OBDII app for logging electrical data

[Colchicine]

I just got an OBD II Bluetooth dongle. I need it for a specific task and would like recommendations on which paid app would be best.

I have a 2004 Ford Focus with an intermittent electrical problem that has cost me >$1,000 and has left me stranded a half dozen times. I want an app that will continually log all available electrical data. That way, when I do have a problem with the car I'll have the data that led up to the breakdown.

I am not able to determine which app will do this just by reading the descriptions, and in the case of Torque, it's apparent there is a different interface and functionality of the free version that won't tell me if it can log electrical data.

The link has the US available ODB II apps

https://play.google.com/store/search?q=obd2&c=apps&hl=en

 

[Boz2014]

What type of electrical problem are you experiencing? With OBD it does not log actual real time data and there is only a subset of the actual data you can log. I would seriously look into a new mechanic if they still cannot locate the fault. You need far better resolution/logging abilities than OBD can provide if it is intermittent.

For what it's worth most modern cars are designed to operate while running at +13.8VDC with a deviation of +/- %15 so +11.73vdc -- +15.87vdc. You are better off using a multimeter to see if there are fluctuations.

The OBD adapter will help you to verify if you have any trouble codes in the ECU, but not all trouble codes actually get stored.

I use this software and it works well.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=OCTech.Mobile.Applications.OBDLink

 

[codesplice]

As Boz2014 mentioned, I'm not sure that a generic OBD tool will be able to diagnose your "intermittent electrical problem." There's a finite set of information that is available on the OBD bus, and most of it is related to the engine itself.

By the way, "intermittent electrical problem" screams faulty ground to me - and that's definitely not something that an OBD reader will be able tell you about. Why not post more details about your vehicle issues over at our Automotive Talk subforum so we can try to help out?