Are OBD-Y cables OK?

Has anybody used a Y cable to get a second OBD port?

The port on mine faces straight down from the dash. I use a device from my auto insurance company that yields a decent discount based on my minimal driving. This term that discount is just under $100 for six months. I know people will chime in griping about tracking, but I'm OK with it in this case and that isn't the focus of this thread. The problem is that the device gets in my way at times and I can bump it. That and it take up the only port if I need to use a scanner or anything else.

So, I see Y cables like this:




The 90 degree end fits flat under the dash and the insurance device can be tucked up out of the way and leave me a second port for whatever else I might need.

But will the communications be affected in any way?

I use a Y cable from BT Dieselworks with my AutoSync plugged in and tucked up under the dash and a OBDLink MX+ Bluetooth dongle plugged into the other with no problems.

I’ve had a Y cable in both of mine for some time. No issues. I did try a triple cable once, but it failed pretty quickly.

You know what I say?

Got the Y and it solved my issue with knee room. Insurance gizmo is now up and out of the way, stuck near the dash where it can get a better signal to phone home.

Also picked up a Reader from HF that seems to work OK on the other leg of the Y. It can record 'live data' and save it in charts or graphs. Will be making the first road trip with that in a few days ... unless any of you tell me to think again.

Last month, I took a 6 mo old service statement to my agent. She compared the mileage shown there to the then current mileage. This was how I verified my low usage habits, and kept the discount. No tracking, no back-seat driving.

joe