History: I used to use an OBD BT adapter with my 1.6TDI Roomster and the VAG app to monitor the DPF regenerations. It performed very well and was left plugged in. I also used Torque occasionally. 

I changed to a Kamiq 1.0 Monte Carlo a few months back and am entirely happy with it.. but .. being a bit of a gadget freak decided I'd try the OBD  adapter if only to see what was available with Torque.  In order to make it as neat as possible I bought an extension cable so the adapter can sit in the trinket tray to the right of the steering wheel. All good and working except it seems to draw power whenever plugged in and secondly when the cars locked and Torque connects it sets of the alarm! I suspect the current draw is not a huge issue as it's likely very small but the alarm is a interesting point and may possibly be purposeful to avoid any tampering via the OBD port when the car has not been unlocked.

Anyone got any views/advice/opinions?

 

Edited 2 July, 20241 yr by Stripeyzebra
Typo

Hi the extension cable may not have the correct pinout, you should check the connections on the car side and OBD dongle

 

 

Thanks for that. I believe the extension is simply Pin for Pin but to exclude that as a variable I simply went back to using the adapter directly in the OBD port.What seems to be happening is that if the Torque app is closed the adapter left in place and the car locked then all is well (except for the power drain as the adapter show the 'power' led as on.  If the car is locked and the Torque app is then started or has been left running it sets of the alarm and I get an online movement in the car message. Car then has to be unlocked to silence the alarm.  I'm concluding the OBD port is sensing the adapters attempt to make a connection and as the car is locked objecting and setting off the alarm. The idea was to avoid having to remove the adapter each time.  I was hoping there may be a setting in Torque that closes the app automatically rather than leave it running in the background when it loses the BT data stream from the car as the ignition is switched off.  Having looked at the settings in Torque there is a 'Remove Adapter Reminder' pop up setting so I think they may have covered this before and I've just got to the end of the cul-de-sac. 🙁 

 

A quick look at the Torque forum seems to indicate that leaving it in place is not advisable as  it could be connected to by a third party with all the implications of unauthorised access.  🤷‍♂️ 

Hi only the latest generation OBD2 adapters, and also a bit expensive, go into power saving I don't think Torque has the procedure except for the Phone, better disconnect it from the car !!!