Just got myself a new toy/tool. Well admittedly, at nearly Euro 500, it better be a tool than a toy. I have written about my various OBD scan tools before. To date I own a simple hand scan tool and a software package from Autoengenuity. There are a sheer endless number of scan tools on the market including all sorts of apps for your mobile phone as well.
I have said it in many, many threads on this forum, if you can afford it, make sure you get one that does all generic AND manufacturing codes. Truth is these days there are many more manufacturing codes then generic codes. As car electronics get more and more elaborate more and more codes get added all the time. Subsequently a car might have problems that you simply won’t see with a generic scanner.
Also, I have found that with the cheaper scanners sometimes there are connectivity problems. The Autoenginuity (
https://www.autoenginuity.com/wordpress/) tool was very good. But expensive and cumbersome. You buy the basic software which gives you generic capabilities and then have to buy an additional software module for every car manufacturer. Also, I have had some connectivity issues with it. And it is being discontinued as well.
So time to look for something new. I choose this particular scanner. It has some very good reviews on the web and on Youtube. This is a nice video here:
I also decided I wanted one that will work on any car, any manufacturer and model. Just in case! This one comes in four different versions. Essentially a version for each geographic area of the respective car manufacturer. Fact is OBD has a few variant per region, with different protocols etc. So, it's USA, European, Far East and the most elaborate unit covers all region. Obviously that is the one I got!
The video goes into some more detail on what you can do with these sort of tools. In brief it supports the following functions:
OBD
EPB (electronic Parking Brake)
Scan
Oil reset (service interval indicator)
Play back
The scan included just about all subsystems in the car.
Once it finds an error, or DTC as it is known, it will also provides a little bit more information so you have some first ideas what could be wrong. You might still need access to the car full workshop manual as well. Obviously I have all of those for my own cars. And these days most can be found on the internet. Although I do appreciate we have seen some difficulties with that on Indian manufactured cars as well.
I believe this is a semi-professional scan tool. These days the professional scan tools are coming down in price all the time. But you would be looking at something in the region of at least 4-6 times as expensive as this one. These days a lot of the professional tools come as dedicated tablets. See
http://www.auteltech.com/autelcms/Au...lysi/548.jhtml
Comes in a nice box. However, as with all American tools, I must admit the instrument itself does look and feel a bit too plasticky for my taste. I never understand, I have simple multimeter at 10% of this price that look and feel much better. My other handscanner, bought in the USA as well, same thing, plasticky. The Americans, when it comes to tools, seem to go for function over format.
The professional tablets do all my little scanner does and a whole lot more. I would say there are two very important differences. First of all the professional tools give you much more detailled diagnostic information that the DTC (error code). They really guide you through the whole of the diagnostic process. No need to look up anything in the car workshop manuals. The second difference is that the professionals tools allow you to write and alter data on the various computers in the car. So you can adjust calibrations, trim settings, etc. So you also need to know what you are doing!
Whenever somebody comes to me with a problem on their car, the first thing I do is hook it up to an OBD analyser or scan tool. Even before I take a testdrive or open the bonnet! I know many enthusiastic and skilled DIY car mechanics are weary of it. In fact, many professional car mechanics are weary of it. But it’s the way to go and to be honest has been the way for more than a decade.
This weekend we are going to service my eldest son VW Golf GTI. So I’ll get a first chance to play with it. If anything we will be using it to reset his service interval indicator
See for more details on it’s use my other thread:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...eo-spider.html