The OBDLink® app displays several dashboards and diagnostic gauges by default, including engine RPM and speed. Follow the steps in this article to edit dashboards and add new gauges.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Connect your adapter
- Edit existing gauges
- Edit a dashboard
- Troubleshooting
- Next steps
- Learn more
- Need more help?
Connect your adapter
Your OBDLink adapter can be in the Not Connected state while you add and edit dashboard gauges in the OBDLink app. However, we recommend that you do these steps while Connected via the OBDLink app, because the OBDLink app will show you all the displays your vehicle will report data for. (Before it is connected to your vehicle, the OBDLink app will display all the PIDs it can access, some of which may not be available for your vehicle.)
To access the OBDLink app dashboards, tap the Dashboards icon from the app's main screen.
Note: In this article, iOS screenshots are shown on the left and Android screenshots are shown on the right.
| iOS | Android |
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The default dashboards and gauges are displayed. Swipe to see all the dashboard pages.
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Edit existing gauges
To modify the configuration for an existing gauge, press and hold the gauge until the Edit Display menu is shown.
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You can modify the following characteristics for a gauge:
- Size and Location: Manually adjust the size and location of the gauge. Note that the values used here are based on percentages of the dashboard size. Currently, the gauges must be square and the lesser of the width and height dimensions is used.
- Display Configuration: Update the displayed title and Parameter ID (PID), number of decimals used for the value displayed, and min/max values for the range (radial gauges only).
- Style: Update the color, label size and location, bevel properties, and other style related characteristics of a gauge. Note that the style for a gauge can be stored and reused from the Menu option in the top right corner of the style editor.
- Change Display Type: Select between a radial and digital gauge.
- Bring to Front: If a gauge overlaps another gauge, this can be used to adjust the Z-order to bring this gauge to the front.
- Send to Back: If a gauge overlaps another gauge, this can be used to adjust the Z-order to send this gauge to the back.
- Remove Display: Deletes the gauge from the dashboard. You must confirm this action before the app deletes the gauge.
- Drag and Move: Use your finger to adjust the position of the gauge within the dashboard.
- Reset Min/Max (radial gauges only): Reset the minimum and maximum indicator values displayed on the gauge.
Edit a dashboard
Open the Dashboard Configuration menu as described below.
| Tap the Menu icon in the upper right corner. | Tap the Menu icon (3 vertical dots) in the lower left corner. |
You will see a list of configuration options that you can make.
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- Add Display: Adds a new gauge to the current dashboard page.
- Add Dashboard: Adds an empty dashboard page to the list of dashboard pages.
- Remove Dashboard: Removes the current dashboard page from the list of dashboard pages.
- Dashboard Settings: (iOS only) Updates the dashboard background color.
- Load Default Dashboards: Replaces the existing dashboard set with the default dashboards.
- Toggle HUD Mode: Enables your device to be used as a heads up display by mirroring the screen.
- Calibrate Device Sensors: Compensates device roll, pitch, and yaw for the current device position.
Troubleshooting
You may notice that vehicle gauge data in the OBDLink app is different from the values you see on your vehicle dashboard. These differences may be caused by several factors. Here are some useful tips:
- In the OBDLink app, tap Diagnostics > Reports > PID Snapshot to capture a snapshot of all supported Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) PIDs and the values they report at that exact instance. You can compare this snapshot to your vehicle dashboard gauges.
- The OBDLink app reports data directly from your vehicle Electronic Control Unit (ECU). For temperature readings, the OBDLink app checks for temperature PID values less often then it checks for speed PID values, so there could be a delay before the temperature gauge in the app changes.
If you set up a user-defined PID, then you can set the priority for how often the PID is checked. For step-by-step details to do this, see the Display Transmission Temperature Gauge article, in the OEM PID reference section.
Some vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) have limited the vehicle’s temperature display to show a range from Cold to Hot without any numerical values. The OBDLink app reports the ECU data for Engine Coolant Temperature with 1 decimal point precision. For an exact comparison between your vehicle display and the OBDLink app, contact your vehicle OEM’s service department for OEM PID details. Alternatively, you can try searching a forum for your vehicle and see if other users have posted tips or recommendations.
The OBDLink app calculates fuel economy (miles per gallon or MPG) using values from the Vehicle Editor. To get more accurate MPG, you may need to adjust your vehicle settings. For details, see the Edit Your Vehicle Settings article, in the Fuel economy section.
You can display vehicle MPG following these steps: Dashboards > Menu (iOS) or 3 dots (Android) > Add display > Select display gauge type and appearance > PID > Fuel > Instant Fuel Economy or Total Fuel Economy
Fuel economy is automatically calculated by the OBDLink app. Navigate to Logs > Trips to view the data.
Reset the MPG value in the OBDLink app by navigating to Logs > Trips and tapping Reset for each trip and the Total value.
Next steps
- In the OBDLink app, tap Settings > Help > Dashboard Management to learn more. You can set up custom dashboards for different vehicles and reorder dashboards to suit your needs.
- Learn how to show your vehicle’s transmission temperature in the Display Transmission Temperature Gauge article.
Learn more
- You can explore other OBDLink features and functionality using our support article knowledge base.
- For descriptions of terms used in this article, see the Glossary of Acronyms and Terms.
- This NAPA article has more information about reading your vehicle's temperature gauge.
Note: The link leads to a resource that is not affiliated with OBDLink. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information.
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