OK, so my wife gave me this thing for Christmas, and after owning it for almost a month, I can now officially say:

1) It rocks; and
2) It saved me from spending HUGE $ on a new ETM.

It's called an "Ultra-Gauge" and it's a OBD-II based universal system monitor. You plug it it to the OBD port, and it gives you the ability to monitor any of (on a '99 S70 GLT) THIRTY-TWO different systems in real-time. I put my year and model in there because it displays up to thirty-six on my Audi, and a whopping forty-eight on the ///AMG.

It also chirps alarms when a pending code hits, or when the CEL lights up. There's a function you hit to clear all codes and start from a clean slate, too. Admittedly, I haven't found a way to reset the adaptive acceleration and shifting profile, but I think you can.

Here's a picture of it... I pulled it from their site:


You can program the unit to display 3 different "pages" of info, broken down into (as pictured) 2 big read-outs, and 4 small ones. On every page, there's a little "heart" that beats to signify the unit querying the car for any pending codes. Also on every page is an oval that is either open or closed, to signify that the car is running open-loop (cold start) or closed-loop (MAF reading intrgrated).

I asked for this thing SPECIFICALLY because I wanted to be able to "think" out problems with my vehicle on my own. For example, when I hooked it up to the S70, I discovered the following:

1) When fully warm and in N or P, the idle would rise and fall at a range of 150 RPM. (Digital tach, exact reading)

2) The throttle position sensor fluctuated between 11.5% and 15%. (Hmmmm... interesting. That's awfully high for idle, isn't it?)

3) Fuel trim ratings and MAF air volume measurements were all over the place. They wouldn't stand still.

Using these four measurements (at the SAME damned time, and on the SAME damned screen, no less), I was able to theorize the following:

The throttle body had gunk in it that wouldn't allow the butterfly valve to close all the way. The ECM would drop the idle speed, but the partial blockage throws the fuel trim sensors a curve-ball, especially when the MAF is saying that all is well. It's a never-ending cycle of compensation and causality.

The service writer at the local dealership refused to listen to me, saying that the only reason for the up-and-down idle was the sensor system in the ETM had gone bad, and needed to be replaced. He said he didn't want to risk cleaning the throttle body, only to have to replace it immediately thereafter. He has way too much experience with these cars.

So, I took the car to a indy Volvo specialist, and he almost laughed me out of his shop. Then I showed him what I saw and explained what it meant to my eyes. He didn't laugh after that. He still didn't believe me, but he didn't laugh. He cleaned and oiled the (150K-mile, might I add) throttle body on my near-250K-mile S70 GLT, reinstalled it with a new gasket, charged me $93, and sent me on my way.

And people, the way was smooth, steady, and reeked of the sweet scent of vindication.

And best of all, this little miracle only cost my wife $59.99!!! Here's their website:

http://www.ultra-gauge.com/ultragauge/index.htm

 

I have one as well. It works very well and is packaged nicely. Six gauges at a time is nice.

I also have a ScanGuage II.

I will say the ScanGuage II displays more total information (four at a time) for the S70 but doesn't always connect to the ECM and does not look as sleek as the Ultra Gauge.

 

I have a Scan Guage II as well. I use it a lot in my 960, mainly to get ahead of my gas milage. It has helped me tremendously in that area. I now get about 25 mpg when I use to get 21 mpg. That's a 20% increase. It's like paying $2.50 for gas instead of $3.20.

Does that Ultra Gauge help determine fuel economy as the Scan Gauge does? That would be a great discount over the $160 I paid for my Scan Gauge.

I also think there is a way to program the Scan Gauge to reset the service light in my '98 S70. I haven't taken the time to try to figure it out yet but I think it can be done.

 

It resets the check engine light, but I'm not sure about the service reminder light. From what I remember, though, the service reminder light is reset pretty easily anyways.

As for mileage, the unit has an "average fuel economy" readout, yes. The only thing I wish it did with this car is connect to the fuel level sensor directly. It doesn't do that for this vehicle. You actually have to program the unit with the fuel capacity (18.5 gal), and it calculates everything based on that...

 

I'd rather the unit connect to the ecu on the fuel consumption. It's better to monitor off the computer so you can learn how to maximize fuel economy. I'll have to check on of those out for my daughter's car. Does it read codes well?

As for the service reminder reset, the '98 S70 needs a Volvo specific tool as far as I know right now. I have seen a few resest tools around but I think it is possible to program the Scan Gauge to do it. No one has taken the time to figure it out yet.

The Scan Gauge has several read outs that help you understand your fuel consumption. It has real time, average for the current trip, average for the day, average for the tank, and remaining for the tank if it was reset and calibrated properly. I use to get 21 mpg around town and 23 on the highway and now I get 25 mpg around town and 28 or 29 on the highway.