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I've been having some weird problems with my '06 Pontiac G6, and finally broke down and bought a Bosch code scanner to see if the DTCs could tell me anything... they didn't.

This scanner has the ability to record stats from the car as it's running, but then you have to review the stats on the tiny, clunky screen. And there's no on-board analysis of what levels are normal, what they might mean, etc.

It seems like a computer is the perfect tool to download this recorded data, analyze it for patterns and say things like "Your flux capacitor isn't bad, but it isn't running at peak efficiency." But Bosch doesn't provide this functionality with their software. You can print the records, which is much easier to peruse than the clunky, 4-button panel, but that's about it.

I'm a car guy. I know what I'm doing. But I'm also a computer guy, and I know there are open-source solutions for almost everything else in the world. Is there an existing tool for extracting recorded data from scanners like the Bosch 1150? Is there an open API that I can use to code such a thing myself? ;-)

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Sourceforge has this scantool.net open source application.

I have used it on my laptop with a USB to ODBII converter on various vehicles.

You can google "USB to ODBII" and get multiple hits to procure this cable converter.

Here is the LINK to the software download. It also comes with source code.

Good luck.

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There's a lot of work going on in this space, so the answer is "Yes, Of course!"

Here is a Python project: http://www.obdtester.com/pyobd

This looks like an interesting way to get data from the car, but doesn't seem to really be about trouble codes or diagnostics: http://openxcplatform.com/getting-started/index.html

This looks very outdated, but maybe some good info in there: http://www.geekmyride.org/wiki/index.php/Open_Source_OBD_software

Hasn't been updated in a while, but marked as "Stable": https://obd.codeplex.com/

Not open source, but ODB compatible (made for VW/Audi, but basic functionality on all cars), and you can get a "software only" license if you want to make (or buy a generic) cable: http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/index.html

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