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OBD Scanners Where are we at now?

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dakazman:
  I'm looking to purchase a new OBD scanner  this is like trying to figure what processer and what operating system is best , not to mention type of connectivity. Of course being a tightwad and seeing prices between 25 and 999$ I almost came to the conclusion that bringing the the down to the local parts supplier is the best course of action.
   ANY COMMENTS?
Dakazman

BDA:
I’m no expert. I bought a cheap one a long time ago for my 2005 Mercedes. If I get a CEL (check engine light), I get the code and check with the Mercedes forum I used to frequent or do a search for it. Normally that tells me what I have needed to know. I know however that there are codes that I won’t be able to get. If I need them, I’ll usually need to go to a stealer and have them take care of it anyway.

I’m not sure what the difference between a cheap and expensive scanner is. I suspect the expensive ones can sniff “deeper” in the … bus, I guess, but it could be that it just tells you more about the problem. If it’s the latter, I wouldn’t think it’s worth the price. If it’s the former, you need to decide how deeply in the electronic guts you are prepared to go.

edit: Brian’s post (below) reminds me to say that my cheap scanner will clear codes - at least all the codes I’ve found so far. It may be the case that there are classes of codes that require a stealer to clear but I think, but I’m not positive, that they would be the codes that it can’t read anyway.

Without getting too deeply into how the codes work (because I don’t remember!) some faults are scanned for periodically (miles or time) so if you clear one of those codes but don’t fix the problem, the code will pop up again until the problem is fixed.

EuropaTC:
I can't help on the search for a dedicated OBD scanner but I will throw something into the mix, have you looked at software options ?

Until I bought the Elise I had no need for a scanner and to be honest I ran the Elise for years without even considering one because the car has very few electrical systems that you need anything for, it's just emmisions really and our annual MoT test would tell me if there's anything wrong.

But when Helen got her first Audi TT things changed because there was loads of stuff which could (and did) light up the dashboard. A scanner that would read codes was cheap, resetting them was more of a problem and meant a more expensive scanner.

So I went for a cable and software (VAGCOM). At the time the software was "free" and so with a laptop you could do anything a dealer could do. It's very comprehensive, for example I used it to find a bad connection under the passenger seat that was throwing up the Airbag Failure light, which is a fail point over here on the annual test. 

The Cayman was more of a problem but again, PC software worked. That was USA-based "Durametric" and you could download it free but it cost £300 for the dedicated cable. More expensive than a scanner these days but back then you couldn't buy a scanner that did Porsche.

You could get one to read OBD2 emmisions codes but fault finding outside of lambda sensors or clearing codes was dealer only, for example re-setting the service interval light every year.   As there's no dealers around here and our local garage gave up on resetting the light,  it made sense to buy it myself. And over the 10yrs I had the car it paid for itself many times over.  You could also print out the CPU history including time spent in rev ranges which I think helped when we came to sell the car.

And last year when we bought one of the last Fiesta ST3's, again I've gone the software route. FORSCAN does Ford/Mazda and the DIY "Lite" version is free, you just buy a cable for £10 or so.

So there's the pitch. You will be able to buy a dedicated scanner but the more makes/models you cover and the deeper the function list goes the higher the price, over here at least.  There might well be a PC prog that can to everything for much cheaper for you.......

Brian

PS the Elise ? Well that has OBD1 with a weird interface plug and the official Lotus Scanner tool was silly money  but these days I've got an android app (£8) for my phone plus a £10 USB cable adaptor which will read anything the CPU has and the Lotus Scanner can do.

TurboFource:
I have this one …seems decent … around $100

dakazman:
  Brian,
  Thanks for adding to the mix.  Thats exactly why I mentioned, Where are we at?  If the dealership can access my car remotely and send me advisories messages, why can't I access it from my phone or home computer. I just hate buying something that is outdated when it leaves the manufacturer.  Some systems can't be read on some scanners, Airbags/ tire pressures, ABS, but that information is in the details or the buyers reviews.
   iPhone apps, I'll look into a required ELM 327 OBD II wi-fi scanner or other Bluetooth adapters.
 
  BDA,  Like you that's mainly what I use it for.   I have and older model Autel OBD2 scan tool that reads many dtc codes but now my daughters 2017 honda wont even let it scan. 2012  Sonata Hybrid and a 2000 hyundai Tiberon works perfectly and then I google the necessary culprit. It only tells me latched faults not any details. Imagine, the computer knows the status, open-closed, on-off,/temp/etc, but won't tell me.. the owner but sends it digitally to the dealer. I know I'm just ranting a bit . I see some let you play with airfuel mixtures when driving and other really cool features. so my search will continue.

  Thanks Turbo

 Dakazman
   

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