First, I have to first say that if you are looking for a splitter cable for OBD2, do know that OBDII function can not be split to run two devices. It’s not possible.
In fact, for this device, the seller says:
OBD2 will not allow data packets to be sent to two different devices at once as it will always see it as one connected device.
So, that begs the question of why I got an OBDII splitter cable then?
For me, there was one major reason and that is to prevent any further damage of removing the OBDII cable from the car’s OBDII area. For those of you who have used an OBDII before, know that the bottom, you can easily mess it up if an adapter is too tight and you try to yank to hard. So, you don’t want to deal that issue as it can be problematic.
I would rather have an adapter that stays in there and so I can plug in a device and easily remove it from the splitter end.
But why do I need two?
Truthfully, having one with a kill switch would be good, but for me the primary purpose is because I run a Lufi XS gauge and a Yupiteru Laser/Radar detector via OBDII. I don’t run it at the same time BUT I do like the idea of having something functional and also ready if a connection does get damaged on the end. I would rather use this as a form of protection, so I don’t have to keep removing things from the primary OBDII over and over again. For my car, yanking feels like the OBDII adapter will break off. So, I would rather have the adapter for that purpose.
Last but not least, for anyone running devices via OBDII, do know that even with the car off, OBDII will still be powered and you can end up killing your car battery (unlike devices plugged into a cigarette adapter). So you want to remove your device when not in use or get one with a kill switch built in.
But for my needs, as a way to not keep plugging and removing from my primary OBDII and just using this splitter, serves its purpose and I do recommend the EnruigeOK OBD2 Cable 16 Pin OBDII Ultra Low Profile Splitter Extension Cable.
