can the average person benefit from an obd scanner?

[altec]

Contemplating buying one but wondering if its worth it for a car owner. thinking of one around a hundred us from amazon (with good reviews).

[Morpheus]

Yes you can if you have multiple vehicles and you into DIY.

But...........beware of the ones on amazon.com or any scanner made in the US for that matter. They say they are compatible with all OBDII compliant vehicles made after 1996.......................but they mean vehicles "sold in the US".

I just sent back mine 2 days ago via UPS




Check this:

Our code readers work on 1996 and newer OBD2 vehicles sold in the US and Canada. Vehicles sold in other countries, although similar, are not set up the same as the ones sold in the US, and our readers may not be able to link. There are times when our readers will link to vehicles sold outside the US, but “there are no guarantees as these vehicles were not regulated until 2001”. You can verify if the vehicle is OBD2 compliant by looking at the emission label. This label would be located under the hood, normally in front of the radiator. If the label states OBD2 compliant our readers will be able to connect to the vehicles on board computer.

I hope this has answered your question. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to reply to this e-mail or call one of our ASE Certified Staff Members at 1-800-544-4124. We are available Monday through Saturday 6am - 6pm Pacific Time.

Technical Support

Not linking to my car (Singapore) and my neighbour's Nissan AD Wagon (Japan). But it is linking to my neighbour's dad's 2001 Toyota Corolla (Not sure if Singapore or Japan). They all have the OBDII port of course. Is there anything I can do/try? Software upgrade, etc? *Brackets indicate country of manufacture

Just be aware. I think I will try source one from England instead maybe. Or check amazon again but be more careful. After all the "compatible with all OBDII vehicles sold in the US" was almost like fine print!

"Compatible with all OBDII compliant 1996 and later. American, Asian, Euro,etc" was one of the features on websites and bold on the box SMH

Hope I helped somewhat. Just hoping no one else gets caught.

But as I said before, if you like sorting out thing yourself, investing in a "cheap" scanner is a plus IMHO.

Good Luck

[audiomagicians]

well the good ones are rather expensive like 12,000 to 22,000 however these can do pretty much any vehicle.... but its not a matter of pluggin it in and it gives u de problem eh...most of the times u have to just use it to give u an idea where to start.

it also will be important that u get the necessary training to trouble shoot with these devices..usually the respective dealers down here include training and certification in the cost price of these tools.... brands like autoboss, launch, and karman are the best on the market for trinidad and have dealers locally which means faster and cheaper support for the tool u buy

i wont recommend the one u thinkin bout buyin though compatability will be very limited.. i own an autoboss as well as a launch, the autoboss is the fastest of trio i mentioned.. but its one of the older autoboss i have the launch which does the newer vehicles like vigos and navaras n ting...auto boss works real good for the almeras corollas civics lancers etc.. the karman is the most expensive of the bunch and has a bit more features,..

so i would say u wont benifit however since there are only a handful of people certified to do scanning ..its a good investment if u wanna make money as a scan usually costs 120 to 200 dollars i have even been to places where its 300... so.. i hope my post helps u out.

[Morpheus]

You talking bout devices that professionals or should I say career mechanics use. Those are out of the question for a DIY person.

The OP and myself are speaking of light use devices.

And all scanners do is give an idea where to start. Knowledge and tools are needed for the rest. So if you don't have time and patience to DIY it won't make much sense.

PS audiomagicians skip a lil line in between sometimes or insert some paragraphs. Makes reading a little easier. And thanks for the advice

[Hook]

If you're car-savvy and can read the manual and follow it, then yes, it CAN benefit you.

I personally know a owner (will get details of what device he has later this week) who was plagued by a misfire, a rich condition and an intermittent CEL in a Forrester shortly after purchase. He took it to a supposedly reputable garage (where the previous owner used to take it) and was told it was both oxygen sensors giving the fault. They said they'd source the parts and replace them and give him a complete cost, the ballpark figure, as requested by the customer, was $4000.
But he'd already had a code scanner on order that was to come in, so he waited until it got here before he decided.

HIS scan actually indicated s fault in the ignition system, which could either be coil packs or badly worn spark plugs (absolutely nothing was wrong with his oxygen sensors). Four spark plugs later, problem was solved. He saw the benefits of it right out of the box.

[Morpheus]

If you're car-savvy and can read the manual and follow it, then yes, it CAN benefit you.

I personally know a owner (will get details of what device he has later this week) who was plagued by a misfire, a rich condition and an intermittent CEL in a Forrester shortly after purchase. He took it to a supposedly reputable garage (where the previous owner used to take it) and was told it was both oxygen sensors giving the fault. They said they'd source the parts and replace them and give him a complete cost, the ballpark figure, as requested by the customer, was $4000.
But he'd already had a code scanner on order that was to come in, so he waited until it got here before he decided.

HIS scan actually indicated s fault in the ignition system, which could either be coil packs or badly worn spark plugs (absolutely nothing was wrong with his oxygen sensors). Four spark plugs later, problem was solved. He saw the benefits of it right out of the box.

^^That's exactly the type of reason I want one

I wasted money on a MAP sensor a few weeks ago. Flew one in from the US. All that was downtime. I fixed the car myself by removing the VTEC/MIVEC controller which was apparently malfunctioning, sending a high MAP signal all the time so that the car was running very rich even at idle.

Right now the car running fine with the old(GOOD) MAP sensor SMH

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=414974

That will be GREAT. Thanks in advance

[DSM_05]

to the OP, consider looking at the "Scangauge" or MSD DashHawk OBD "gauges".

I don't think you need to have a professional style OBD2 scanner. A normal "OBD2" reader that is being sold nowadays would suffice:

http://www.scangauge.com/



Here you can see the code. Doesn't give you a description...but that's something Google can fix for you.

Here's the MSD DashHawk



These give nice readouts, and can alert you as to the "error code" you have is a CEL comes up e.g. P00302 or whatever.

You can go online and research what the code means....since IIRC, OBDII codes are all standard regardless of manufacturer.


I believe some folks have used the Scangauge and DashHawk down here with success (in terms of using them like gauges to monitor boost, temperatures and so on).


Personally, I used the GReddy Informeter (ver 1). It connected to most JDM cars I tried it on....and logged lots of data (O2 sensor voltages, MAF voltages, Boost/vacuum, water temp etc)....but it did not log the error CODE itself if there was one. I suspect the new version (Greddy Informeter Touch) may log the codes.

PM ADAH303 on this forum....he should have in stock and could tell you more.

[Hook]

That dash hawk looking like the shiznit! Can it work on OBD1 vehicles as well?

[DSM_05]

^Wait till you see the New Greddy informeter touch, or the HKS CAMP2. you'll be blown away.

Lotsa tuners nowadays are moving away from a tonne of gauges, and just using one display screen on an OBD2 reader.

The nice thing about the Informeter and the CAMP2 is that they have plug ins for external sensors

Anyway, I digress.


No, the dashhawk will not work on OBD1 AFAIK.

[Morpheus]

^^But can they clear error codes also? That's one of the features I would want

Nice suggestions though. Gonna research them now

[DSM_05]

^^yes, some of them can clear error codes. I think the scangauge has that feature.

But then again, you can do that yourself by disconnecting your car battery.

Of course, if the problem hasn't been resolved, then the CEL will come back.



Oh, and if the CEL is a "non-critical" error code e.g. a sporadic misfire that doesn't repeat itself, the CEL will be cleared automatically within 3-6 engine cycles (i.e. shutting off and restarting the engine).

[altec]

this is what I was considering
http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/smar ... tooth.html

[dredman1]

I have the ScanGauge II, and it works with my car (Singapore model). It reads error codes AND can clear them as well, no problem at all. It also monitors quite a bit of other engine parameters, and is also a trip/fuel computer.

The Dashhawk also monitors some engine parameters, as well as gives you a performance monitor showing 0-60, 1/4 mile times,etc (similar to the G-Tech Pro). However, it is more expensive than the ScanGauge II, and MSD have ceased production of it a while ago.

The current versions of the ScanGauge also have performance monitoring capability, or if you have the old one you can send it in to them to re-flash to the upgraded firmware for this feature.

Can't say for sure if it would work on your car though. However, it has capability to read CAN, CANSF, KWP, ISO, VPW, and PWM protocols, and they say once the vehicle is OBD II compliant, it should work (whether it be a North American vehicle or not). However, I was lucky I was able to try it out on my car before

Either way, you can send them an email to verify if it would work on your car, as they have feedback from customers all over the world and are very helpful. They respond to email queries quite quickly.

[DSM_05]

^^Good feedback there man.

[anthonyanthony]

I own a cy2 (2010 ) local model lancer and a cs3 (2005) local model lancer, can someone recommend a reader for thses?

[Rooki3]

subscribed

[sookoo2000]

i am very interested in purchasing one of the mentioned scanners. anyone bought one or has access to getting one?
for use on a grand vitara 1996

[Rainman]

I did not invest in one initially. I had an engine check light come on in my car, went to a reputable auto repair shop. The technicians scanned my car and said that i have to replace my ECU because "the musheen cya connek with the compooter and it connek to a car just like this lass week, yuh go hah tuh change out the whole brain box" i inserted the most obvious confused face i could, paid my 150 and LEFT.

Mind you, my car was working perfectly when all this happened. I borrowed a scanner from a buddy of mine and scanned the car; it came up with a code pointing to the rear O2 sensor. Bought the sensor, changed it my self, reset the ECU and voila!! No more check light. Bought a scanner the next day.

I think that what's more important than owning the scanner is arming yourself with enough information. One thing i learned is that the scanner may not necessarily pin-point the problem but rather show what systems are being affected by the fault. You have to do additional troubleshooting to really get to the problem.

[GTi Guy]

i got a cheapo one out of amazon cuz i was skeptical .. works well for what it is.. reading and clearing codes and also monitoring data.. scantool is the brand and its laptop based (cost $50usd for software and cable).. surprizing worked on most ive tried it on.. vw, peugeot, subaru, some toyotas like the camry (did not work on 2004/5 rav4 nor hilux, bt50, frontier)
its good cuz can save you 150$ 'mechanics' (scan and swap parts people) would charge you just for the scan. you learn a little bit and the one i got is fool proof cant remap and stuff but ensures i dont mess with parameters to eff up the car. good investment even if its the cheap one

my 2cents

[anthonyanthony]

what about one called evoscan? anybody used it?

[sookoo2000]

I think more than just reading the error codes is being able to interpret the real time data stream to really analyse the performance of the vehicle! i am interested in viewing the data stream!

[Mizaf]

Try auteltech.com,their MS408 this works for me on Toyota,Nissan and Subaru , the informeter touch is a great way to monitor your vehicle but it does not show Cel's

[Morpheus]

Considering these:


http://www.amazon.com/Actron-CP9580A-En ... rds=actron


http://www.amazon.com/Autel-AULMD802-Ma ... utel+md802


http://www.amazon.com/Autel-MaxiScan-MS ... utel+ms509


http://www.amazon.com/Autel-AULAL519-Au ... utel+md802

Wha allyuh think?

[Morpheus]

BUMP!!!

[sookoo2000]

interesting info!
i am interesting in purchasing one.
the problem is how to knw which model or make is applicable to our local market. I am interested in one to read the suzuki vitara 1999 model!

[Morpheus]

From further research I realise you must ensure they are JOBD compliant as well

So the best bet is to get one with JOBD(Japanese), EOBD(Euro), OBD
II (US) standard.

[dredman1]

If you have an Android smartphone or tablet this looks interesting

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NL ... TJP6N0Z6QL

Can't say for sure if it will work on our cars though. But for the price it might be worth it to give it a try...

[SweeP]

wha allyuh think bout these 2??
http://www.sinosells.com/goods-7361-OBDMATE+OM500+Scan+Tool+for+all+JOBDOBDIIEOBD+Compliant+Vehicle.html

http://www.xcar360.com/cr803-jobd-autosnap-code-read-scanner.html

[anthonyanthony]

Altec if you are a DIY one of these is good , cheap one can be bought to just give you error codes , clear codes and some live data.
As some tuners said this tool will just guide you , you have to know how your vehicle works to slove the problem.
As a DIY you will have to use it in conjunction with the vehicle service manual ( not owner manual ).

Also research , read , etc their are many articles that shows how to use the data from these tools.

If you know nothing on EFI cars , first thing is to take a course on efi servicing... UTT has such a course parttime in charipachina senior comp.
Then get your service manual and understand it carefully.
You should know how to use some basic mechanic tools and to use a basic meter to test for voltage , resistance and open/ short circuits.

Then get your scan tool , the problem is buying off the net is risky since the tool may not work on our local vehicles,and most companies down here tend to sell for the pros which is very expensive ie over $ 15,000.00.

Their a guy in bamboo that sells for the DIY or pros , he will
check it on your vehicle first to see if it works.
For the DIY price is between $800.00 - $ 1500.00


I got a autel maxiscan 609.
Worked on my car a local cy 2010 1.5L lancer. ( No problems communication with engine ECU )
But the ABS section does not work since my car is not listed and hence no commmunication
with ABS ECU.

However it does not work with my other car a local cs3 2005 1.6L lancer.
Apprantly autel do not support maxiscan anymore since it is not shown on their webpage
and they have not responded to my emails.

[CBharath]

Anybody have experience with scanning the 3zzfe engine? What version obd do they use? And what scanner can I use?