Server Compact 3.5 SP2 installed, you will be prompted by our installer to install this prerequisite. When you accept the Microsoft agreement, Microsoft Sql Server Compact 3.5 SP2 will be downloaded directly from the Microsoft Update website and then installed on your machine. At the completion of that installation OBD 2007 Lite will then complete its installation.

Please note that if you don’t accept the Microsoft agreement, the download will not proceed, however the installation of OBD 2007 Lite will still complete, but OBD 2007 Lite will then fail at start up.

January 28th 2010

These builds of OBD 2007 (Build 1.0.14.21) and OBD 2007 Lite (Build 1.0.1.21) introduce revised OBDII diagnostic logging. None of the changes are extremely significant, but the changes should help us to help you when you experience problems.

We have also made some minor changes to the Com port setup dialog window that better reflect the different high speed baud capabilities of various scan tools. The zip files also contain revised installation instructions for Windows 7 users.

As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

January 20th 2010

We are pleased to announce that we have released a new product OBD 2007 Lite.

OBD 2007 Lite is a free download from GLM Software. OBD 2007 Lite is a limited edition version of our commercial product OBD 2007.

Some may ask why we have produced a free limited functionality version of OBD 2007. The answer is that we believe, as a premier OBDII software producer, that a first time user of an OBDII scan tool should have an enjoyable and rewarding experience. We hope that OBD 2007 Lite, with its free user license will make that possible.

Presently with the free software that is available, the first time user is subjected to a very poor experience, as the free software packages are so lacking in capabilities that the first time user has to jump through so many hoops that connecting to the vehicle becomes lost in a myriad of instructions and support calls that leave most users particularly frustrated with their just purchased scan tool.

Probably the most popular free software package going around is Scantool.net’s free software. Unfortunately, even though Scantool.net does produce one of the best scan tools in the OBDII market, the ElmScan5, their free software does more harm than good for what is a very good scan tool. This probably has come about, because their software (because of its GPL license) is also included with just about every scan tool (good and bad) produced anywhere in the world.

One look at the Scantool.net software is enough to suggest that it was designed back in the early 1990s. It has an interface that is reminiscent of a Windows 3.1 program. It is limited to a choice of only 4 Com ports when obviously modern laptops support an infinite number of Com ports. It requires special video drivers just so it will work with modern OS’s such as Microsoft’s Vista and Windows 7. It doesn’t even support the high speed baud rates that their own ElmScan 5 is capable of. It unnecessarily polls 60 odd pids, most of which are unsupported by the particular vehicle’s ECU. This leads to many unnecessary problems with vehicles that don‘t support sending unsupported pid commands to their ECU(s).

Scantool.net’s forum and the mp3car forum, two of the most popular OBDII forums are inundated daily with threads about connection problems associated with scan tool users using this software. During the last 12 months, Scantool.net have modified the software to only support their hardware, which further catches out users of other scan tools, expecting the GPL licensed software to work with any scan tool.

OBD 2007 Lite will address that issue. OBD 2007 Lite and OBD 2007 support any Elm327 chipped scan tool or any scan tool that fully supports the AT command set of the Elm327 chip.

For more in depth OBD 2007 Lite details click here.

For a table comparing features between OBD 2007 Lite and OBD 2007 click here.

December 14th 2009

In this build of OBD 2007, build 1.0.14.2 we have introduced a new feature that allows users to turn off certain OBDII services that sometimes prevent a number of vehicles from connecting. As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

A number of OBDII services can cause connection problems for some vehicles. As you can see on our Problem Vehicles page, there are a number of vehicles which are designed as OBDII compliant, but due to poor implementation of OBDII compliance by the manufacturer will have problems connecting.

This build addresses that issue. You will find a new menu item on the setup menu “Override OBDII services”.

During OBD 2007’s initialization sequence a number of commands are sent to query the vehicle’s ECU(s) about supported Pids, Tids and OBDMids etc. Normally the vehicle responds to these commands with a list of supported Pids, Tids and OBDMids. When a vehicle doesn’t support a particular service, the response should either be a NO DATA or a negative response, which is known as a 7F response for the later protocols, such as ISO 14230-4 and ISO 15765-4 (CAN). A 7F or NO DATA response is completely normal, when a vehicle doesn’t support a particular service.

Unfortunately some vehicles not only reply with a NO DATA response, but the particular response causes all communication between the scan tool and the ECU to lock up, so that any subsequent supported commands that are then sent, also return a NO DATA response.

This is not a fault of the scan tool or even the software; it only happens on a small number of vehicles and is obviously a case of the vehicle manufacturer not implementing their OBDII compliance correctly.

We have developed a couple of switches to allow a user to turn off a particular OBDII service for these problem vehicles. If we don’t send the command, then the lockup can’t occur and OBD 2007 will maintain a connection with the vehicle and therefore perform normally, albeit without displaying data for the particular service that is turned off. The correct procedure is to have the vehicle’s firmware updated so that the vehicle is fully OBDII compliant, but this workaround should suffice until that action is performed.

If you require further support on this issue, please contact us at support@glmsoftware.com or check the Problem Vehicles page on our website.

December 7th 2009

This build of OBD 2007, build 1.0.14.13 introduces a number of new internal changes to OBD 2007. None of the changes are significant re the operation of OBD 2007, but they will assist us as we move forward with new versions in the future.

As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007. We do suggest you upgrade, as soon as possible, so as to avoid upgrade problems in the future.

For new users, we have introduced a warning message window for the OBDLink scan tool as per our news item November 12th 2009. The OBDLink warning message window will display at start up.

This window is a warning message, about the problems associated with OBDLink’s protocol detection algorithm. As mentioned in our earlier news item, OBDLink fails to connect to a number of OBDII compliant vehicles. The warning message also has a checkbox option “do not show this window again” for those users who are not using an OBDLink scan tool.

Now, nearly a month after the problem was first reported to Scantool.net, we still have not received any further information from Scantool.net as to when this problem with their OBDLink scan tool will be resolved.

November 12th 2009

OBDLink

We have temporarily suspended support for OBDLink.

OBDLink, a new scan tool from Scantool.net was released a couple of months ago and we modified OBD 2007 to support its extended feature set with the release of our build 1.0.14.0 early in October. Our release coincided with the release of OBDLink’s firmware version v1.1.0, which is their current firmware version.

Over the last 5 weeks we have been receiving regular diagnostic logs from users of OBDLink and have found that OBDLink is experiencing problems connecting to a number of vehicles. Most of these vehicles are either ISO 9141-2 or ISO 14230-4 protocol vehicles. The Scantool.net forum is also awash with complaints about OBDLink not connecting to similar vehicles. Some of the vehicles affected include Saab, Volvo, Audi, Renault and Mercedes.

These two protocols are used by the majority of European and many Japanese vehicles. ISO 14230-4 is the later protocol and used by nearly all European vehicles from 2004-2007. ISO 9141-2 was the first European OBDII protocol and was universally used by all European vehicles from 2000 when the EU countries first went OBDII compliant.

The critical part in any OBDII connection is when the software sends the command 0x0100 to the ECU(s) of the vehicle. This command is sent after the software first sends a command to the scan tool that requests that all protocols should be searched. The 0100 command tells the scan tool to first search for the correct protocol of the vehicle and secondly return a list of all supported pids of the OBDII compliant ECU(s) of the vehicle, when the correct protocol is found.

The scan tool should cycle through all the protocols testing for each one until it finds a matching response. If after cycling through all the protocols and there is no matching response, then the scan tool will report “UNABLE TO CONNECT”. The “UNABLE TO CONNECT” is the typical response you get when you try and connect an OBDII scan tool to a non OBDII compliant vehicle.

However, OBDLink is returning the “UNABLE TO CONNECT” response to many of these OBDII compliant vehicles. The same vehicles connect with other scan tools such as Scantool.net’s ElmScan5, which obviously illustrates the fault within OBDLink. Unfortunately there is nothing that any OBDII software can do about this situation as unless there is a connection made and a pid list returned, the software has nothing to work with.

When we were first sent an OBDLink, we didn’t experience any problems connecting to either ISO 9141-2 or ISO 14230-4 vehicles. So the connection problem is not across the board with these protocols. Normally before we release a build of OBD 2007 it is thoroughly tested by various beta testers from all around the world. Unfortunately none of our beta testers own an OBDLink, and therefore our testing process was not as rigorous as it is normally. It was not until the OBDLink scan tool was in more wide spread use that the problems became apparent.

We don’t know what the exact problem is, but assume that the problem must lie in their protocol detecting algorithm. We have offered our diagnostics logs to Scantool.net which demonstrates the problem, but as of this time, we are not aware of a solution to the problem. We presume that when the problem is solved there will be a new release of the firmware.

Scantool.net is requesting affected customers to contact them for a RMA.

October 15th 2009

Yesterday Scantool.net announced that their new scan tools OBDLink and OBDLink CI now support baud rates up to 2.0Mbps. This build of OBD 2007, build 1.0.14.1, adds support for those new high speed baud rates.

As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

October 8th 2009

Since our last release of OBD 2007, we have added support in our latest build 1.0.14.0 for the following three new scan tools, OBDKey v1.3 from KBM Systems, OBDLink v1.0 and ElmScan 5 Compact both from Scantool.Net. As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

OBDKey v1.3

OBDKey v1.3 is a brand new design from KBM Systems and now fully supports the ELM327 AT command set. The previous version of OBDKey v1.1x is not compatible with OBD 2007. OBDKey v1.3 shares the same compact design as the original OBDKey and doesn’t require a separate OBDII cable. It is an extremely compact unit (65x45x24mm) and is available in USB or Bluetooth. OBDKey v1.3 is the fastest (pid rate or pids read/second) scan tool we have tested. For further details please visit www.obdkey.com.

OBDLink

OBDLink is a first for Scantool.net. Previously Scantool.net was the manufacturer of the ElmScan 5 family of scan tools which are all based on the Elm327 v1.3 chip from Elm Electronics. OBDLink is their first scan tool of their own design and is based on a 16 bit micro. OBDLink is fully compatible with the Elm327 v1.3a AT command set. OBDLink supports many of the advanced features first introduced in the OBDPro scan tool, such as very high speed baud rates (up to 1.0Mbps) and free updatable firmware. OBDLink is also available with an optional Bluetooth dongle.

ElmScan 5 Compact

Scantool.net has been very busy in the last month with not only the release of their OBDLink scan tool, but also a brand new design for the ElmScan 5, the ElmScan 5 Compact. The previous family of ElmScan 5 scan tools, USB, Bluetooth and Serial have now been discontinued and replaced with the ElmScan 5 Compact. Functionally, the ElmScan 5 Compact is the same as the previous ElmScan 5 scan tools, but like the OBDKey scan tool, the ElmScan5 Compact does away with the requirement of an OBDII cable as the OBDII DLC plug is built into the unit. The ElmScan 5 Compact is very attractively priced at $US79.95. For further details on both OBDLink and ElmScan 5 Compact please visit www.scantool.net.

OBDPro Price Reduction.

OBDPros have reduced both their USB and Serial scan tools by $15.00 to $US69.00. Our joint special promotion of the OBDPros/OBD 2007 bundle has also been reduced to an ultra competitive price of $US139.99, please see the link to our special offer on our main page.

May 23rd 2009

We reworked the OBD 2007 installer when uploading build 1.0.13.991 and accidently left out the Program Menu shortcut. This has now been rectified.

If you downloaded our evaluation version during the last 10 days and installed OBD 2007 and now can't find OBD 2007, please use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder c:\Program Files\GLM Software\OBD 2007. You will find the executable OBD 2007.exe in that folder. Double click OBD 2007.exe to start OBD 2007.

Alternatively right click on OBD 2007.exe and create a short cut which can then be dragged to your desktop, then double click the short cut to start OBD 2007.

If you would prefer to receive another evaluation copy of OBD 2007, please email your request to support@glmsoftware.com.

May 13th 2009

This build of OBD 2007 Build 1.0.13.991 introduces a new setup window called Metric Properties, which allows UK users only to override the default metric setting for speed.

In a metric country, speed is normally measured in kilometres/hour. However in the UK even though they have adopted the metric system of measurement, speed is still measured in miles per hour. As OBD 2007's default metric configuration for speed is shown as km/h, this window allows UK users to display speed in mph, whilst retaining metric units for all other pid values.

April 8th 2009

GLM Software web site changes

We have revamped many of the pages of our website. The following lists the main changes. There is a new menu item Overview which contains two sub menus. One of the new items is the new scan tool review. The following pages have been updated.

1. Elm327 Scan Tools review
2. FAQ
3. Tips and Tricks
4. Problem vehicles
5. OBD 2007 Features

The scan tools review, discusses the feature set of 3 of the most popular ELM327 USB scan tools that OBD 2007 supports, OBDPro, ElmScan5 and the All-In-One. We hope the review will assist in your decision making. The FAQ page has had the entry Should I go for a USB or Serial scan tool?" completely revised. We have added new vehicles to our Problem Vehicles page. We have added a new tutorial on How to setup Hyperterminal to the Tips and Tricks page. We have also revised the feature set of the OBD 2007 Features page to correctly reflected the present build of OBD 2007.

March 24th 2009

This build of OBD 2007 Build 1.0.13.982 fixes a recently reported bug that only existed at program exit. As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

Depending on how you exited OBD 2007, you may or may not have come across this bug. The bug was caught by our OBD 2007 error handler, reporting that the obdReceiver thread couldn't be terminated. The bug didn't cause OBD 2007 to crash, but it shouldn't have been there and is now fixed. 

February 13th 2009

This build of OBD 2007 Build 1.0.13.98 introduces advanced support for the new OBDPro v1.3 scan tool. As usual this upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all OBD 2007 registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

OBDPro Scan Tools

OBD 2007 has directly supported OBDPros's range of scan tools since June 2008. However this build of OBD 2007 now supports the advanced features of OBDPro. OBDPro’s v1.3 chip supports all the AT commands of the Elm327 v1.3 chip, but also introduces advanced features such as very high speed baud rates. An Elm327 v1.3 based scan tool is limited to a maximum baud rate of 500K baud, whereas the OBDPro v1.3 is 4 times faster with a maximum baud rate of 2.0Mbps.

This build of OBD 2007, therefore now supports the following additional baud rates above 500k for OBDPro, 624k baud, 833k baud, 1.25M baud and 2.0M baud.

Our tests show that OBDPro v1.3 is easily the fastest scan tool available. OBDPro v1.3 also has the added advantage in that its firmware is fully upgradable via a free download. This of courses saves approximately $US32.00 (plus shipping costs) as compared to a chip upgrade for all the Elm327 v1.3 chipped scan tools. Along with its low cost of $US84.99, the OBDPro v1.3 USB scan tool, is in our opinion, the best value for money OBDII scan tool on the market. OBDPro is also available in serial and Bluetooth versions. For further information see www.obdpros.com

August 22nd 2008

This build of OBD 2007, Build 1.0.13.96 introduces our new Acceleration Test module. This upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

Acceleration Test

The OBD 2007 Acceleration Test module allows you to perform an Acceleration test as a result of some modification or to establish a base line for pending modifications.

The Acceleration test is not a “drag strip” type test because OBD 2007 makes no attempt to calculate the reaction time of the driver. In fact the test does not even start until the vehicle has reached the minimum speed as set by the user. The test can easily be performed by the driver with a laptop secured on the passenger seat, but it is obviously safer (for the laptop) to ask a passenger to assist. However, no user interaction is required for the duration of the test.

Only two pids are required for the Acceleration Test, Pid 0x0C Engine RPM and Pid 0x0D Vehicle Speed. Both these pids are automatically selected when the Start button on the Acceleration Test tab is clicked. All that is required to perform the acceleration test is to first establish a normal connection with the vehicle from the Connection tab by clicking the Connect button as if you were about to read pids.

Prior to clicking the Start button, enter a Start speed and a Finish speed. Ensure that OBD 2007 is reading pids correctly by observing a positive RPM figure. When you are ready to begin the Acceleration Test click the Start button and then begin your acceleration run.

As soon as you start accelerating, Speed and RPM are displayed. When your Start speed is exceeded, Elapsed Time and Distance Travelled will also be automatically displayed and all four values will be continually updated until the Finish speed is attained at which point OBD 2007 will automatically terminate the test.

OBD 2007 will play a sound to indicate that the test is complete and store the terminal and maximum figures. Therefore there is no real need to observe the output while you perform the acceleration test. At the completion of the test, the graph of vehicle’s speed and engine rpm against time will be updated plus an additional value - the Average Speed for the duration of the acceleration test.

For further details please see the new screenshot on the Screenshots page. The updated OBD 2007 Program Guide contains the full details of the Acceleration Test.

Elm327 v1.3 chip Released 

This build of OBD 2007 is our first since the official release of the Elm327 v1.3 chip. OBD 2007 has supported this new chip since build 1.0.13.93. We have not had to make any further modifications to our OBDII code now that the new chip has been officially released. All Elm chip serial tool vendors should now have the new chip in stock.

July 28th 2008

This build of OBD 2007, Build 1.0.13.953 is a minor release which corrects a number of items in the recently released playback mechanism. This upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

The playback module now runs in its own thread, which makes OBD 2007 more responsive to tab changes on the 3 tabs used to display the data by the playback module. Further error checking has been introduced to ensure that the log you are trying to play back does actually include sensor data.

July 15th 2008

This build of OBD 2007 Build 1.0.13.95 introduces our new playback mechanism. Any OBD 2007 diagnostic file can now be replayed. This upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

From the Playback menu select a file to replay. On opening the file, a new toolbar will appear, with play, pause and stop buttons. Five play back speeds are available and a progress bar indicates the current position during the playback.

During playback you can view data, via three of the OBD 2007 tabs, Read Vehicles Pids, Dashboard and Fuel Analysis.

We have also a re worked the Com Port Setup dialog window to take advantage of the additional baud rates available to the OBDPro scan tool. Please see the new Appendix C in the Program Guide for all the details.

We have also included a new night vision view for all the gauges in both the Dashboard and Fuel Analysis tabs.

June 26th 2008

This build of OBD 2007 Build 1.0.13.93 introduces support for the Elm327 v1.3 chip. The Elm327 v1.3 is due to go into public beta July 1st, with a release in August. This build is primarily for those beta users. We will have a final release, if required, when the v1.3 chip is shipped in August. This upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

Features of the Elm327 v1.3 chip

Speed

The Elm327 v1.3 chip provides many new exciting features. The one feature that is likely to impress most is the increase in speed when OBD 2007 is operating in continuous read mode. For CAN vehicles the increase in speed is extremely impressive – double the speed of the old 1.2 chip. In fact, double the speed is quite a conservative claim as we have seen speeds as high as 63 pids per sec when running with a high speed serial port at 500k baud. However speeds of approximately 38-40 pids per sec are quite normal for a USB scan tool or a serial tool using a USB serial cable adapter. The speed increase for non CAN vehicles is not as significant.

Buffer Full Errors - no more

The other major feature which results in the elimination of buffer full errors is the ability to control whether spaces are included in the output of the responses from the OBD port. By turning off spaces, the internal buffer of the chip is effectively increased, which eliminates the chance of a buffer full error. This means that scan tools can now run at lower bauds without hitting the dreaded buffer full error. This is very important as vehicle manufacturers are now starting to exploit the CAN bus by increasing the amount of information coming from the bus.

June 8th 2008

This build of OBD 2007 Build 1.0.13.92 introduces support for the OBDPro scan tool and fixes a minor bug we discovered while testing a 2008 Volvo XC90 D5. This upgrade is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

OBDPro Scan Tool

OBDPro scantool supports all OBD II protocols like the ELM 327. It comes in two versions, serial and USB and is very attractively priced. OBDPro is not based on the Elm 327 chip, but does emulate all the necessary AT commands of the Elm 327 chip, and therefore works seamlessly with OBD 2007. For more information about OBDPro please visit their website www.obdpros.com.

Volvo XC90 D5

While testing this vehicle we found a minor bug causing a runtime error with OBD 2007 on pids 0x24 through pids 0x2B, which are wide range Oxygen sensors that have recently been introduced on modern diesel engines.

These pids are meant to return a response of 4 bytes as per SAE J1979 and ISO 15031-5. However this particular Volvo only returns a 2 byte response. We have rectified this anomaly by supplying the missing bytes with harmless values of zero. When Volvo does correct the problem, our values will be automatically replaced by their values.

Please note this bug does not affect any petrol engines which do correctly return a 4 byte response.

May 29th 2008

Our latest build of OBD 2007, Build 1.0.13.9 introduces our new Mapping module and is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

OBD 2007 Mapping

OBD 2007’s Mapping module allows you to examine data from your vehicle in a three dimensional format. The Mapping tab is the one module of OBD 2007 that does not require a connection to your vehicle. You are not examining live data, but data that was pre recorded in an earlier OBD 2007 connection session.

When you are viewing live data of the pids of your vehicle in a normal OBD 2007 connection session, you have the option to record the live data to an OBD 2007 log file. At the completion of your logging session, you will find a text file in the OBD 2007 program folder that is date and time stamped for that session – for example OBDLog10052008 153422.txt.

This text file contains the output of all the Pid information that was collected during your connection session. The text file, which is viewable with Window’s Notepad consists of individual pid descriptions, pid values and a timestamp of when the event occurred, one line of information per pid. As with earlier versions of OBD 2007, this data can be imported into an Excel spreadsheet and manipulated within Excel. With our new OBD 2007 mapping module we now do that work for you and present the data as a 3D map, plus a graphical representation of the individual pids, graphed over the same period of time.

The mapping module window is made up of three components, a grid displaying the actual pid values imported into the OBD 2007 database table, a mapping grid showing the results of the data manipulation and three graphs of the individual pids that were chosen to be mapped. The graphs all share the same X Axis (time) and therefore each pid value can be compared at a particular point in time. The mapping grid shows the average values of the pid that was selected to be mapped based on one other user selectable pid and engine RPM. The mapping grid therefore displays a 3D view of the data over the complete range of engine operating speeds for that particular OBD 2007 connection session.

This is a particularly useful tool for studying trends – a couple of examples would be fuel maps of Short Term and Long Term fuel trims or Ignition timing maps. The data in the cells can be coloured based on user definable settings to indicate data, in and out of the ideal range.

For a full description of the new OBD 2007 Mapping module, please see the new section “Mapping” in the OBD 2007 Program Guide, available for viewing on our website and included in the evaluation version of OBD 2007. Screenshots are also available on the Screenshots page.

April 23rd 2008

Build 1.0.13.8 introduces a number of new features and is available as a free upgrade to all registered users via the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

Com Port Auto Discovery Mechanism

With this release of OBD 2007 we have introduced a new feature to the Com Port Setup window to make it easier to select the correct Com port for your scan tool. This version of OBD 2007 adds a new Auto Discover button to the Com Port Setup window.

The Auto Discover button will automatically cycle through all the Com ports of your computer looking for the Com port that your scan tool is connected to. This is a useful feature if you have more than one way of connecting to your scan tool. You may have a scan tool that is capable of connecting by both Bluetooth serial and a USB serial adapter, such as the ElmScan5 Bluetooth. In each case the Com port used would be different. The Auto Discovery process eliminates the need to remember or lookup the correct Com port for each connection. Please be sure to check the new Appendix B in the OBD 2007 Program guide for more details on Auto Discovery.

New Dashboard Gauges

This release also includes two new gauges for the Dashboard. Pid 0x0B Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure and Pids 0x0A, 0x22 and 0x23 Fuel Rail Pressure.

Fuel Rail Pressure is predominately used by diesel engines. A vehicle can only support one of the above pids, therefore this particular gauge does triple duty. The major difference between the 3 separate fuel pressure pids is the scaling, the latter pid reports very high pressures or wide range fuel rail pressure and is found on many late model diesel vehicles. As diesel engines don’t support Ignition timing, the Ignition timing gauge is dynamically replaced by the fuel pressure gauge if OBD 2007 discovers support for any of those pids. For petrol engines the gauge will still default to the Ignition Timing gauge.

Similarly the Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure gauge (MAP) will dynamically replace the Mass Air Flow gauge (MAF) when a vehicle supports MAP, but not MAF. MAF takes precedence as MAF is more commonly used in later model vehicles. After much customer feedback we have also reduced the scaling of the MAF gauge to more reflect the typical readings of most engines. Previously our MAF gauge read 0-300 gm/sec or 0-46 lbs/min. We have now halved those figures. Please let us know if you consider that we may have gone too far.

Fuel Status Anomaly

We recently had a user experience a runtime error which related to Pid 0x03 Fuel Status. The OBDII specification stipulates that the vehicle’s ECU shall respond with 2 bytes of information for both Fuel Status 1 and Fuel Status 2, even if Fuel Status 2 is unused, as is the case with most 4 cylinder vehicles. This particular vehicle, a 2000 Mazda Protégé only responded with 1 byte of information, thus causing a runtime error. As is often the case with early model OBDII vehicles, the Mazda was not strictly OBDII compliant. We have now rectified this problem, by providing the missing information to prevent the runtime error.

April 2nd 2008

New Builds 1.0.13.7 for OBD 2007 for PC and 1.0.12.5 for OBD 2007 for Pocket PC. This is a free upgrade to all registered users, available from the version check menu option within OBD 2007 for PC.

These builds contains a bug fix for OBDII Service $06. Any OBDMids which related to temperature could indicate a failed result, due to a miscalculation when dealing with imperial units. These builds rectify that problem.

March 31st 2008

The GLM Software forum is now open. Please feel free to start and enter into discussions relating to OBD 2007 and other OBDII topics. Please note that the forum is not a substitute for technical support. Please address your technical support questions directly to support@glmsoftware.com for the fastest answers. 

March 16th 2008

New Build 1.0.13.61 for OBD 2007 for PC. This is a very minor release. We have added a version check after the activation process has been completed to ensure that the version being evaluated is the current version, as OBD 2007 for PC is now available from sources, other than our website. If the version just activated is not the current release, it will be automatically upgraded on the fly to the current release.

March 14th 2008

New Build 1.0.13.6 for OBD 2007 for PC. This is a free upgrade to all registered users, available from the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

Bug fix for check for Elm327 v1.2 chip.

A user has kindly reported a bug that relates to an OBD 2007 function that checks for the existence of the Elm327 v1.2 chip. The function was incorrectly indicating that a 1.0a chip was a 1.2 chip. This resulted in the baud rate of the scan tool being incorrectly set and as a consequence Pids could not be read.

Please note that this bug only affected users running a European version of Windows, where the decimal number separator is a comma rather than a period.

If you have recently downloaded OBD 2007 to evaluate and you haven’t been able to read pids and your Window’s Regional setting is set to a European country where the decimal number separator is a comma then this bug would have prevented you from fully evaluating OBD 2007.

If you would like to re evaluate OBD 2007, please contact us at support@glmsoftware.com and we will arrange to send you a new activation key.

March 12th 2008

New Build 1.0.13.5 for OBD 2007 for PC. This is a free upgrade to all registered users, available from the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

New Fuel Analysis tab

This version of OBD 2007 introduces a new Fuel Analysis tab. The tab consists of a number of new gauges which analyse information relating to pids which deliver information about the fuel system of a vehicle. The main gauge is an instantaneous fuel consumption gauge. It is flanked by four linear gauges which indicate the dynamic state of both the Short Term and Long Term Fuel Trims for each bank. The main analogue fuel consumption gauge also contains an embedded digital average fuel consumption gauge.

Above the main gauge are two sets of digital fuel gauges which measure instantaneous fuel economy and fuel rate usage in the 3 common units of measurement as specified by the OBDII specification – metric, imperial US and imperial UK.

In between the digital gauges are two LEDs that dynamically indicate the various states of Pid 0x03 - Fuel Status. Below the Fuel Status LEDs is another linear gauge which indicates the dynamic values of Air Fuel ratio, adjusted by Pid 0x44 - Commanded Equivalence Ratio when supported by the vehicle. Please see our Screenshots page and the OBD 2007 Program Guide for more details about how fuel consumption is calculated.

To make it easier to select pids for both the Dashboard and the Fuel Analysis tabs, OBD 2007 has two new buttons on the Supported Pids tab that allow the automatic selection of the pids required for the respective tabs. This ensures that only pids necessary for the respective tabs are selected, making the gauges as responsive as possible.

Dashboard tab

The original Dashboard tab supported an instantaneous fuel consumption gauge – this gauge has now been removed and replaced by a new analogue gauge for Pid 0x0E - Ignition Timing.

Higher baud rate support of Elm327 v1.2 chip

This build also contains a number of bug fixes that caused program run time errors for serial port baud rate relating to attempts to change to higher baud rates when the underlying serial port did not support the proposed higher rate. These problems have been rectified in this build.

February 20th 2008

New Build 1.0.12.6 for OBD 2007 for PC. This is a free upgrade to all registered users, available from the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

This build fixes 2 bugs in our previous build 1.0.12.3, released earlier this month. Pid 0x23 - Fuel Rail Pressure Wide Range, commonly used by late model diesel engines was causing a program crash if the user was using Imperial units. The upper limit of the Y axis of the graph for Pid 0x23 was also using an incorrect value, which resulted in a distorted graph.

The newly released ElmScan5 Bluetooth could present a run time error if the user attempted to increase the baud rate value above 115,200 bps.

Both problems have been rectified with this latest build.

February 4th 2008

New Build 1.0.12.3 for OBD 2007 for PC. This is a free upgrade to all registered users, available from the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

Elm327 v1.2 chip - Support for higher baud rates

This build now offers full support for the significantly improved RS232 serial interface of the Elm327 1.2 chip.

The previous 1.1 chip only offered baud rates of up to 38,400 bps. The Elm327 1.2 chip now supports increased baud rate speeds from 57,600 bps up to 500 Kbps. By increasing the baud rate the Elm327 chip is less likely to suffer from BUFFER FULL errors, which can be quite common in vehicles operating with the CAN protocol.

To enable backward compatibility with the older chips we have redesigned the Com Port Setup window to simplify the selection of baud rate. The old Baud Rate combo box containing the two original settings is retained, but we have introduced an additional High Speed Baud Rate combo box to support those users with Elm327 1.2 chipped scan tools. Please be sure to check the new Appendix A - Elm327 1.2 - Support for higher baud rates in the OBD 2007 Program Guide, included in the download of OBD 2007 for PC, for full details of this new feature. The OBD 2007 Program Guide is also available for viewing on line via a link at the bottom of our Purchase page.

Adaptive timing

Another new feature of the Elm327 1.2 chip is known as Adaptive Timing. The new Adaptive Timing feature of the Elm327 1.2 automatically monitors the time it takes your vehicle to respond to queries, and continually adjusts the response timer to suit the current conditions. OBD 2007 has always supported what we have termed the Elm327 Timeout value. The difference now is that the Elm327 1.2 chip will automatically attempt to increase the response speed of whatever value you have selected for the Elm327 Timeout value. Note however it will never automatically raise the value higher than you have set via the Elm327 Timeout value of OBD 2007.

The new 1.2 chip which is simple to replace is available from Elm Electronics for $CDN 32 or alternatively from your scan tool manufacturer or distributor.

Support for ElmScan ISO USB scan tool

OBD 2007 now officially supports the single protocol scan tool ElmScan ISO USB. The ISO scan tool is based on the Elm323 v2.0 chip but only supports the following protocols ISO 9141-2 and ISO 14230-4.

December 16th 2007

New build 1.0.12.1 for OBD 2007 for PC. This minor point release fixes a bug in the Window layout menu option. A number of the menu items were not correctly responding to their selection.

December 11th 2007

New build 1.0.12.0 for OBD 2007 for Pocket PC. This build of the pda version is just to bring the OBD code into line with the PC version.

December 7th 2007

New build 1.0.12.0 for OBD 2007 for PC. This a free upgrade to all registered users available from the version check menu option within OBD 2007.

New Graphic Data tab

This build introduces a new Graphic Data tab to OBD 2007, which allows the option of displaying pid data in graphic format. See the Screenshots menu for a preview.

While displaying Pid data continuously, you may now also toggle between the Read Vehicle Pids tab, the Dashboard tab and the Graphic Data tab. Before viewing the Graphic Data tab you need to select the Pids you wish to read as per normal for the Read Vehicle Pids tab. When you then select the Graphic Data tab you will have a new selection of Pids to choose from based on the original list you selected. Pids are filtered from the original list if they don’t lend themselves to a graphic display.

4 Graphs simultaneously

You have the option of selecting up to 4 graphs simultaneously. When the graphic tab is first displayed, it displays 4 dummy graph areas. You first need to choose which graph area - Top left, bottom left, top right or bottom right from the combo on the left hand side of the tab. Pick a graph position and then select a Pid to graph from the combo on the right hand side. You can then continue on, selecting another position and another Pid to graph for up to 4 graphs.

Real time display

While viewing the data, after about 30 secs as the graph approaches the right hand edge, the time Axis, or X axis starts scrolling. What is happening is that the old data is discarded and you are now viewing the new data over time, as it is a real time display depending on the speed of the protocol of the vehicle. Each graph has a tooltip which will display the actual reading, when you hover the mouse over the graphic line as it is drawn. Each graph adjusts its Y Axis scale properties etc. depending on the pid being graphed.

As you are viewing the graphs, you can select a different Pid to graph – you don’t have to stop and restart, just because you change Pids. The previous graph is then replaced with the new graph.

Flexible viewing options

To maximise the graphs, either maximise the screen or choose one of standard screen layout sizes from the Window layout menu to increase the size of the layout. You also have the option of removing the Legends, the X axis and the Graph Titles to further maximise the viewable graph area.

November 12th 2007

New build 1.0.11.0 for OBD 2007 for PC. This build contains a new automatic version updater and a small number of bug fixes.

Version Updater and how it works

A registered user can now seamlessly upgrade their copy of OBD 2007 without visiting this website to check whether there is a new version available. OBD 2007 has always had a Version Check option available from the Help Menu | Version check. In the past this option has only notified users whether there was a new version of OBD 2007 available. This new version of OBD 2007 now gives a registered user the option of automatically downloading and installing the latest version of OBD 2007 for PC on the fly.

After connecting with our server and establishing that a new version is available, a registered user is given the option of downloading the latest version. If the user answers yes to the prompt to proceed with the upgrade, the latest version is downloaded in the background. OBD 2007 is then temporally removed from memory and the new version replaces the old version. At the completion of the process OBD 2007 is automatically restarted with the new version.

New 29 bit CAN code

This version contains new code specifically for the 29 bit CAN protocol, which fixes a number of bugs for this protocol that were present in our previous versions.

Large Font Problem

A couple of users reported problems with the Activation and Registration windows being truncated in height, making it very difficult to activate OBD 2007. This was only a problem on systems running with large fonts. The default font of Windows is 96 DPI, large fonts are 120 DPI. Both these windows have now been reworked to work correctly with either font size. Previous versions will still work correctly if the system font is set to Normal font (96 DPI). 

October 26th 2007

New build 1.0.10.1 for both OBD 2007 for PC and OBD 2007 for Pocket PC. This minor point release addresses a problem which was only applicable to vehicles using the CAN protocol. Trouble codes (DTCs) were being incorrectly read if there were more than 2 DTCs set.

This build also addresses a problem relating to the presentation of the supported pid list for ISO 14230-4 vehicles. Some late model vehicles e.g. BMW 5 series respond transmission first then engine ecu. This resulted in the pid list being incorrectly sorted.

October 15th 2007

New build 1.0.10.0 for both OBD 2007 for PC and OBD 2007 for Pocket PC. This release addresses a major problem that prevented many diesel engines from establishing a connection. If you had previously downloaded OBD 2007 for a diesel engine, we would like to ask you to try again.

We have added even more increments to the Elm 327 Time Out Value, as some users have reported that VX Holden Commodores would only connect at slower than normal values. These new values allow more values for an optimimal connection. The default value has been changed from 50 to 100ms.

Some additional settings have been made to the window layout option.

We have also released a new free utility product OBD 2007 PidReader - see the Tips and Tricks section for more details.

August 18th 2007

New build 1.0.8.0 for both OBD 2007 for PC and OBD 2007 for Pocket PC. This point release addresses a number of problems with the 1.0.7.0 release of last month.

A number of users reported that they were unable to connect, if their vehicle didn’t support Freeze Frame pids. This problem has now been rectified.

We have also introduced a user definable OBD 2007 Reset timeout value, which allows the adjustment of the previously hard coded OBD 2007 Reset timeout.

July 17th 2007

Release of OBD 2007 for Pocket PC, plus a new point release of OBD 2007 for PC. See screenshots menu of both products for the new features.

New pricing for both products and a new 7 day full feature evaluation system.

Both releases support the recently released ELM 327 1.2 chip.

May 17th 2007

Release of OBD 2007 for PC. See screenshots menu for all the features.