Transmission (ATF) Temperature Monitoring With Ultra-Gauge Blue Adapter

This is a short(?) tutorial on setting up and using an Ultra-Gauge Blue Adapter and Ultra-Gauge Application to monitor Tundra ATF temperatures using an iPhone. This really will be the short cut to quickly getting real data to understand your ATF service life. Yeah, OK, it's not really SHORT, but you'll thank me if you decide to go this route.

Ultra-Gauge makes three models of OBDII scan tool/information centers (corded EM, corded MX, and the Blue Adapter). Only the MX and Blue Adapter can be used to monitor Toyota transmission temperatures. I believe all three will read and clear CEL trouble codes off the ECU. This thread addresses only use of the wireless Ultra-Gauge Blue Adapter and Appplication package to monitor ATF temperatures on a 2017 Tundra. The UG App comes in versions that will work on Apple devices (ios 8.0+) or Android devices. My discussion will be iphone specific; Android devices will be slightly different.



I will only be providing detailed instructions for setting up the Custom Gauges needed for ATF temperature monitoring. Out of available Toyota-specific codes, only four transmission temperature parameters (two@degrees C, two@degrees F) out of eight were discovered as usable on my 2017. Since these temperatures are not standard OBDII data values, setting them up will be a slightly more complicated than the standard codes. Once you know how to set up the transmission temps, you’ll know how to set up any other OBDII parameters you desire.

Other Toyota-specific codes may become available in the future as owners discover and reverse-engineer proprietary OEM codes. These will be added to the UG website for updating. An advantage of using the Blue Adapter package is if additional codes are available through Scangauge, e.g. TPMS values in psi (not tried yet), those Scangauge parameters can be programmed into Blue Adapter package using the Scangauge format.

The Ultra-Gauge Blue package will provide up to seven pages of gauges, with a maximum of ten gauges per page. The user manual for the Blue Package is 96 pages long and obscenely complicated because it attempts to explain everything. This will be the Cliff Notes version. If you run into specific questions using the Blue Adapter, try the user manual or the Knowledge Base on the UG website. The Knowledge Base is what broke the log jam for me.


Install Ultra-Gauge Application on iPhone

Download the free Ultra-Gauge Application from App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android). Install the UG Application on your device.

Install Ultra-Gauge Package on Tundra

1. Set the parking brake, shift lever in Park, start Tundra.

2. Get out of the truck so you can see the OBDII port, plug the Blue Adapter into port. Toyota has positioned the port with the short side of the trapezoid UP. That means you have to plug the Blue Adapter into the port with the black/silver FCC label UP, red button on lower right corner.

3. Blue Adapter should immediately power up as indicated by green battery icon.

4. Orange vehicle icon will flash randomly as the Adapter interrogates the ECU to discover the vehicle's VIN and OBDII protocol.

5. Open “Settings” on iPhone, scroll down to “Bluetooth”, turn Bluetooth “On”. Wait for iPhone to find Ultra-Gauge Blue Adapter.

6. Press and hold red button on UG Blue Adapter until Activity icon ( yellow triangle with “!”) begins to flash slowly, then release the button.

7. Tap the Ultra-Gauge Bluetooth listing on your iPhone to enable pairing. Once pairing is successful, this procedure will not need to be repeated.

Setup Tundra on Ultra-Gauge Application

1. Open UG App. Press UG icon on opening page, acknowledge warning to enter first gauge page.

2. Find the vehicle icon on the right end of the header, it should say “Unknown” at this point.

3. Select vehicle icon “Unknown”. If pairing was successful, VIN number should now be populated in “Vehicle Information”. At the bottom of the vehicle page is a cloud icon with arrow pointing down. Press that icon to download information about your VIN. If you are prompted to log-in, use the email address and password you set up when purchasing the Adapter. Complete any missing fields in resulting vehicle description. You will need to enter the fuel tank volume (standard tank 26.4+ gallons, 100 liters). I found rated torque for 4.6L to be incorrect as well.

4. At the bottom of the page is a cloud image with an upwards arrow. Once all fields are correct and complete, press that icon; same log-in drill as on the download.

5. Press "<Back" on header to return to the gauge page.

6. At this point, you can turn the engine off if you want.

Locating the Transmission Temperature Codes

1. Press “Settings” gear icon on left side of header.

2. Scoll down “Settings” page to “Custom Gauges” and select.

3. You should be looking at a blank page at this point. Press the bottom cloud icon with the down arrow. This action should cause a list of 22 Toyota-specific preprogrammed parameters to be downloaded from the Ultra-Gauge website. Of those 22 codes, I found only five to be valid for my 2017 Tundra, and only the critical two were ultimately used.

4. The first information column for the downloaded parameters has the label “Valid”. Each line of code descriptions will have a letter “N” in that column, meaning “Not valid”. Each code line has to be TESTED to determine if it is valid for your vehicle.

Testing the Toyota-Specific Codes for Validity

1. Restart the engine if you previously shut it off, and verify UG Blue Adapter and App are connected. The Bluetooth icon on the gauge page header will have a red line through if not connected. A “tap” of the red button may be required to “wake up” the Adapter.

2. Select the “Settings” gear icon on the left side of the gauge page header. Scroll down to “Custom Gauges”.

3. Select the first Toyota–specific parameter listed in the “Custom Gauges” table, and press the “TEST” icon on the right side of the header. If the parameter will work for this VIN, the Application will return a small window of data, and will offer you the opportunity to select this parameter as valid for your Tundra. Selection of the parameter causes the “N” in the first column to be changed to a “V”. If the parameter is not suitable to use with your VIN, the Application returns a message that it received no data for that code. If desired, the “Not Valid" parameter can be trashed at lower left of the screen.

4. Continue down the list of parameters, testing each one. I found only five were valid and used only two: “Truck/SUV12 Trans Temp” and “Truck/SUV12 Trans Temp Cvt Out”. I assumed the first to mean the ATF Temp Pan, and the second to mean ATF Temp TCO (Torque Converter Out). Confirmation will require some driving time.

Manipulating Images on Gauge Page

Before starting to build the gauge page, a quick summary of how to manipulate gauge images will be valuable:

Add a Gauge: Press and hold on device screen for menu of eight options including “Add Gauge”. Selecting “Add Gauge” will provide fifteen menus of available OBDII and Toyota-specific gauges that can be added to the gauge page. For Toyota-specific gauges, i.e. those elusive temperature gauges, select "WWW Toyota Gauges".

Delete, Add, Edit Gauge: Double-tap on a gauge image. A menu with “Delete/Add/Edit” pops up. After adding a gauge by this method, you will need to relocate the new image to an open area of the page (See move next).

Move Gauge Image: Press and hold on gauge image. Once the image dims, use your finger to drag image to desired location.

Edit Gauge: Double-tap on a gauge image, select “Edit” option. You can input X, Y coordinates to relocate or align gauge images (Y measured from top down), adjust the size an image (width only), revise min and max gauge values, choose number of digits to right of decimal, etc.

Size Gauge Image: Analog (dial) gauges can be made larger or smaller using your fingertips to “squeeze” or “expand” the image. You may have to first press and hold the image as if you were going to move it. Digital gauges (rectangular) must be re-sized by using the double-tap described above and selecting the “Edit” option. Input the desired width, height will be scaled automatically.

Building the Transmission Temperature Gauge Page

1. Select one of the seven available pages to be your Transmission Temperature/Towing monitoring page. At the bottom of the device screen there will be seven lighted dots, one for each available page. Swipe to change the page.

2. Add the first transmission temperature gauge to the page by pressing and holding on the screen. Select “Add Gauge”, then “Analog” (or “Digital”), then scroll to the bottom of the gauges menu.

3. Select “WWW Toyota Gauges”, and then select one of the temperature parameters validated earlier. The selected gauge is shown on the gauge page immediately. Any editing of gauge name or characteristics is better done BEFORE you add the parameter to the gauge page. If a parameter name is changed after being added to the gauge page, the TEST/VALIDATION step will have to be repeated with the new name.

4. Repeat this process for the second temperature gauge, and any other desirable parameters for towing, like Engine coolant temperature, Battery voltage, Engine load %, Instantaneous MPG, Average MPG, Miles until empty, etc.

I show the finished product below. The -40 degree readings are the default gauge minimum, and I've haven't yet figured out how to make the digital gauges more reasonable for Texas climate. They quickly reflect the true temperature once the UG Blue package connects to the ECU.

Those parameters that are NOT Toyota-specific gauges (Standard OBDII) are in the menus of gauges above “WWW Toyota Gauges”. Any parameter in those lists marked with an asterisk means they are not supported by Toyota, and are not available through the OBDII port. Engine oil temperature would have been a nice one to have...Thanks, Toyota.



I still have some work to do in calibrating the App for best MPG calculations. I also have to work on figuring out how to leave the Blue Adapter installed in the truck without a continuous power drain on the battery. Ultra-Gauge says a combination of factors may cause the Adapter to stay powered, but there are some tricks to force it to shut down quickly and completely. Left in the truck, it will continue to collect data while the engine is running, and will download that information to the App the next time the iPhone connects with the Adapter.

 

Excellent write-up.. I am now monitoring trans, coolant, air temps while towing..
Looking to add pid’s for tpms...

 

Thanks for the feedback. I was disappointed that my Tundra didn't have actual psi values for each tire, and I definitely have interest in the TPMS gauges as well. I haven't taken it any further since the OP. Let me know if the Scangauge PIDs work for you.

 

@Maadcaap

Today, I made a trial run of ScanGauge TPMS pressures/temperatures, plus an engine oil temperature parameter for other Toyota
vehicles. The TPMS parameters are complicated by there being two possible "Methods" for Toyota vehicles. The Method 1 TPMS parameters, which are supposed to work for Tundras 2005+, were not accepted by the Ultra-Gauge App. (TxD values
starting with "822AF021** not acceptable CANSF values). The Method 2 TPMS parameters were accepted by the App, but returned no data (Not Valid) from the ECM.

Engine oil temperature parameter was for Scion FRS/Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86. It was accepted by the App, validated by the ECM, but the gauge never changed from default reading. I suspect it's because the Tundra doesn't have an oil temperature sensor, but that's a guess.

I plan to contact Ultra-Gauge support about all of the above. At this point, ScanGauge X-Gauge parameters may work for other Toyotas, but appear worthless for Tundras.

 

Thanks.. funny i loaded the same oil temp with the same results... I can see current tire pressure and temp in techstream.. and I have seen upgraded car radios display the tire info...

 

I used Scangauge and Ultra-Gauge. You have to have the latest firmware update for TPMS (SG) but, that said, I still haven't been able to get tire PSI readings to work.

 

Has anybody been able to get the tire pressure gauge working? Being able to monitor the transmission temperature is tempting, but add the tire pressure and I think this would be a must-do mod.

 

Bump. Anyone out there successful with tire pressure gauge/xgauge?

 

I followed all steps for my 2016 and it was unable to load any data from WWW so I was unable to access any of the Toyota gauges.. what the heck..?