I yanked my cobbdongle (heh) out of the OBD2 port the other day. THe force was enough to destroy the USB cable end. Now my cobbdongle will not stay connnected and intermittantly cuts out and restarts its connection.

By taking apart the cobbdongle, I could use the little power and communication LEDs to determine what was going on. I determined that it is the ground on the OBD port (black wire; I didn't actually test continuity to ground) that is being flakey. I took out the port and it is now hanging allowing me access. This way I can move the cobbdongle in and out to get the best connection. (I check this by wiggling the lot; if it stays connected, it is good. Very scientific)

My question is whether or not there are any discussions on this in the forum. I recall one, but can not find it.

Anyone deal with this? WHat are my options? I did find the obd2 relocation DIY and will likely move the port to somewhere that is less prone to damage. But right now I need to fix the port itself. I am reasonably sure that the cobbdongle with without damage.


And just so that I can write it one more time...

COBBDONGLE!!!

 

I had flaky connections too... but it was because the pins inside the AP dongle were too thin and if the dongle shifted either way too much, it broken connection.
I ended up added a small amount of solder to each pin to thicken it and now its been running good.
I made a DIY for that too

 

Thanks, man. Will do that pronto.

 

Here is my DIY thread if you're curious:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-making-better-obd-ii-connection-ap-dongle-169724/

I use my AP everytime I drive and haven't had any connection issue since I performed this.