2011+ Explorer TV owners, come on in.

Not sure how many folks here tow with the 2011+ Ford Explorers, but one of the things that has always bugged me about towing with this car is the inability to monitor trans temp from the factory.  This became particularly apparent when we were a couple miles up the beach in the Outer Banks when the trans overheated and we got stuck in the sand.

Turns out, the problem was a faulty fan relay that we had a recall notice for..sitting in our mailbox while we were on vacation.  Ever since then, I've wanted to monitor that temp when offroading/towing, but didn't want to deal with a permanently mounted gauge in the cockpit.

This Christmas, my wife got me a bluetooth OBDII adapter to play with, and I downloaded Torque.  Unfortunately, Torque didn't come with the pids necessary to monitor the trans temp on the explorer, and I wasn't able to locate any information about the pid/formula online anywhere.

That is..until yesterday.  We have a planned trip to OBX this summer (as usual) and now that our 2011 X is getting up in miles (91k at last check) I REALLY wanted to keep an eye on that trans temp while driving on the beach.  Especially because our house this year is 8 miles up the sand, and over the dunes.  Anyway, thanks to the guys over on the Ecoboost forums, the mystery has been solved. So without further ado, for those of you with 2011+ Ford Explorers, who want to monitor your transmission temps while towing, here is what you have to enter into Torque to create your own PID that works:

Adding a single PID:
Add a custom PID in Torque by going to the "Settings" section off the main screen.
Enter the following for the fields it prompts you for:
"OBD2 Mode and PID"  =  221E1C
"Long Name" = Trans Temp
"Short Name" = Trans T
"Minimum Value" = -40
"Maximum Value" = 260
"Scale Factor" = 1
"Unit Type" = deg
"Equation" = (((signed(A)*256)+B)*(9/8)+320)/10

Originally posted by techntrek Good info.  If you can program in the codes for torque converter slip rpm, that's another useful piece of info that affects your tranny temp.  I'd also add in coolant temp (which may not be the same value as the dash gauge) and oil temp, if those are available.

Agreed, though I know that isn't among the list of things to choose from.  I'm not even sure if the main ECM even monitors that to be honest.  Worth looking into though.

The program can monitor all sorts of stuff..catalyst temp, EGR, MAF, O2 sensors, etc.  If the computer can see it, this app can see it, although in some cases (like this trans temp) you need to figure out what the pid is, and what the formula should be, so you can monitor it. 

I have a display setup for towing, that right now includes engine coolant temp, trans temp, vacuum, rpm, and a couple other parameters.  I haven't really played with the setup much because yesterday was the first time I got the parameter I cared most about (trans temp) to work.  Now I'll spend some time setting up the rest of the display to show what I want. 

It's a really cool little app, you can check your engine codes, and clear them, with it also.  The adapter is about 20 bucks, and the app itself wasn't to bad either. 

Grrr Torque not for the iphone/ipad/ibook .... But I had not thought of a bluetooth adapter.  I was looking at some of the scangauges.  Need to take a closer look

Fishtail, looks like you may be in luck.  Here is the list of the available parameters for the Interceptor gauge I have.  So you may be able to get the torque converter slip based on this info, once you find the right info for Torque: