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Since 1996 most vehicles sold in Europe and United States have been equipped with an OBD-II system, also known as On Board Diagnostics. OBD-II, is how the car’s electronics communicate with the world. It lets you look into dozens of the car’s components, sensors, and microcontrollers to see what is working and what isn’t. From the engine, transmission, and brakes to the air bags, steering, and air conditioning, it’s all there. Some cars can even tell you if they’ve been driven faster than the recommended top speed.

The ODB-II System uses a connector, usually hiding around the dash in the vicinity of the driver’s seat and/or in the engine area, to comminicate with computers capable to read ODB-II messages. These computers are called CarPCs or Carputers. Over time, various companies have developed OBD scanners and data loggers.

Magden Technologies has developed out one of these data loggers. Their M.1 Performance Computer, a compact box capable of logging the user’s choice of OBD channels. The data is saved spreadsheet style and can be transferred via a USB dongle and the box also has the ability to log from user added sensors. The most interesting feature though, is the computer’s ability to output video display. Combined with Magden’s own touch-screen it makes for a pretty impressive interactive light show.

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Of course, you can use one of the many available OBD-II scanners and data loggers (a good choice is available at ScanTools), to watch your engine’s performance real-time. Most of them are using a serial or USB interface to connect them with your laptop and you can combine it with any available data logging & monitoring software.

The following screenshots are taken from these ODB-II software, having the ability to display the engine’s status in gauge styled.

Screenshots from ODB 2007

Screenshot from DigiMoto

Screenshot from PCMScan

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