Crank Promise
Crank helps you speak the same language. It turns symptoms, supported vehicle data, photos, notes, routes, records, and reports into organized context you can understand, save, and share when you choose.
When to use it
- Use this idea any time the problem is confusing, emotional, intermittent, or hard to explain to a shop or helper.
How Crank helps
- Crank gathers evidence into practical lanes instead of pretending one code or one symptom proves the answer.
- Crank keeps the operator in control of what is recorded and what is shared.
Limits / safety notes
- Crank does not replace professional diagnosis, safe vehicle operation, or OEM service information. It helps preserve and present the story.
Back to capabilities
Works With or Without OBD-II
Crank is useful with a compatible Bluetooth ELM327-style adapter, but it does not become useless without one. Many companion tools use phone sensors, manual notes, photos, route context, galleries, and operator-selected records.
When to use it
- Connect an adapter when supported codes or live vehicle data are needed. Use no-adapter mode for photos, notes, route records, galleries, Experience Recorder sessions, travel support, and vehicle history.
How Crank helps
- OBD-II availability depends on the vehicle, adapter quality, permissions, and connection state. Non-OBD tools remain available for classic vehicles, rentals, equipment, trailers, outdoor sessions, and general records.
Limits / safety notes
- Generic OBD-II is limited. Enhanced modules and manufacturer-specific data may not be available through a basic adapter.
Back to capabilities
Your Data Stays Yours
Crank is local-first. Records, photos, reports, route context, and session files remain under operator control unless the operator chooses to export, copy, send, or share them.
When to use it
- Use V.A.U.L.T. records when you want a private record before repair, during a trip, after an incident, or before communicating with someone else.
How Crank helps
- Crank is designed around operator action: create, review, export, copy, send, or share. It does not need silent background upload to be useful.
Limits / safety notes
- Back up important records according to your own storage needs. Deleting or clearing local files may remove evidence you wanted to keep.
Back to capabilities
What Crank Does Not Access
Crank does not need contacts, credit cards, address books, unrelated accounts, SMS history, call history, browsing history, or hidden data-broker access to do its job.
When to use it
- Review permissions when enabling features such as Bluetooth, location, camera, photos, or future recording tools.
How Crank helps
- Permissions should match the feature: Bluetooth for adapters, location for maps/route records, camera/photos for operator-created images, and storage/media access for records and galleries.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not grant permissions you do not intend to use. Crank should remain clear about why a permission is requested.
Back to capabilities
About Crank
Crank™ is now treated as a public-facing driver companion from Dingfelder Enterprises: My Garage, OBD/OBD-free tools, route context, records, galleries, reports, Dingfelder.co pages, and A.I.R.O.N. doctrine are organized so the user can understand what Crank is before digging into technical screens.
When to use it
- Use About Crank when a new user wants the mission, website, manual, training, support, A.I.R.O.N., V.A.U.L.T., Fortune Teller, Field Calculators, or contact links.
How Crank helps
- The app now gives About Crank™ its own My Garage card instead of hiding it three layers deep.
- Dingfelder.co links are presented as individual public-facing cards so users can understand the ecosystem before tapping out to the browser.
Limits / safety notes
- Website links open only when the operator taps them. External websites, YouTube, maps, travel, vendors, and services run under their own terms and privacy practices.
Back to capabilities
What Do I Use?
Crank is organized into lanes so the operator can choose the right tool without digging through a broad technical grid.
When to use it
- Use Code Reader for supported scan data, V.A.U.L.T. for records, Map / Track for route context, Experience Recorder for selected sessions, Galleries for review/playback, and Motorheads for controlled-course performance tools.
How Crank helps
- Start with the task you are trying to finish: read, record, review, return, share, or get assistance.
Limits / safety notes
- When uncertain, document first and act second. The best record is often the one created before clearing, repairing, replacing, or forgetting details.
Back to capabilities
My Garage / What Do You Use Crank For?
My Garage is Crank's second front door. It starts with the active asset, then presents the major lanes: Driver Suite, PM Center, Motorheads™, Experience Recorder, My V.A.U.L.T. Records, Galleries / Media, Crank's Toolbox, Help / Setup, Create / Organize Drawers, and About Crank™.
When to use it
- Use My Garage when you want to start from the thing you care about: your car, tractor, fleet asset, rental, customer vehicle, outdoor route, equipment, or collection.
How Crank helps
- Large visual lanes reduce guesswork. The screen is allowed to scroll because recognizable cards are more useful than a short list of mystery buttons.
- The Active Drawer is a storage/identity view. PM Center remains a main lane, while drawer buckets use record language such as Maintenance Records and Diagnostics Records.
Limits / safety notes
- Asset folders and drawer labels organize records. They do not certify vehicle condition, ownership, legal status, inventory value, repair completeness, or evidence admissibility.
Back to capabilities
Crank's Toolbox
Crank's Toolbox is the practical workbench: local tools stay in the app; Dingfelder.co field tools open in the browser only when tapped. It now includes direct access to Compass™, Inclinometer™, and HUD Display so they are not hidden inside Experience Recorder options.
When to use it
- Use Toolbox for Vibration Studio, Screen Capture, Compass™, Inclinometer™, HUD Display, Field Calculators, Training, and other operator utilities.
How Crank helps
- Phone-sensor tools can be useful even when no OBD-II adapter is connected.
- Browser links are operator-controlled: no WebView, no hidden loading, no automatic upload.
Limits / safety notes
- Toolbox instruments are practical field aids, not certified measurement systems. Confirm critical work with approved tools and safe procedures.
Back to capabilities
Compass™ / Inclinometer™ / HUD Display
Compass™ supports Magnetic, GPS, and Auto-Switch modes. Auto-Switch uses GPS bearing when GPS is fresh and movement is at or above 6 mph, then returns to magnetic heading at lower speeds where GPS bearing can drift. Inclinometer™ shows phone pitch/roll. HUD Display provides a large local display and windshield mirror preview.
When to use it
- Use Magnetic Compass for standing, slow movement, and low-speed orientation when phone sensors are stable.
- Use GPS Compass for moving bearing when Android location permission and GPS bearing are available.
- Use Auto-Switch when you want Crank to choose GPS while moving and magnetic heading below the switch speed.
How Crank helps
- The switch makes the compass more honest: GPS bearing is helpful while moving but unreliable when stopped; magnetic heading is useful at low speed but can be affected by metal and calibration.
- HUD Display is a convenience screen for large local information, not a certified vehicle instrument.
Limits / safety notes
- Magnetic heading can be affected by magnets, speakers, wiring, metal, vehicle structure, phone case, and calibration.
- GPS heading can drift, lag, or disappear. HUD reflection depends on mount, glass, brightness, lighting, and local law.
- Do not use these tools for aviation, marine navigation, rescue, rollover decisions, surveying, legal measurement, grade safety, or certified measurement purposes.
Back to capabilities
About Crank™ / Dingfelder.co Links
About Crank™ is the public information card inside My Garage. It gives users direct, curiosity-friendly cards for Crank Home, Operator Manual, Dingfelder.co, A.I.R.O.N., V.A.U.L.T., Fortune Teller, Field Calculators, C.A.T.A.S.T.R.O.P.H.E., Training, Field Handbook, System Components, Contact, and YouTube how-to videos.
When to use it
- Use About when a user wants to understand the product, privacy promise, support path, or Dingfelder ecosystem.
How Crank helps
- The links are not a hidden list anymore; they are surfaced as individual graphical cards that explain where the tap goes.
Limits / safety notes
- Public webpages and video platforms may change independently of the app. Use current website information for public documentation and app store messaging.
Back to capabilities
Cool Down with Crank
Cool Down with Crank is the operator doctrine for avoiding guesswork when frustration rises. Stop, breathe, document, and return with evidence.
When to use it
- Use it when a repair problem is frustrating, intermittent, expensive, or emotionally charged.
How Crank helps
- Crank supports notes, records, screenshots, photos, route/session context, and reports that turn the moment into something reviewable.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not clear codes, replace parts, or keep driving unsafe conditions just because you are tired of the problem.
Back to capabilities
Source Badges / Data Source
Source clarity matters. Crank separates OBD-II data, phone-sensor data, GPS context, operator notes, photos, and app-generated records whenever the source affects trust.
When to use it
- Use source labels when reviewing reports, comparing OBD speed to GPS speed, checking route records, reviewing phone motion, or sharing mechanic-ready context.
How Crank helps
- A source badge helps explain whether a value came from the vehicle, the phone, GPS, the operator, or Crank’s generated record.
Limits / safety notes
- Every source has limits. GPS can drift, phone sensors can be bumped, adapters can disconnect, and vehicle PIDs can be unsupported.
Back to capabilities
Website / Play Store Copy
Public Crank copy should stay direct, careful, and provable: privacy-first, local records, no data selling, no parts guessing, and clear feature limits.
When to use it
- Use public copy to set the right expectation before install.
How Crank helps
- Crank should say what it helps with without overstating diagnosis, compatibility, legal uses, safety capabilities, or repair outcomes.
Limits / safety notes
- Avoid claims that a code confirms a part. Codes are clues, not convictions.
Back to capabilities
Getting Started
Start with the job in front of you: read supported codes, record a drive, save a photo, document symptoms, open a gallery, create a report, or use Crank without an adapter.
When to use it
- First decide whether you are connected to an OBD-II adapter or using mobile/no-adapter tools. Then choose the matching lane.
How Crank helps
- Before sharing, review what you created. Before clearing codes, preserve evidence. Before driving, keep safety first.
Limits / safety notes
- Feature availability depends on permissions, device support, adapter support, vehicle support, and selected app mode.
Back to capabilities
Connect / Disconnect
Connect / Disconnect is the adapter boundary. Use a supported Bluetooth ELM327-style adapter when OBD-II records are needed, and disconnect deliberately when the session is finished.
When to use it
- Use Connect when reading supported codes or supported live data. Use Disconnect when ending a scan session, changing adapter setup, or closing records cleanly.
How Crank helps
- A clean end of session helps reports and logs finish correctly. Connection quality can affect available data.
Limits / safety notes
- Adapters are untrusted peripherals. Crank should treat them as data sources, not owners of the operator record.
Back to capabilities
Protected Test Sessions
Real-world OBD-II testing is messy. Adapters get unplugged, ignitions get shut off, Bluetooth connections drop, and the same adapter may be moved to another vehicle before the operator closes the log. Crank is designed to preserve the evidence while keeping vehicle stories separated.
When to use it
- Use protected session handling whenever a scan, drive log, Guardian/Fortune Teller review, or mechanic-ready report is interrupted by an adapter disconnect, ignition-off event, connection drop, or vehicle swap.
How Crank helps
- Crank preserves the prior evidence in local V.A.U.L.T. records, marks the interruption, and helps prevent one vehicle’s data from blending into another vehicle’s diagnostic story.
- When a vehicle identity change is detected, the operator should be prompted to start a new vehicle session. That prompt quietly trains the proper habit: stop the log, disconnect, move the adapter, and start a clean session.
Limits / safety notes
- Vehicle identity depends on available data. VIN, adapter state, supported PID profile, protocol behavior, ignition state, and report context may all affect confidence.
- If the operator overrides a vehicle-change prompt, the override should be logged so later reports still show what happened.
Back to capabilities
Code Reader
Code Reader supports OBD-II code reading where the vehicle and adapter support it. A code is a clue, not a conviction; diagnose before replacing parts.
When to use it
- Use Code Reader when a warning light appears, when documenting a symptom, before repair, after repair, or before clearing codes.
How Crank helps
- Crank helps preserve code context and operator observations so a mechanic, helper, family member, or shop can understand the record faster.
Limits / safety notes
- Generic Bluetooth ELM327-style adapters usually support basic OBD-II only. Many enhanced modules may not be reachable.
Back to capabilities
Active Codes / Demo Codes
Active Codes are for real supported code records. Demo Codes are for practice, review, presentation, and QA without pretending the demo vehicle has a real fault.
When to use it
- Use Active Codes when connected records are real. Use Demo Codes when learning the screen, testing share/report flows, training, or taking public screenshots.
How Crank helps
- Demo mode protects the operator from confusing practice data with real vehicle evidence.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not use demo results as diagnosis. Demo data is for presentation and workflow testing only.
Back to capabilities
Live Data Gauges
Live Data Gauges present supported runtime values in driver-friendly views so the operator can see vehicle-reported data when available.
When to use it
- Use them during safe stationary checks, controlled review, or appropriate passenger/operator-assisted sessions.
How Crank helps
- Values may include supported items such as RPM, coolant, voltage, throttle, speed, fuel trims, load, and other available PIDs depending on support.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not stare at live data while driving. Availability and accuracy depend on vehicle, adapter, connection, and PID support.
Back to capabilities
Reset Codes Gate
Clearing codes can erase evidence and affect readiness monitors. Crank’s Reset Codes Gate protects the operator by requiring pre-reset evidence before reset can be armed where supported.
When to use it
- Use Reset Codes only after records are preserved and you understand the consequence of clearing evidence.
How Crank helps
- The gate keeps the reset action visible, deliberate, and separated from Read Codes video or review options.
Limits / safety notes
- Clearing codes does not repair the vehicle. It may hide evidence, affect inspection readiness, and change what a mechanic can see.
Back to capabilities
V.A.U.L.T. Records
V.A.U.L.T. organizes local reports, notes, evidence packs, photos, route context, and session records so the operator can review or share them later.
When to use it
- Use V.A.U.L.T. before repair, after a warning, during trip documentation, for support packs, for mechanic-ready reports, and whenever the record matters.
How Crank helps
- The goal is evidence stewardship: save the record, preserve source context, and let the operator decide what leaves the device.
Limits / safety notes
- Local storage can fill up. Review, export, archive, or delete intentionally. Do not wait until storage failure to manage records.
Back to capabilities
Vehicle / Reader / Context Forms
Vehicle, reader, and context forms preserve details that are easy to forget: vehicle identity, adapter details, operator/customer notes, symptoms, conditions, and situation context.
When to use it
- Use forms before sharing with a mechanic, documenting a rental, recording a support issue, or building a vehicle history.
How Crank helps
- Good context can explain what a code alone cannot: when it happened, what the driver noticed, what changed, and what was already checked.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not enter sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your own record and you intend to keep it.
Back to capabilities
Drive Log / Map Track
Drive Log and Map / Track preserve trip context, route history, GPS points, session notes, and driving-session records when the operator chooses to run those tools.
When to use it
- Use them for trip records, route context, business miles, delivery/courier work, travel, test drives, field sessions, and post-event review.
How Crank helps
- Crank can pair route context with vehicle/session notes so the story is easier to reconstruct later.
Limits / safety notes
- GPS is not perfect. Do not treat route records as certified measurement, legal proof, or safety navigation.
Back to capabilities
Return to Favorite / Return Compass
Return to Favorite supports saved-place return guidance for appropriate use cases such as parking spots, field locations, fishing/hunting points, equipment locations, or outdoor return paths.
When to use it
- Use it to save a favorite point and return toward it when the situation is appropriate.
How Crank helps
- Crank can provide compass/return guidance and map handoff support while keeping the operator responsible for the route.
Limits / safety notes
- This does not replace safe navigation judgment, maps, terrain awareness, waterway awareness, weather awareness, legal access, or emergency tools.
Back to capabilities
Experience Recorder
Experience Recorder creates selected vehicle, work, outdoor, motion, route, and session records. It helps preserve what happened even when there is no OBD-II voice.
When to use it
- Use it for farm/field coverage, mowing, equipment, ATV/UTV/go-kart, business miles, travel passenger context, amusement/motion sessions, Xtreme sport motion, and other selected experiences.
How Crank helps
- The record can combine time, route, motion, notes, photos, and generated review material depending on mode and permissions.
Limits / safety notes
- Recording can consume storage and battery. Start and stop deliberately, review before sharing, and avoid recording where unsafe or inappropriate.
Back to capabilities
Motorheads™
Motorheads™ is the Crank performance personality: controlled-course baseline and performance tools, run records, charts, route checks, run library, and gallery playback.
When to use it
- Use Motorheads only in safe, legal, controlled environments. It is for performance review, not public-road racing.
How Crank helps
- Motorheads separates run/test actions from review/library actions with disciplined CTA colors and checkered performance styling.
Limits / safety notes
- The operator is responsible for legality, location suitability, vehicle condition, safety equipment, surroundings, and bystander safety.
Back to capabilities
Parts Finder / Immediate Assistance
Parts Finder and Immediate Assistance hand off to maps/search tools for parts, repair, towing, and service support without scraping, ranking, or steering vendors.
When to use it
- Use it when you need nearby repair centers, auto parts centers, towing services, or map/search support based on operator intent.
How Crank helps
- Crank opens the handoff. Google Maps/search tools provide current phone, website, hours, directions, and listing details.
Limits / safety notes
- Crank does not certify businesses, guarantee availability, sell leads, take kickbacks, or claim a specific part is needed.
Back to capabilities
Driver Suite
Driver Suite brings daily driving, travel, rental, business miles, preventive maintenance, accident evidence, and work-profile tools into practical operator lanes.
When to use it
- Use the lane that matches the situation: daily driver, delivery/courier, business miles/tax, rental vehicle, accident evidence, preventive maintenance, or work profile.
How Crank helps
- The suite exists so records are organized by real-world use, not hidden behind technical menus.
Limits / safety notes
- Tax, legal, insurance, employment, and compliance decisions require the appropriate professional or official guidance.
Back to capabilities
Rental Vehicle
Rental Vehicle tools help document handoff condition, notes, trip context, and return context when the operator chooses to keep that record.
When to use it
- Use it before leaving the rental lot, when noticing damage, before return, and when keeping personal travel context.
How Crank helps
- Photos, notes, route context, and timestamps can help preserve what the operator observed.
Limits / safety notes
- Crank does not replace rental-company inspection procedures, contracts, insurance terms, or official dispute processes.
Back to capabilities
Travel Assist
Travel Assist is an operator-controlled launcher for travel needs such as lodging, food, fuel, transportation, nearby support, and map/search handoff.
When to use it
- Use it when traveling, stranded, planning a stop, or needing nearby services.
How Crank helps
- Crank keeps the action practical: it helps start the search without claiming to book, rank, or endorse providers.
Limits / safety notes
- Confirm current details in the destination service. Availability, hours, prices, and safety conditions can change.
Back to capabilities
Galleries
Galleries organize Car Pride, Event Recording, Sportsman’s Guide, and Motorheads playback lanes so review material stays easier to find.
When to use it
- Use galleries to review photos, screenshots, videos, framed copies, folders, session captures, and Motorheads playback.
How Crank helps
- The gallery lanes keep different record types from getting mixed together.
Limits / safety notes
- Review before sharing. Gallery content may contain personal, location, vehicle, or bystander information.
Back to capabilities
Car Pride
Car Pride keeps private vehicle photos, framed shared copies, notes, folders, and owner-selected presentation records separate from formal evidence unless the operator chooses otherwise.
When to use it
- Use it for pride photos, condition history, modifications, detailing, before/after records, and owner presentation.
How Crank helps
- Crank can frame a share copy while keeping the operator in control of what is created and shared.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not assume a pride/photo record is formal evidence unless you intentionally preserve it that way.
Back to capabilities
Vibration Studio
Vibration Studio uses phone-sensor motion review for observation and documentation. It can help compare vibration/motion sessions and preserve support context.
When to use it
- Use it when documenting vibration, shaking, equipment motion, ride feel, or comparative motion behavior.
How Crank helps
- Crank can save motion records and support packs to help explain what the operator felt or observed.
Limits / safety notes
- A phone is not a certified vibration meter. Mounting, phone placement, road surface, and handling can change results.
Back to capabilities
Guardian / Fortune Teller™ Concepts
Guardian and Fortune Teller™ concepts help present supported warnings, trends, confidence notes, and review context when data is available.
When to use it
- Use them for monitoring concepts such as coolant, voltage, connection health, GPS/source confidence, recovery trends, and warning review.
How Crank helps
- Crank should prefer source-aware warnings, hysteresis, de-duplication, and plain-language status over panic alerts.
Limits / safety notes
- Warnings depend on available data and thresholds. Crank does not replace gauges, maintenance, inspection, or safe shutdown decisions.
Back to capabilities
Share / Support Packs
Share and Support Packs help the operator send organized context when they choose: mechanic-ready reports, support-ready records, notes, photos, logs, and manifests.
When to use it
- Use them when contacting a mechanic, family member, support address, shop, employer, or trusted helper.
How Crank helps
- The pack should explain what is included and preserve enough context to make the request useful.
Limits / safety notes
- Review content before sharing. Do not send private records, location history, photos, or notes to someone who should not receive them.
Back to capabilities
Bug Report / Support Pack
Bug Report / Support Pack is for operator-selected support context when something in the app needs to be explained, documented, or repaired.
When to use it
- Use it when reporting a bug, UI issue, failed record, unexpected behavior, or support question.
How Crank helps
- Crank should collect relevant app context without asking the operator to hunt through folders manually.
Limits / safety notes
- Support packs should be operator-triggered. Review before sending whenever practical.
Back to capabilities
Voice / Hands-Free Beta
Voice and hands-free concepts are treated cautiously. Public release posture keeps microphone features disabled by default unless a future feature is explicit, visible, and operator-enabled.
When to use it
- Use future voice tools only when they are clearly enabled and safe for the situation.
How Crank helps
- Voice controls should be local-first, visible, easy to disable, and designed around safety.
Limits / safety notes
- No hidden hot mic. Do not rely on voice control for critical driving decisions or emergency operation.
Back to capabilities
Privacy / Local-First Design
Crank is designed around operator-created local records, no Dingfelder-added ads, no data selling, no hidden data-broker SDKs, no vendor siphons, and no automatic upload.
When to use it
- Use Crank when you want useful records without handing your vehicle history to an ad or data-mining system.
How Crank helps
- Export and sharing are operator actions. Public privacy language should remain provable and precise.
Limits / safety notes
- Any third-party tool opened by the operator, such as maps/search/share targets, has its own privacy terms and behavior outside Crank.
Back to capabilities
Legal / Safety Boundaries
Crank is an evidence, companion, and organization tool. It does not replace safe driving, professional diagnosis, OEM service information, emergency services, legal compliance, insurance requirements, certified instruments, or operator judgment.
When to use it
- Review this section before using Crank in a vehicle, on a route, near equipment, during a performance test, or before sharing records.
How Crank helps
- Crank keeps the operator in control with local-first records, permission-gated sensors, and operator-requested external links.
- Crank organizes evidence and context; it does not guarantee repair outcomes, safety, legality, dispatch, travel availability, route accuracy, or evidence admissibility.
Limits / safety notes
- Do not hold or operate the phone while driving. Pull over before reading detailed information, editing records, sharing, exporting, using galleries, changing settings, or opening external sites.
- Codes are clues, not convictions. Clearing codes can erase evidence and readiness context.
- Compass™, Inclinometer™, and HUD Display are phone/app convenience tools, not certified instruments. Magnetic readings can be affected by metal or calibration; GPS bearing needs movement; HUD is not a certified speedometer.
- C.A.T.A.S.T.R.O.P.H.E. organizes calm guidance and records; it is not emergency services, medical help, legal advice, insurance advice, police reporting, roadside dispatch, towing dispatch, or rescue coordination.
- Travel, rental, parts, maps, weather, AQI, rideshare, social, YouTube, and vendor handoffs are external services with their own terms, accuracy, availability, prices, privacy practices, and safety rules.
Back to capabilities
