The Bullydog Watchdog?....

[bluetwo]

I couldn't find any info on it here and aside from the sales pitch you see on the on the Bully Dog website there really isn't that much information out there.

WatchDogâ„¢ Economy Monitor - 40400, 40402 - Gauge monitor with a Driving Coach to maximize fuel economy

There's a few reviews on different auto forums but no answers to questions like:

Can you substitue speed for the tachometer (the one that takes up most of the screen)? I have a tachometer and don't need a little digital one that takes up most of the usable color screen. I would love to have a big bold MPH number though, not the little numbers on the left.

Has it been giving an accurate instant MPG and average MPG? It doesn't seem to take into account the size of the gas tank or engine displacement.

I also wonder if there'll be another firmware version coming out soon so I don't end up having to mail it in so it can get updated. I hope this thread gets some attention.

[SVOboy]

Hopefully I can stick the one I have on someone's car next weekend to answer these questions.

[cfg83]

bluetwo -

FAQ :
http://www.bullydog.com/external/pro..._Sheet_290.pdf

Instructons (what you want) :
http://www.bullydog.com/external/pro...g_inst_290.pdf


It's definitely a luxury Scangauge ($300). It adds curb weight to it's input defaults but ignores gas tank size. Interesting. It also needs more power than the OBDII port can provide, so you have to tap into the fuse box.

CarloSW2

[bluetwo]

Ok cool, thanks for the .pdf's

It does go for $299.00 on the Bully Dog site and I've seen it being sold for more than that but I've also seen them for as low as $239.00

I can't believe this thing needs an extra power supply though. It's not hard of course, but that's just stupid because even the superpowered DashDAQ doesn't require that. If only I had the extra 600 bucks to spend I'd love to have the DashDAQ with GPS and the works.

I wish Linear Logic would get off their frikin asses and give us something with a decent display. I've had my Scangauge 2 for almost 3 years now and I'm ready for something better.

[SVOboy]

Link to it a bit cheaper: Amazon.com: Bully Dog 40402 Watch Dog Black Economy Monitor: Automotive

[cfg83]

bluetwo -

Originally Posted by bluetwo

...

I can't believe this thing needs an extra power supply though. It's not hard of course, but that's just stupid because even the superpowered DashDAQ doesn't require that. If only I had the extra 600 bucks to spend I'd love to have the DashDAQ with GPS and the works.

I wish Linear Logic would get off their frikin asses and give us something with a decent display. I've had my Scangauge 2 for almost 3 years now and I'm ready for something better.

I think you answered your own question. I think that the price of "plug and play" is that it is using what the OBD II spec is giving to it. I went looking for the volt/amp out of OBD II and found this :

16 pin car OBD2 special connector diagram and applications @ pinouts.ru

OBD II to USB cable pinout and wiring @ pinoutshandbook.com


Question: Can someone interpret the juice coming in from the above schematic?

I went to my car and tried to measure the amps of pin 16 but I messed up. I blew a fuse, not good! Sooooo, I do not suggest that you try this unless you know your electronics (I obviously don't, ).

CarloSW2

[bluetwo]

Originally Posted by cfg83

bluetwo -
I think you answered your own question. I think that the price of "plug and play" is that it is using what the OBD II spec is giving to it. I went looking for the volt/amp out of OBD II and found this :

OBD II to USB cable pinout and wiring @ pinoutshandbook.com

Question: Can someone interpret the juice coming in from the above schematic?

CarloSW2

Yep, I did more or less, not all in the same post though mind you. It's as much for the benefit of the other people on the board as for me though.

I think the consensus will be the Watchdog is a nice piece of equipment. It has a great screen and it's good for helping people watch fuel economy but it still needs some firmware upgrades and needs a little more functionality.

[spectre]

Hey guys, just wanted to clear up something: The WatchDog CAN run on just OBDII power alone. The power wire is optional. However, if you don't run the power wire, there is no option to have "key on power" for it. To be clear, you can run the WatchDog without running a power wire, so it is plug and play. But the OBDII port is not wired to key on power, so you have to manually switch the WatchDog on/off at the OBDII plug (with a provided switch) if you choose not to tap a key on fuse. (and if you don't switch it off when you get out of the vehicle, it will continue to draw power.)

[cfg83]

spectre -

Originally Posted by spectre

Hey guys, just wanted to clear up something: The WatchDog CAN run on just OBDII power alone. The power wire is optional. However, if you don't run the power wire, there is no option to have "key on power" for it. To be clear, you can run the WatchDog without running a power wire, so it is plug and play. But the OBDII port is not wired to key on power, so you have to manually switch the WatchDog on/off at the OBDII plug (with a provided switch) if you choose not to tap a key on fuse. (and if you don't switch it off when you get out of the vehicle, it will continue to draw power.)

Thanks for the correction.

CarloSW2

[spectre]

Originally Posted by bluetwo

I couldn't find any info on it here and aside from the sales pitch you see on the on the Bully Dog website there really isn't that much information out there.

WatchDogâ„¢ Economy Monitor - 40400, 40402 - Gauge monitor with a Driving Coach to maximize fuel economy

There's a few reviews on different auto forums but no answers to questions like:

Can you substitue speed for the tachometer (the one that takes up most of the screen)? I have a tachometer and don't need a little digital one that takes up most of the usable color screen. I would love to have a big bold MPH number though, not the little numbers on the left.

Has it been giving an accurate instant MPG and average MPG? It doesn't seem to take into account the size of the gas tank or engine displacement.

I also wonder if there'll be another firmware version coming out soon so I don't end up having to mail it in so it can get updated. I hope this thread gets some attention.

The gauges are fully customizable. You can switch them on the fly - whichever gauge is selected at the left side of the display will also show up on the main gauge area as an analog gauge, a real-time graph, or a combination of the two.

I don't know about gas tank size - that'd be a question for the Bully Dog techs I guess.

As far as firmware goes, Bully Dog always offers free updates in my experience. And you don't have to mail it in, they have "Update Agent" software that you install on your PC. Just use a mini-usb to plug the WatchDog into your computer and away you go!