I just use my phone for GPS. I have a scangauge2 that gives me all of the data.

 

Not a bad idea at all . I like the use of the switch too. I think I might hook mine up when I get a new phone in November. I may use it as a music player then too

 

The whole idea of a 3-5" screen in my line of sight annoyed me

 

In the summer-time... risk of battery explosion?

 

I've got a buddy who uses his phone as a music player too. It works well with a tape deck adapter in his older car.

Most of the time the battery is dead, and when I flip the switch the phone has to boot up first. How much of a risk is battery explosion? I also wonder if it is possible to hardwire a phone without the battery.

 

I got thinking about the heat issue.... I know people have had issues with Droids on the dash for long periods of time in use as a GPS and streaming music (it was due to the heat sensor in the unit claiming it had to go to a "high heat" mode to prevent damage). Granted, these were trips going across multiple states.

But it might be a concern regardless (as it's a lot of tight electronics in a black shell).

Just some thoughts to keep in mind. I still like the idea of what you've done with phone.

 

My Droid Incredible and all my BlackBerrys could run without a battery as long as they were on the charger. Granted a BlackBerry would have to go through the 10 minute reset...thing, first once it got power back, so it wasn't really useful.

 

can you tell me where and what type of "dongle" you are using? I'm not familiar with how this works. I have an old phone and want to attempt to do this, Thanks

 

Just search OBDII bluetooth dongle on Google and a ton of them will pop up. Any of them should work. They all pretty much do the same thing. I only paid around $15 for mine.