OBD Record: an iPhone app for logging Mach-E trips and charges

[Jiji]

4/12/2023 Update: OBD Record 0.50.11 supports DCFC!
Build 0.50.11 has been posted, see the OBD Record GitHub discussion for the link and the release notes. Also a write up of the updates to the Trip and DCFC displays can be found here.

4/3/2023 Update: OBD Record 0.50.7 is now available for download
Build 0.50.7 has been posted, see the OBD Record GitHub discussion for the link and the release notes.

3/28/2023 Update: OBD Record 0.50.6 is now available for download
Build 0.50.6 has been posted, see the OBD Record GitHub discussion for the link and the release notes.

3/26/2023 Update: OBD Record 0.50.5 is now available for download
A new build has been posted with improvements based on the 0.50.3 release. Please download a copy and try it out if you have an OBDLink MX+ scan tool.

3/23/2023 Update: OBD Record is now available for download
The first preview is now live and to keep things sane we will start with 10 testers. To get the most out the first preview I ask that you only download a copy if you have the following:

• Mustang Mach-E
• OBDLink MX+ scan tool
• a working InfluxDB Cloud or OSS instance to store the trips/charges

With some positive feedback I will open it to all but given the mandatory hardware/software requirements some gung-ho testers are important to getting this rolled out right.

TL;DR
This is the companion to the previously showcased OBD Play app, it records the details of your trips and charges so you can view them in OBD Play. To get this done it requires a Mustang Mach-E, an OBDLink MX+ OBDII scan tool, and somewhere to store your data (which I can help). If you are interested in checking it out, the code and discussions are found here.

Overview
My work of love for the past couple of months it replaces my gen1 Raspberry Pi solution (link) which got me started into pulling CAN bus data from the OBDII connector for viewing. It has now been repurposed as a simulator, playing back trips and charges into the gen2 solution using he OBDLink MX+ as it can be tough to debug OBD Record while tooling around on the open roads.

Let's Take a Trip
Unlike OBD Play which displays a wealth of detailed information about your trips and charges, OBD Record really doesn't need much of a user interface. It has just two tab views, Record which is a display of the current vehicle state, and Settings which allows you to configure OBD Record to your liking:

So what happens when you jump in your MME you will connect your phone to the OBDLinkMX+ using the iPhone Settings (if it didn't connect automatically) and the Record state changes from Disconnected to Connected and things start to happen:

Doesn't seem like much but now we are talking to the OBDLink MX+ and pulling the charge plug and ignition status and waiting patiently for something to happen. When you hit the Run/Start button, the vehicle state will change to Ignition On where we start polling the gear shift selector (which should be in Park):

Now we wait for a trip to begin which occurs when the gear selector is moved out of Park. Once detected we collect a variety of start details such as the odometer, vehicle location, SoC, and much more) and the state transitions to Trip:

Now that we are moving there is more interesting data to show but this just debugging fluff so I know OBD Record is still working and not locked up. As you might imagine there is a lot of real-time communications going on between the phone and the OBDLink MX+ (over Bluetooth) and then pushing all the collected data to the cloud (using your phones WiFi or cellular data) where OBD Play can later access it.

Our trip ends when the gear selector is returned to Park. This causes the end point odometer, vehicle location, SoC, and other end point data to be read and the trip recorded in the cloud.

Let's Charge our MME
Very similar to a trip but the state just follows the charge path (Plugged In, AC Charge Starting, AC Charge, AC Charge Ending) and when the charge completes the data is again pushed to the cloud. Here is what the AC Charge view looks like:

Wrap Up
And that is OBD Record in a nutshell. A reminder you need a Mustang Mach-E and an OBDLink MX+ to use OBD Record and it will be available for all via the Apple TestFlight app (where OBD Read has been hanging out).

I hope you find these useful tools in exploring your Mach-E but a final comment. This beta software is strictly for your amusement and there are no warranties or claims that it is fit for any particular purpose. I can't be responsible for bug fixes or updates but the source code will be available should you wish to do so yourself. That said, I have been using variants of OBD Record/OBD Play for early a year now and will likely do so as long as there is a Mustang Mach-E in the garage.

Enjoy!

 

[Earlofsandwich]

This is really cool, cant wait for this to be available so i can start pulling my own data!

 

[kindofblue]

Thanks. Would you please suggest some URL(s) where we could look into setting up and using a database for recording and later viewing our data?

 

[Jiji]

Thanks. Would you please suggest some URL(s) where we could look into setting up and using a database for recording and later viewing our data?

I added an evaluation database to both OBD Play and OBD Record which you are welcome to use for trying things out. The downside is that anyone else using it will potentially have access to your trips and charges either so delete your data or don't go anywhere that might be embarrassing.

There is a free tier at Influx cloud service but data older than 30 days is lost. But upgrading to paid should not cost more than a $1/month for individual use. I’ll setup a new account and document it, no tech skills should be needed.

 

[kindofblue]

I added an evaluation database to both OBD Play and OBD Record which you are welcome to use for trying things out. The downside is that anyone else using it will potentially have access to your trips and charges either so delete your data or don't go anywhere that might be embarrassing.

There is a fres tier at Influx cloud service but data older than 30 days is lost. But upgrading to paid should not cost more than a $1/month for individual use. I’ll setup a new account and document it, no tech skills should be needed.

Thank you sir, you are most kind.

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

Rick rocks!

 

[Jiji]

Thanks. Would you please suggest some URL(s) where we could look into setting up and using a database for recording and later viewing our data?

Please be a guinea pig for these instructions and let me know how it turns out. If you save the trips and charge in the demo database for today (March 22nd) you can restore them to your your data source and confirm it all works in OBD Play.

OBD Record InfluxDB Cloud Setup

 

[kindofblue]

Please be a guinea pig for these instructions and let me know how it turns out. If you save the trips and charge in the demo database for today (March 22nd) you can restore them to your your data source and confirm it all works in OBD Play.

OBD Record InfluxDB Cloud Setup

Thanks for the detailed step by step explanation and screen shots. I think I can get to this tomorrow morning and will post feedback here after I do.

Would I set this up originally for our i4 instead of the MME?

 

[Jiji]

Thanks for the detailed step by step explanation and screen shots. I think I can get to this tomorrow morning and will post feedback here after I do.

Would I set this up originally for our i4 instead of the MME?

Not sure what you mean, there is no support for anything other than the Mach-E. All recordings made will be tagged with your Mach-E VIN so you need to add it as a vehicle in the OBD Play app to see your trips and charges.

 

[kindofblue]

Not sure what you mean, there is no support for anything other than the Mach-E. All recordings made will be tagged with your Mach-E VIN so you need to add it as a vehicle in the OBD Play app to see your trips and charges.

Understood. Thanks.

 

[Jiji]

OBD Record is now live, see the original post for details and link to get a copy:

OBD Record Announcement

 

[Mach-Lee]

Tried it, going to work, and nothing got recorded to my database even though it all tests good. Is there an upload button I have to press or is there some kind of delay when you get out of the car?

EDIT: You have to delete the sample data source and car first. It wont look at both. Make sure you delete the sample data and vehicle before trying to add your own.

 

[Jiji]

Tried it, going to work, and nothing got recorded to my database even though it all tests good. Is there an upload button I have to press or is there some kind of delay when you get out of the car?

EDIT: You have to delete the sample data source and car first. It wont look at both. Make sure you delete the sample data and vehicle before trying to add your own.

You don't need to delete anything but in the release notes it reminds you to change the active vehicle to your MME (using your VIN) and the active data source to your InfluxDB instance. If OBD Play is connected to your data source and is showing no trips then make sure your vehicle is being used to pull the data.

I would recommend keeping both the demo data source and vehicles around in OBD Play so you can use them as a sanity check when nothing seems to work.

Also, if OBD Record cycled through the Trip Starting, Trip, Trip Ending state sequence the trip was probably recorded. You can log into your InfluxDB account and use the Data Explorer to see if anything is there:

 

[RickMachE]

Who says Mach-E owners are geeks?

 

[Jiji]

Who says Mach-E owners are geeks?

The owners named Rick most certainly are....

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