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OBD II scan tool advice needed
I want to buy a scan tool. I have had my codes read at the local parts store, but recently had a catastrophic failure that required the car to be towed to a shop. They charged me $89.95 to read the codes. Not to mention $140 labor, and $125 parts cost. All for a Crankshaft Position Sensor. Part cost should have been under $75--that is the manufacturer's list price, and about .5 hours labor.
I know, I "should" have investigated. But sometimes you can't. The car just died. Had been running fine, then, like someone turned a switch, it died...on the crest of a stretch of road called "Dead Man's Curve" no less. When the shop called with the estimate, I agreed, so I can't complain too much. But once burned, I become twice as careful. So I want an OBD II scanner to keep in the car in case I ever have it totally die again. I see some very inexpensive ones on Amazon and the like--under $40! I also see some over hundreds of $$. So what is the difference? If all I want is to be able to read codes, won't the least expensive do the job? Any personal experience with various makes and models of readers?
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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags |
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Do you just want a code reader, or do you want a scanner? I have a scanner, which also of course reads codes. Other than scanning and watching out of curiosity, I've never really used the scanner. A code reader would have served me the same.
A generic code reader will read basic engine codes and could have read your crank position code. For any codes beyond that, you would need the brand specific equipment. Many brands, especially MB's have other controllers for everything from airbags to convertible tops. Equipment for reading such codes is not really practical for the DIYer. Hope this helps. BTW, I have an autotronics scanner. They are quite common, seemingly rugged and reasonably priced and readily available.
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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual 2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution |
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scanner
I've used this one for about 5 years and had it permanently mounted on my dash in my Dodge Truck. I enjoyed setting the display to monitor volts, speed, AVE mpg, instant mpg, etc.. When I bought mine, the price was about $40-$50 cheaper. YIKES !!!
ScanGaugeII : Linear Logic - Home of the ScanGauge Good Luck in your search.
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daw_two Germantown, TN Links: Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior Cluster Needles Paint New Old Stock (NOS) parts Past: 3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda" 04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben" & many more |
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I bought the 13.95 Bluetooth cheapie on amazon that works with my android tablet and smartphone it does the regular code scanner but also does real time diagnostics. I think everyone should have one.
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For my F-body and Y-body, I could simply use a paperclip and get the codes. Short out 2 female terminals on the ALDL and it would flash the code. The code might be meaningless in and of itself. I had a W202 with a code. Left and right O2 sensor, sometimes one or the other. MAF was fine or so the code reader said but if you look at the readouts, it wasn't as good as it looked. Replaced the MAF and life is good.
I'd spend the money and get a good scanner instead of a code reader since the codes don't always tell you exactly what is wrong.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
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My Chevy forced me to buy a cheap one from AZ last year because it pops a CE light every few months.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
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A code reader that will reset the codes will probably do 90%+ of what you want it to do. Go cheap and get a vacuum pump/tester and a good multimeter too. Multimeter with temp probes is great.
Curiosity, did you look up the codes to see if your car sets a code for the crank sensor? |
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For any CEL that allows the engine to run, the parts stores reader service is fine, but when its such that the car can't be driven, then you need a reader or you get towed. What is the difference between a code reader and a scanner? I think the terms are often used interchangeably. Alkim--on pre-96 cars there was a way to read the codes. Ford used an analog multimeter and you counted the "sweeps" of the needle. But in 1996, with the advent of OBDII, they all use a common architecture, and codes. I suppose that is an improvement.
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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags |
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Code reader-pulls generic codes. You then open a code book and see what that code means for your vehicle. A scanner pulls vehicle specific information, tells you what the code is in plain english, sometimes has a code assist function , and will usually do a live data stream
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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it |
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Is that close to right? I also understand that s given code doesn't necessarily mean that the part listed in the code book is faulty; it could be a bad connection, or a broken wire in that circuit. (and neither tool can tell you that.) Am I right so far?
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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags |
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a good example would be a code saying random misfire. with a scanner, you can look at the data stream and see what cylinders are actually misfiring. on a recent vehicle i worked on, it had a random misfire that turned out to be 3&4. tracked it down to faulty plugwires. i could go on and on. the nice thing with the pricier scanners is the code-fix function. basically shows you a list of frequently reported fixes. awesome for that one that completely stumps you.
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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it |
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A scanner to me gives you specific information. Say on my Vette, my scanner would read DTC-22: Throttle position sensor error (signal low). Also when I switch to scan mode, I can read what the ECM sees so it might tell me that the TPS voltage is 0.24V which is too low. HOWEVER, I can also depress the pedal slowly and see that the voltage goes up to 2.4V and then drops to 0V which indicates a bad spot in the TPS.
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
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Thanks, Aklim.
So, are all scan tools basically the same and price can be a good guide?
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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags |
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Guide Rating and Review: Equus Products, Inc Guide Rating and Review: Winsted Group Inc. OBD-II Interface Which Scan Tool Is Best For Me?
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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke 99 E300 Turbodiesel 91 Vette with 383 motor 05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI 06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red 03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow 04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler 11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow |
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Otc makes some really nice stuff. Mine is an otc rebadged to matco proscan. $1300 and its probably paid for itself the first 6 months I had it
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have no worries.....President Obama swears "If you like your gun, you can keep it |
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