SC OBD2 guide

After your first connection, a long list of numbers may not tell you much. Start with a simple question: what do you want to observe, and under which conditions? Following a few readings you understand makes it easier to see what your car actually provides.

Read the value, unit and source together

Where supported, engine speed, coolant temperature and engine load can help describe a situation. Their meaning depends on what the vehicle was doing. An isolated reading does not certify normal operation or prove a fault, and there is no universal threshold in this guide for every engine.

Keep the sources distinct. An OBD parameter comes through a control unit; a phone reading, such as an available GPS measurement, follows a different path; a calculated value depends on its inputs and settings. These are not interchangeable measurements. Units, whether the reading is current, and the surrounding conditions matter as much as the number.

Choose what appears in your data view

In the currently distributed version, open Live data, the PIDs tab and the list icon. Display parameters lets you search for readings by name and choose them with checkboxes. Back in the data view, you can focus on the selected parameters that the vehicle and your licence support.

A parameter appearing in the list does not guarantee a useful response from the car. Some parameters need Full; others are unavailable because the vehicle does not provide them. Check the connection and basic readings before considering an upgrade. To keep data over time, check profiles, settings and the saved history: seeing a live value does not prove that a sample was recorded.

An unavailable reading is not a measured zero

If a field has no value, check whether the connection is active and other readings are arriving. A calculation may be missing an input; an OBD parameter may be unsupported or may require a particular reading condition. A blank field alone does not establish that a sensor has failed.

The useful outcome is knowing which readings are available, their units and the situation in which they were obtained. For support, give the parameter name and what the screen shows. When looking for a change over time, use records that were actually saved and whose conditions you can put in context.

A change in fuel use gives you a reason to look more closely; it is not a diagnosis. History helps you revisit the available trips and the conditions in which the car was used. You can turn an impression into a comparison you can describe without automatically blaming a fault or driving style.

Choose periods that can meaningfully be compared

Select the vehicle and period, then look at the records actually available. Distance, duration, how often you made a trip and known driving conditions help explain what the two periods represent. A week of short trips and queues is not the same use as one longer journey in flowing traffic.

For example, if the displayed fuel use appears higher, first check that the units, profile and time range have not changed. Then consider which trips make up the total and whether the required data was available. Even under similar conditions, a difference does not identify its cause. It can be a useful observation to discuss, rather than a verdict on the engine.

Keep your records and check what is missing

If history is empty, check the profile, date range and filters first. A live screen can show information without it being available in the selected history. Do not reinstall the app or clear its data in an attempt to recover an empty view.

The local archive stays on your device, and you can consult the records it holds without uploading them to an online service. You also need to protect that archive: before changing phones or working on stored data, verify the backup and follow the instructions for your installed version. Purchases, web support and online content have their own requirements; local storage does not mean every app function is offline.

Separate readings from estimates

SC OBD2 presents available fuel-use data and results it can calculate from the inputs and settings provided. Instantaneous fuel use and a trip average answer different questions, and meaningful comparisons need consistent units. They are not certified fuel measurements; vehicles do not all provide the same inputs.

Use only known, real information in vehicle profiles and refuelling records. If information is missing, leave the field unset where the screen allows it. A useful comparison depends on the recorded data and the conditions considered; it is not a certified measurement or a promise of fuel savings.

Full provides access to the supported reserved functions, including the CSV export offered by the app, so you can do more with the records you have. An export is only useful when it contains valid recorded data. The software licence is a one-time purchase: it does not include unlimited third-party services or create missing readings.