eddie Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 I have just been charged £60 to find a fault code on my other halfs Toytota RAV and have figured out it must have taken the toyota garage seconds with their fault code equipment. Was wondering how to do this myself and found this on ebay. http://bit.ly/codescanner couple of questions: do these work and how difficult are they to use? or can I get something that i can use on a laptop, ie some sort of dongle and lead?? anyone else do their own, seems to be worth it as it could save some serious money cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 That will do the job and explain what to do on screen...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Daughter had a Yaris and it was the very devil to find an OBD solution for it. The local garage tried 3 or 4 different programs before they found one which would work. Mind you, it was a 2000 Yaris and I suppose they've come on some since 2001 when OBDII became compulsory. I gave up looking for a cheap solution when she stopped bending it and sold it. I have VCDS for her new car (Seat Ibiza) and our Jetta, and I also have Peugeot Planet for the van. Both laptop based solutions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 Some are better than others like many things you get what you pay for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 In a recent PPC review these looked good http://www.talktomycar.co.uk/products/code...xiScanMS509.htm (£89) http://www.talktomycar.co.uk/products/code...xiScanMS309.htm (£40) If thats still too much this is on sale http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_GDEOBD.html (£29) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamithUK Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 There are some options, I have a bluetooth ODB scanner which I use with this free android app. I also have a USB version which I use with my laptop and this software. The main thing it seems, is that the car has to be 2002 or newer for petrol, 2004 for diesels, and some companies (VW, Audi, Seat) do things differently. ttfn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 The OBDII protocols are basically the same for all vehicles. However, OBDII only requires emissions related codes and data to be provided by the access port on specified pins. After this the manufacturer is at leisure to decide what is available through the port, and it's here that the vehicle specific code readers come into their own. Any OBDII reader will read and clear "check engine light " faults, but for true diagnostics a dedicated Toyota / Lexus machine as linked to earlier is invaluable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted April 10, 2012 Report Share Posted April 10, 2012 i bought a ODBII to usb cable and downloaded a freeware odb2 program for my citreon xsara 2001 (yes i was lucky that it does work). The main thing to remember is that it is completly down to the manufacturer as to what can and cannot be read on via the connection. My xsara has full access to codes and the ability to reset them, which is compulsary for odb2 but other than that the only thing i can read is the revs..... other cars you can see the O2 sensor outputs, fuel pressure and much more dependant on what is available. So essentially while using my laptop for £7 i can read and clear any codes that appear, then when i change cars i will be able to read much much more. i do also have a quick reader (like the one you posted above) it cost me £30 and reads and clears codes.... but thats it, which is why i bought the other so i can really diagnose faults on cars with the extra read outs rather than just seeing the fault codes. edit, i have the Maxiscan as shown above http://www.talktomycar.co.uk/products/code...xiScanMS309.htm or a simular model (its in the car so i cant tell) works fine as i said for just checking codes but if you have a laptop i would take the time to try the cheaper more versatile option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 There are some options, I have a bluetooth ODB scanner which I use with this free android app. I also have a USB version which I use with my laptop and this software. The main thing it seems, is that the car has to be 2002 or newer for petrol, 2004 for diesels, and some companies (VW, Audi, Seat) do things differently. ttfn i know this is a bit of a thread reserection, but i wondered what the software was that was included on the disks as most are freeware and readily available..... im looking for more reliable odb2 software and if you give it your seal of aproval i would be interested in giving it a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamithUK Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 The software on CDs is a collection of open-source programs created by world+dog to access the OBD protocol - a lot of the programs will do the same things (the easy stuff such as rev counting, engine temp etc.) so after trying a few you will see much the same stuff. I found that you need to look through a few until you find one that has the combination of functions that you are actually after. What I found is that a car's systems will be divided into different sections: engine, gearbox, fuel, ignition, ABS and so on - pretty much anything will give the standards based stuff - engine and fuel/ ignition, but if your problem lies elsewhere you need to do some serious research to make sure you're not wasting money. For my Scenic I decided to get a tool specifically for Renaults since there is a basic 'big red button' that runs every test for that model of car. You out in the VIN, select the model and away it goes. With that you need a laptop as well to run the software. My advice is to find a forum that talks about your particular model(s) and ask there unless your problem is pretty basic in which case a basic tester will do the trick and your choice of cheap handheld or laptop based solution (costs more but does more) comes down to personal choice. If you wanted a straight-forward solution that does a lot of things then I would recommend a cheap laptop and some diagnostic software though you will need to read the small print on the advert and make sure it suits you - age of car, petrol/ diesel, systems required etc. will vary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 i already have a diagnostic tool, in fact i have both a basic reader-reset and a usb reader. The software i have found before was somewhat limited or just plain rubbish so i was curious as to what you were using. Thanks for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamithUK Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 What I actually use is the specialist Renault tool - it cost more but gets as many answers as it's possible to get. My only 'concern' is the fact that the software needs a little 'hack' before it can be used. so I suspect the item may not be entirely legal, though I must admit that my sympathies are not with the motor manufacturer since their attempt at a monopoly means I'm forced to pay over the odds for inferior work (I was told that they couldn't do any alignment work since they couldn't undo the track-rod adjuster - which when WIM looked was not an issue) which does not endear me to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 I have the ELM327 (USB) now and the free software is good but I want something that can data log as well. Is there anything free out there or that's very cheap? I was looking at - http://easyobdii.com/shop/product.php?s=easyobdii300p or http://www.scantool.net/software/touchscan.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phipck Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 from memory both are free but you then need to pay for a serial to make the software complete (free limited trial kind of thing) I believe i have both but no serial to make them fully functional. easyodb i have used to clear codes under the free element though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Yes most of these programs are free but if you want to log live data when you're driving you need to pay for that. For the few times it will get used I don't want to spend much if any at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 I have managed to get a copy of Scantool ScanXL. Does anyone use this as it's got so many features I'm not sure how best to use it and whether I can datalog everything in one go or if I have to do different sections at a time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted April 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 Is there one I can use through bluetooth and then an android phone? never bought one of the above as they seemed complicated to use? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 29, 2013 Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 Get the ELM327 but Bluetooth version on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted April 29, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2013 cheers mate will take a look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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