Quote: Originally Posted by C.Noble (original)
A simple eOBD fault code reader can be bought for around that price now (were at least 4 times that price a few years ago!!!) but they ONLY read eOBD codes... and usually only the generic codes (P0 and P2 codes) and the "live data stream" if available at all on these tools is notoriously slow... simply c**p for finding intermitant faults.
What about SRS and ABS/
DSC /ASC/ESP system faults... they are rarely read by these cheap scanners.
Then what about equipment to test the offending system/circuit... a decent test lead set can set you back £200-300, an ACCURATE multimeter that can be relied on will cost around £100, then a decent hand held scope meter (NOT a scoping multimeter... they cant work fast enough for alot of modern systems) they cost anywhere between £650 to £1300. Then there is the "make specific" stuff, these have come down in price with the use of ebay... Sure you can get VAG and BMW stuff for a couple of hundred quid, but the likes of the Merc and mitsubishi stuff will still set you back at least a grand... with or without a laptop!
And you cant code ECUs to cars without these things these days... and there is no point being able to diagnose a fault, if you have to tell the customer to take it to the dealer to finish the job.
If I thought for a second I could get away with selling the whole lot and getting by with a £40 eOBD scanner... I would punt the whole lot on ebay!!!!
Not meaning to get on my high horse... just think people should know a little of what goes on in the motor trade, and what is involved in keeping up with all modern cars.
That said, my trusty hammer cost me a tenner 15 years ago, and has fixed loads since
!
! 15 years is great value
Are you an electrician or mechanic?? Say multimeter or oscilloscope to most mechanics or even eODB and they will look blank at you
I totally agree ODB is fine for the average sensor fault but for live data it is rubbish and the MINI Ecu for one has a good 50+ live data values available. Only way I could have diagnosed a friends MINI had a low reading MAP sensor. Luckily that K line cable has been the most useful yet......
