Auto Meter 9100 (MPG) Ecometer

[Old Tele man]

...just received the Auto Meter 9100 ecometer today (price: $60.66 + $13.73 S/H) and will be writing a review shortly....note of caution, it ONLY works on CAN OBD-II vehicles, and the Auto Meter Installation/Instruction sheet clearly states to "...send it back for refund..." if your car doesn't have CAN OBD-II....it comes 'factory' set for 99.9% of OBD-II cars, but it also has the capability to be "dialed in" (tweeked) if your car isn't one of the 99.9%....tweeking = the only parameters you enter are (1) the engine size, in Liters, ie: "5.0" for a 305cid engine, "1.8" for a 110cid engine, etc. and (b) efficiency (EFF) which is adjustable 60-140, with 100 being the factory setting.

[bodhi_tree777]

post pics, and let us know how it works out for you. I almost bought a Scanguage II last year for $120 or so, I'm glad I waited. I figured (correctly) that l'il units like these would come down in price eventually and become more functional and user friendly.

[joholste]

CAN OBD II is that canadian OBDII?

[BadBrew]

CAN is a "new" ODBII communication protocolInfos: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O...ocols Here's a vehicule list (not updated) http://obddiagnostics.com/CAN_List.pdf Vibes are not included but Matrix is in since 2007.

[Old Tele man]

...per that table, the 2007 Matrix uses the ISO9141-2 bus which is NOT specifically CAN-compatible, but the 2008 and 2009 Matrix's are CAN-OBD-II compatible....quoting from the Auto Meter 9100 ecometer box: "Plug And Play OBD II Fuel Economy Gauge. Works On All 2008 and newer, and some 2004-2007 Vehicles." There's also a short table listing which make/models it's compatible with.CAN stands for Controller-Area Network, a 'broadcast,' Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ) serial communication protocol designed by Bosch in 1983 and introduced to SAE(USA) in 1986. Bosch upgraded it to CAN-2.0 in 1991. The CAN OBD II was mandated on ALL USA vehicles in 2008.Am running my 'first' tank-full (>200 miles) test on my '09 Vibe to see just how close its' average MPG numbers are to mine at the pump. After this test, I'll see if it will also work on the wife's '04 Vibe and post my findings.

[Old Tele man]

...OK, I just finished filling up the third tank of gas, and each time the ecometer MPG-average reading has been about 11% too high....so, after filling-up, I reset their EFF = 100 value down to EFF = 90 (or 90%)...we'll see what this next week (~200 miles/week) reads like and how close the two numbers are (or aren't)....stay tuned.

[ColonelPanic]

So is the EFF some sort of calibration? Does it have a feature that allows you to plug in the gallons of each fill so it can fine tune the results? The ScanGauge has that but even with it, it's kinda difficult for it to be spot on with actual FE.

[Old Tele man]

...yes, the EFF=100 value is some kind of internal 'scaling' number (calibration), but not for MILES or GALLONS, but rather for the calculated Average-MPG value....I'm guessing it's actually 100% (100) times something internal (100%*MPG = new MPG)....it comes preset with EFF=100 but can be adjusted UP to 140 (140%?) or DOWN to 60 (60%?), so the adjustment 'range' is 100 ± 40....I had to run the number DOWN from 100 to 90, because the gauge MPG was too high, ie: reading 37.8 mpg when the tank fillup number was actually 34.0 mpg, like this: 0.90 = (34.0/37.8)....am still running on this tank, but will check the gauge MPG against the tank fillup number and readjust (slightly) if necessary. From the numbers I'm seeing now on the gauge, I'd guess only a ±2-3 tweeking will be needed, if at all.

[Old Tele man]

...OK, just completed this tank-fillup with the EFF=90 setting, and it looks like I "...missed it by THIS much...," ie:EFF(new)/EFF(old) = mpg(tank)/MPG(meter)EFF(new) = (0.90)*(33.8mpg/34.3MPG) = 0.89...where:mpg(tank) = 33.8mpg MPG(meter) = 34.3MPGEFF(old) = 0.90 (last adjustment)EFF(new) = 0.89, (this tank fillup)...although I probably should've set EFF=89, I bumped it down to EFF=88 just to be able to have some 'wiggle' room if needed with the next tank fillup.

[Scooter Dave]

Can you calibrate the MPH if it isn't correct? Do the ring of lights show fuel consumption when in MPH mode?

[Old Tele man]

...no, there's no calibration for MPH, it's simply a display of what the engine computer translated from the wheel speed transducer, ie: just a displayed number....the LEDS act basically like an old-fashioned VACUUM guage, with POOR economy being indicated by all the LEDs (RED, ORANGE and GREEN) being lit, while BEST economy is indicated by only the single-most clockwise GREEN LED being lit.

[star_deceiver]

Paid $78.XX after tax. Gonna reset the EFF to 89 as per your suggestion.Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »the LEDS act basically like an old-fashioned VACUUM guage, with POOR economy being indicated by all the LEDs (RED, ORANGE and GREEN) being lit, while BEST economy is indicated by only the single-most clockwise GREEN LED being lit.Similar, but not quite... my vacuum gauge is much more animated then the led's. AND the LEDs are adjustable!!! You can set what MPG rate the orange LEDs come on!Pics are coming...

[star_deceiver]

Moved the vacuum gauge.

Attached files

[star_deceiver]

Pic 2

Attached files

[star_deceiver]

It would be nice if it sat flat... I'll have to find some black putty or cut up a piece of rubber

Attached files