Trying to find the connection problem

[curiosul]

I have a 2000 Mercury Sable Duratec and a ELM327 bluetooth adapter.
While using the Forscan software, weird things happen:

Only 1 out of 2-3 attempts the car is recognized.
About half of the (successful) attempts yield the right year/make/model identification (the rest are generic like "Mercury").
During the ~30 successful connects (so far) I was never able to connect to all subsystems (ABS, Airbag, air con, GEM, engine). The average being 2-3 (all random).
Even when I successfully connect to the system of choice, getting the codes takes ~5 attempts and the self tests are successful once out of 10-15 attempts. Also, I was never able to delete any codes.

I also have a ScanGauge that would turn off while driving at random intervals (about every few hours or so).

I'm looking at 3 possibilities here:

1: Forscan software (in which case there's nothing I can do) - hopefully it's not this one
2: OBD port on the car (considering ScanGauge problems) - if that's the case ... I'll just leave it like that
3: ELM327 is a piece of junk - I really hope for this. Anyone can recommend a trusted vendor?


Anyone has any ideas/suggestions about my problem? Or at least how can I find out where's the problem?

Thank you in advance!

[curiosul]

After reading the forum, it looks like number 3 so I already bought a obdlink mx

[FORScan]

You are right and in general case 80% oif problems are caused by china adapters, especially bluetooth ones. However in your case it is quite possible a collision between FORScan and ScanGauge. We don't know how the ScanGauge works but we suspect it may use standard OBDII diagnostic protocol that may conflict with diagnostic protocols used by FORScan, as they both use the same physical layer. Either try to disconnect the ScanGauge and try to reproduce the test, or send us FORScan logs as described on the Contact Us page (or both).

[curiosul]

I never used both at the same time.
I had problems with ScanGauge when it was used by itself.
I also had a weird problem with ELM327 and Torque. I was trying to diagnose a rough idle/running. I was suspecting vacuum leaks and I wanted to see the O2 sensors' signals. I started the car - it was fine. I let it warm a bit - it was fine. I started driving - the signal froze (no error from Torque, just frozen gauges). One minute later, everything started working again. A few other people on Taurus forums said they had problems with OBDII connector.

I'll wait for the new adapter and see how it goes. In the mean time I can fix the problems I found so far.

Thanks for the answer!

[curiosul]

The 80% became 1000% (in my case). I received the obdlink mx and EVERYTHING works perfectly.

Thanks!