Alfaobd

[patrick1797]

I purchased a $13 ELM-327 Bluetooth adapter off of Amazon and it works perfectly fine with my 2017 RAM Rebel and my wife's 2016 Durango. I haven't tried lots with it, but I have installed and enabled a brake controller, turned off fog light dropout and enabled ART splash screen on radio. I have also used it to pull all codes and read many sensors.

Mini Bluetooth OBD2 Scanner OBDATOR ELM327 Automotive OBD OBDII Code Reader Car Check Engine Light Diagnostic Scan Tool for Android PC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074DWH8J...abc_H7AXF0A3ME0GHEANK9S1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[patrick1797]

I am new to this, I just installed the Trailer Brake Control on my 2017 Rebel. I am not sure what other changes I would make to it, but just to confirm...you use the ELM327 along with AlfaOBD? was everything already programed on the ELM327?

 

[Matt Franklin]

I am new to this, I just installed the Trailer Brake Control on my 2017 Rebel. I am not sure what other changes I would make to it, but just to confirm...you use the ELM327 along with AlfaOBD? was everything already programed on the ELM327?

You’ll need to dowload AlphaOBD from their website to either a PC or an Android device. The ELM327 is just the bluetooth interface for the PC or the Android phone/tablet to communicate with your truck. The gurus on this site that have done the most with Alpha recommend the OBDLink MX+ instead of an ELM327 adapter for the interface, but I see a lot of folks who say the ELM327 worked just fine.

There is a thread here in the 4th gen DIY page that will walk you through getting started. It has links in the first post to common upgrades, and one of them is the trailer brake. YouTube tutorials also abound, though I haven’t looked there for that specific upgrade.

 

[yomanne]

With regard to the ELM327 interfaces, it's easy to be confused because there are many different brands of this type of scan tool and they're not all created equal. From the alphaobd website...

"ELM327-based Bluetooth/USB/ WLAN interface: There are many suppliers of such interfaces, make sure the version is 1.3 and above. Because the quality of ELM327 clones is not stable, it is recommended to use tested suppliers (see www.alfaobd.com for details)."

I decided to start with the cheapest ELM327 scan tool and work my way up until I found one that worked with alphaobd. The first one I tried was only $7.35 on eBay. Although the software version was 1.4b, it did not work with alphaobd. To be fair, I could have tried downloading software from their website to update the firmware but after going to their website I chickened out, worried that the download might also contain malware.

Next, I tried the Obdator ELM327 scan tool on Amazon for $13.99. Its software version was only 1.4 but it worked great with alphaobd for the Body Computer and Radio Frequency Hub modules. And, it didn't require any software/firmware updates.




To connect to some of the other modules, it's quite likely OBD2 Adapter Cable assemblies are needed to use in conjunction with the ELM327 scan tool. A selection of adapters is available for ~$30. But, even with all the settings I've changed and key fobs I've programmed, I've never had a need to connect to any other modules, so I'm happy with the $13.99 solution.

Although I've not used the adapters, it's my understanding that different colored adapters are used to access other various computer modules. I see this group on eBay for $31.49, but cannot confirm whether they work or not.

 

[Bigdaddy]

before I get any of these I will need to get the bypass cable that I can't find.

 

[Matt Franklin]

before I get any of these I will need to get the bypass cable that I can't find.

Order from user MPGrimm:

Home | KaodTech

www.kaodtech.com

 

[yomanne]

Yes, for those folks that are lucky enough (or in this case unlucky enough) to have a 2018 or newer Ram, the first step is to get a security bypass cable. I see the $55 KOAdTech cable is temporarily out of stock. There's another security bypass (AEV Procal that's available on morris4x4center.com for $28). Can't vouch for either one as my truck is a 2014 and I don't need a security bypass cable.

 

[chopperman1]

There is also a bypass module avaiable from zuatomotive. The cable is nice because it's all done in the drivers footwell where the bypass module gets installed behind the radio. I started with the module because it came with my Tazer but switched to Grimms cable because it's easier to swap out when I need to go in for warranty work.

 

[crackerjack1957]

SmartBox® 12 Foot Security Gateway Bypass Cable

Locksmith Resource. 1500 (2018-2021), 2500-5500 (2018-2021), 300 (2018-2021), Challenger (2018-2021), Charger (2018-2021), Cherokee (2019-2021), Compass (2019-2021), Durango (2018-2021), Ghibli (2018-2021), Grand Cherokee (2018-2021), Journey (2018-2020), Levante (2018-2021), Pacifica...

www.locksmithresource.com

 

[Bigdaddy]

Thank you guys I am order one now.

 

[Bigdaddy]

Okay Kaod have them back in now.