Garmin EcoRoute HD and the TDI

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
Bottom line first, don't waste your money!

The information available is quite different than the you tube stuff that I saw in April. If you are interested in Mass A/F in Oz/S then maybe you will want this... not sure what that means, unless you are a MAF. Other than that battery voltage would be the only thing you get that would be of interest, all other possibilities, 5 in all are on the MFD screen on the dash.
 

masterflex164

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Location
...
TDI
...
I have EcoRoute on my 255WT. I tried using the 'best fuel economy,' and it does work to improve mpg, but it takes so much longer
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
mickeyyeety said:
I have EcoRoute on my 255WT. I tried using the 'best fuel economy,' and it does work to improve mpg, but it takes so much longer
Yup, that's the software, In this instance I am talking about the "HD" which is an OBDII interface (hardware) that gives you live engine data... entirely different animal.
 

danham

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2009
Location
Cape Cod, MA
TDI
2010 JSW
When I first saw it I was so hoping for boost. But no such. I agree it is one of Garmin's "bells-n-whistles" moves which do not add to their otherwise excellent navigators.

-dan
 

shoE30

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2010 JSW
bruce846, have you seen the HD in person? Did you buy one? Have they started shipping the units? Last time i checked they were only taking pre-orders(or something to that effect)

I know this is out of my league, but can it be hacked to show what we want to see?
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
shoE30 said:
bruce846, have you seen the HD in person? Did you buy one? Have they started shipping the units? Last time i checked they were only taking pre-orders(or something to that effect)

I know this is out of my league, but can it be hacked to show what we want to see?
Unfortunately, my comments are based on "hands on" experience, have it for 3 days, very disappointed and glad I got a deal or I would be very pi$$ed!

Not sure about hacking, (way out of my league) but it seems to work differently in my BMW X5 gasser, 9 possible options vs. 5 in the TDI.
 

BlackSunshine

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Location
B.C. Canada
TDI
Tdi 1.9L ALH
I have the Ecoroute HD and the 1490T - have only had the Ecoruote HD for a couple of days, so am still playing with the options and such.

So far I am impressed with it - lots of data to chew on for the auto-geeks like me...

Is it better than dedicated gauges? No.

It is quick and convenient to move from vehicle-to-vehicle, and is very inexpensive in my opinion. I will reserve decision until I have used it a bit more...
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
After some investigation, I found that the info that each Mfg. spits out of the OBDII port is entirely up to them and not Garmin... VW is responsible for the limited gauge suport.

Anyone know if VAG-Com can alter these settings?
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
BlackSunshine said:
'...limited gauge support...'

What data are you trying to view that you cannot access?
Only 5 gauges are available on my "10 JSW, RPM, volts, Mass A/F, engine load, and Speed. In my estimation fairly useless!
 
Last edited:

BlackSunshine

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Location
B.C. Canada
TDI
Tdi 1.9L ALH
Maybe I didn't word the question correctly.

I'll try again -

What specific OBD-II engine feedback data do you wish to view on the EcoRoute HD that you cannot view?
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
BlackSunshine said:
What specific OBD-II engine feedback data do you wish to view on the EcoRoute HD that you cannot view?
I'm (obviously) not the OP, but for me I would say Boost and EGT above all. Actually the choice of several EGTs (before and after DPF) would be nice. Also the pressure differential across the DPF would be nice. All of this can easily be viewed with VCDS. There is probably more, but this is what I thought of on the spur of the moment. Why can't it be made programmable so that ANY measuring block can be read and plotted?

Have Fun!

Don
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
Thanks Don, you are correct, however what I would like and what appears to be availalable with the HD are not the same... unless this info can be coded with VAG-COM to be read from the OBDII port.

BlackSunshine, what gauges are available in your TDI?
 
Last edited:

BlackSunshine

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Location
B.C. Canada
TDI
Tdi 1.9L ALH
Why can't it be made programmable so that ANY measuring block can be read and plotted?
I have no doubt that it is quite possible to monitor the data you desire, but let's be realistic about the capabilities of a $149 consumer product - I think it is a neat 'toy' but you are looking for data that the average consumer wouldn't necessarily use or understand. Garmin is not designing these products to satisfy the elite 1%, they are trying to build products to satisfy the other 99%.

It meets the expectations I have for what is for all intents and purposes a fun toy to play with.
 

BlackSunshine

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Location
B.C. Canada
TDI
Tdi 1.9L ALH
From the menu it allows me to monitor:

• Intake air temperature
• Coolant temperature
• Throttle position
• Engine load
• Intake manifold pressure
• Charging Voltage
• Mass airflow rate
• Timing advance
• RPM
• Speed

I can agree that these are not the utmost important measurements to monitor, but it certainly provides some entertainment while commuting 100+ miles per day....
 

bruce846

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2009
Location
North Central Pangaea
TDI
No TDI's
BlackSunshine said:
From the menu it allows me to monitor:

• Intake air temperature
• Coolant temperature
• Throttle position
• Engine load
• Intake manifold pressure
• Charging Voltage
• Mass airflow rate
• Timing advance
• RPM
• Speed

I can agree that these are not the utmost important measurements to monitor, but it certainly provides some entertainment while commuting 100+ miles per day....
Interesting, That's the same info that I can monitor on my BMW X5 gasser. Wonder why the new TDI's are limited to what I mentioned above?
 

BlackSunshine

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Location
B.C. Canada
TDI
Tdi 1.9L ALH
Very interesting - I would expect it to be a protocol issue limiting communication. There may be a software update or something from Garmin that they may be working on to address this since the vehicle is so new.

I can sympathize with the guys at Garmin, there are THOUSANDS or different types of vehicles, configurations, engines, emissions data, communication platforms, computer system 'updates', recalls, reflashes... It's amazing that these devices work as well as they do.

I would be tempted to email an inquiry to Garmin to see if they have any updates in the works to help unleash some more data to view with your EcorouteHD. Maybe they can set you up as a beta tester?!?
 

shoE30

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2010 JSW
Has anyone hooked up something like a Scangauge II to their TDI yet? If something like that only outputs the same limited info as the HD, then I think it would be a VW issue and not Garmin. Just a thought.
 

shoE30

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2010 JSW
Ok, so i stopped by my awesome MINI shop (Way Motor Works) and asked about this issue. Long story short he gave me a Scangauge II to take home over the weekend. I'll hook it up to the JSW and see what info i can get out of it. I'll report back Sunday at the earliest, but probably Monday.
 

shoE30

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Location
Atlanta
TDI
2010 JSW
It's official, the scangauge II didn't report manifold pressure or intake temps either. I even tried using it's xgauge feature to unlock other engine parameters, but no luck. So I think it's VW, and not Garmin, that is not showing the all the data.

On the plus side, the scanguage is a pretty neat device. I'm thinking of getting one for my MINI. It was really nice having a 'real' water temp gauge (when i used it in my mini). I will say that the vw water temp gauge is pretty accurate vs the scanguage.
 
Top