What is best bang for the buck on ODB Scanners? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

TX76513 · #1 03-19-2009, 02:54 PM

I want to invest in a ODBII scanner sort of tired of always having to bum one. What's a good middle of the road investment? My friend has a Solus Pro and that's way out of what I care to throw down (but it is very cool

) The <$100 scanners look pretty chinsey. Where is center ground on these?

TMAllison · #2 03-19-2009, 03:13 PM

Most of the <$100 models will only read and erase codes. I use an Innova. Harbor Freight usually has a simple scanner for about $40.

At >$200 you usually start to get some added features. None of the lower or mid level are going to read anything more than engine codes generally.

Honus · #3 03-19-2009, 03:20 PM

I got one of these a few years ago: http://carchip.com/

Works great.

Dee8go · #4 03-19-2009, 03:27 PM

So, you just leave that plugged in all the time?

Honus · #5 03-19-2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

So, you just leave that plugged in all the time?

You can leave it plugged in, but it only has memory sufficient to store data for a certain amount of time. One of their sales pitches is that you can put it in your kid's car and then download his driving behavior. I don't have kids, so I have not used that feature.

I used it to help diagnose a couple of check engine light situations. Since it stores codes for later downloading, I think it is good for spotting intermittent problems.

Dee8go · #6 03-19-2009, 04:04 PM

I guess you could just leave it plugged in and pull it out every so often to monitor the systems it reads the codes for. I like the sound of that. Would that pick up on intermittent problems?

Honus · #7 03-19-2009, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

I guess you could just leave it plugged in and pull it out every so often to monitor the systems it reads the codes for. I like the sound of that. Would that pick up on intermittent problems?

I think it would. It's a slick little thing.

Medmech · #8 03-19-2009, 04:53 PM

Make one out of an old Palm Pilot or PDA.

E150GT · #9 03-20-2009, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howitzer

Make one out of an old Palm Pilot or PDA.

you can make an ODBII scanner out of a palm pilot? How?

Medmech · #10 03-20-2009, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E150GT

you can make an ODBII scanner out of a palm pilot? How?

I have a link for a true diy on another puter its pretty easy.

http://www.qcontinuum.org/obdgauge/

TX76513 · #11 03-20-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howitzer

I have a link for a true diy on another puter its pretty easy.

http://www.qcontinuum.org/obdgauge/

I was reading about that on another site - but it wasn't as "grass routes" as the link you posted. I do have a Palm and a spare laptop and was considering going that way. Have you done this?

Medmech · #12 03-20-2009, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TX76513

I was reading about that on another site - but it wasn't as "grass routes" as the link you posted. I do have a Palm and a spare laptop and was considering going that way. Have you done this?

Yes, its awesome. I do admit its a toy though the HF $30.00 scanner does the job but the pda scanner comes in handy when you are troubleshooting a faulty sensor or need to record data to see exactly what wrong and when. Well worth the $83 for the interface and bringing one of the old pda paperweights back to life.