Unleashing OBD2 Torque Data: A Comprehensive Guide to Connecting Torque Pro with Node-RED

For car enthusiasts and tech-savvy individuals, accessing and visualizing real-time data from your vehicle can unlock a world of insights and possibilities. The Obd2 Torque app, a popular choice for vehicle diagnostics and performance monitoring on Android devices, provides a wealth of data about your car’s engine and systems. But what if you want to take this data beyond your phone, logging it, visualizing it on custom dashboards, or even integrating it with your smart home? This is where Node-RED comes into play.

This guide will walk you through the process of seamlessly connecting your OBD2 Torque app to Node-RED, a powerful flow-based programming tool, allowing you to harness the full potential of your vehicle’s diagnostic data. We’ll explore how to set up data transmission from Torque Pro to Node-RED, enabling you to create custom dashboards, log data, and even trigger actions based on your car’s performance – all centered around the powerful OBD2 torque data stream.

Setting the Stage: Prerequisites for OBD2 Torque and Node-RED Integration

Before diving into the setup, ensure you have the following prerequisites in place:

• Torque Pro App: You’ll need the Torque Pro app installed on your Android device and a compatible OBD2 Bluetooth adapter connected to your vehicle. Verify that Torque Pro is successfully reading data from your car.
• Node-RED Instance: A running instance of Node-RED is essential. This could be on a Raspberry Pi, a local server, or a cloud-based platform. Ensure Node-RED is accessible via a web browser.
• Node-RED HTTP Input Node: We’ll be using the http in node in Node-RED to receive data from Torque Pro. This node is part of the core Node-RED palette, so it should be readily available.
• Network Connectivity: Both your Android device running Torque Pro and your Node-RED instance need to be on the same network or accessible to each other over the internet for data transmission.

Step-by-Step Guide: Bridging OBD2 Torque and Node-RED

Let’s break down the connection process into manageable steps:

1. Configuring Torque Pro for Web Server Upload

Torque Pro has a built-in feature to upload data to a web server, which we’ll leverage to send data to Node-RED. Here’s how to configure it:

1. Open Torque Pro Settings: Launch Torque Pro on your Android device and access the settings menu.
2. Navigate to Data Logging and Upload: Look for the “Data Logging and Upload” section within the settings.
3. Select What to Log: Choose “Select what to log” and ensure you select all the PIDs (Parameter IDs) you want to send to Node-RED. These PIDs represent the various data points your car’s OBD2 system provides, including engine RPM, speed, coolant temperature, and importantly, OBD2 torque related parameters if your vehicle supports them.
4. Enable Webserver Upload: Check the box next to “Upload to web server”.
5. Enter Webserver URL: In the “Webserver URL” field, enter the URL of your Node-RED HTTP input node. This URL will follow the format: http://your.nodered.server:1880/torque/. Replace your.nodered.server with the actual IP address or hostname of your Node-RED server and 1880 with your Node-RED port if it’s different. The /torque part is the endpoint we’ll define in Node-RED.

2. Setting up the Node-RED Flow to Receive OBD2 Torque Data

Now, let’s configure Node-RED to receive and process the data sent by Torque Pro.

1. Create a New Flow: Open your Node-RED editor in a web browser and create a new flow.

2. Add an HTTP Input Node: Drag an http in node from the input palette onto your flow.

3. Configure the HTTP Input Node:

   • Double-click the http in node to open its configuration panel.
   • Method: Select “GET” as Torque Pro sends data using HTTP GET requests.
   • URL: Set the URL to /torque, matching the endpoint you configured in Torque Pro.
   • Name: You can give it a descriptive name like “Torque Data Input”.
   • Click “Done” to save the configuration.

4. Add an HTTP Response Node: Drag an http response node from the output palette and connect it to the output of the http in node.

5. Configure the HTTP Response Node:

   • Double-click the http response node.
   • Status code: Leave it blank to default to 200 (OK).
   • Headers: In the “Headers” section, add a header with the name OK! (exactly as shown) and leave the value field empty. This “OK!” response is what Torque Pro expects to receive to confirm successful data transmission.
   • Click “Done”.

   Alt text: Node-RED flow diagram showing an HTTP Input node connected to multiple Change nodes and UI Gauge nodes for visualizing OBD2 data like RPM, Speed, Throttle Position, and Coolant Temperature. The flow also includes an HTTP Response node to acknowledge data receipt to Torque Pro.

6. Deploy the Flow: Click the “Deploy” button in the top right corner of the Node-RED editor to activate your flow.

3. Processing and Visualizing OBD2 Torque Data in Node-RED

With the basic data reception set up, you can now start processing and visualizing the OBD2 torque and other data points in Node-RED. The provided code snippet in the original article gives an example of how to parse and display various sensor readings. Let’s break down how to expand upon that:

1. Parsing JSON Data: Torque Pro sends data as URL-encoded parameters in the GET request. Node-RED automatically parses this into the msg.payload. You can use a json node (from the function palette) to explicitly parse the payload into a JSON object if needed for more complex manipulation, although it’s often not necessary for basic data extraction.
2. Extracting Specific PIDs: Use change nodes to extract specific PIDs from the msg.payload. For example, to get RPM (assuming the PID is kc as in the example), configure a change node as follows:
   • Rule 1: Set Move msg.payload.kc to msg.payload (This moves the value of payload.kc to the main msg.payload).
   • Rule 2: Set Set msg.topic to "torque/vehicle/rpm" (This sets the msg.topic for easier routing and identification later).
3. Visualizing Data with Dashboard Nodes: Use ui_gauge, ui_chart, and ui_text nodes (from the node-red-dashboard palette, install if needed) to visualize the extracted data on a Node-RED dashboard. Connect the output of your change nodes to these dashboard nodes. Configure the gauge, chart, or text nodes with appropriate labels, units, and ranges.
4. Data Logging (Optional): To log the OBD2 torque data, you can use database nodes like mysql or sqlite or file storage nodes to save the incoming data for later analysis. The original example included a mysql node for data storage.
5. MQTT Integration (Optional): The original example also includes mqtt out nodes, suggesting integration with an MQTT broker. This allows you to publish the OBD2 torque data to an MQTT topic, making it accessible to other applications and systems, such as home automation platforms like OpenHAB.

Expanding Functionality: Advanced Uses of OBD2 Torque and Node-RED

Once you have the basic connection established, you can explore more advanced applications:

• Customizable Dashboards: Create personalized dashboards with gauges, charts, and indicators displaying the OBD2 torque data points most relevant to you.
• Performance Monitoring and Alerts: Set up alerts based on specific OBD2 torque parameters. For example, trigger a notification if engine temperature exceeds a threshold or if a certain RPM range is sustained for too long.
• Data Analysis and趋势 Tracking: Log data over time to analyze trends in vehicle performance, fuel efficiency, and identify potential issues.
• Smart Home Integration: Integrate OBD2 torque data with your smart home system. For example, automatically open your garage door when you arrive home and your car’s ignition is off, or adjust your thermostat based on your driving patterns.
• Vehicle Telematics and Remote Monitoring: If your Node-RED instance is publicly accessible (with proper security measures), you can potentially monitor your vehicle’s data remotely.

Conclusion: Drive Data-Driven Insights with OBD2 Torque and Node-RED

Connecting OBD2 Torque to Node-RED empowers you to take control of your vehicle’s diagnostic data. By following this guide, you can establish a robust data pipeline, visualize real-time OBD2 torque and other parameters, log data for analysis, and integrate your car’s performance metrics with other systems. This opens up a world of possibilities for vehicle monitoring, performance optimization, and creating truly connected car experiences. Start exploring the potential of OBD2 torque data and Node-RED to gain deeper insights into your vehicle and enhance your automotive adventures.