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Author: Subject: Bargain handheld OBD reader recommendation
stevebubs

posted on 29/3/14 at 08:38 PM Reply With Quote
Bargain handheld OBD reader recommendation

Not often I'll do this, but took a punt on this as my Elm327 was refusing to read the DTC codes from my Mk 3 Mondy

U480 Universal OBD2 CAN BUS Fault Code Reader Scanner diagnostic scan tool UK .

For a tenner, it's great - read and reset the codes perfectly...oh..and I only ordered it yesterday (turned up whilst I was out today)

[Edited on 29/3/14 by stevebubs]

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matt_gsxr

posted on 29/3/14 at 09:34 PM Reply With Quote
But I completely agree that it is good value and is very helpful.

I picked up one for my audi a6. It is a very basic tool and the manual doesn't include all the codes, but googling the codes works when the booklet doesn't.

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britishtrident

posted on 29/3/14 at 09:54 PM Reply With Quote
The Memoscan U480 has been around for a good few years, the price has steadily come down from £90+. I had one it is a quality item but by modern standards it is very limited in function.
If buying a scanntool look for one that can read the live data stream this will allow you to look at the various sensor readings to see if they make sense which is a very important diagnostic tool. Both Memoscan and Autel make suitable low cost tools that do this.

A real Elm 327 will read a Ford Mondeo but a clone won't because they don't actually use the Elm 327 chip.

[Edited on 29/3/14 by britishtrident]

[Edited on 29/3/14 by britishtrident]





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stevebubs

posted on 29/3/14 at 09:56 PM Reply With Quote
My BT Elm box and Torque appear to give me live data. They only thing it didn't do was recognise the DTC codes.
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stevebubs

posted on 29/3/14 at 09:58 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
The Memoscan U480 has been around for a good few years, the price has steadily come down from £90+. I had one it is a quality item but by modern standards it is very limited in function.
If buying a scanntool look for one that can read the live data stream this will allow you to look at the various sensor readings to see if they make sense which is a very important diagnostic tool. Both Memoscan and Autel make suitable low cost tools that do this.

[Edited on 29/3/14 by britishtrident]


Links, please?

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britishtrident

posted on 29/3/14 at 10:00 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by stevebubs
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
The Memoscan U480 has been around for a good few years, the price has steadily come down from £90+. I had one it is a quality item but by modern standards it is very limited in function.
If buying a scanntool look for one that can read the live data stream this will allow you to look at the various sensor readings to see if they make sense which is a very important diagnostic tool. Both Memoscan and Autel make suitable low cost tools that do this.

[Edited on 29/3/14 by britishtrident]


Links, please?


Just do an eBay search on Autel





[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]

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stevebubs

posted on 29/3/14 at 10:06 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by matt_gsxr
But I completely agree that it is good value and is very helpful.

I picked up one for my audi a6. It is a very basic tool and the manual doesn't include all the codes, but googling the codes works when the booklet doesn't.


I downloaded an Android App for this - OBD2 Engine Codes by Zorac; entering the code into that App gave me what I needed...the bugger of it is it's an intermittent fault so finding it may take a while!!!!

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stevebubs

posted on 29/3/14 at 10:08 PM Reply With Quote
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
quote:
Originally posted by stevebubs
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
The Memoscan U480 has been around for a good few years, the price has steadily come down from £90+. I had one it is a quality item but by modern standards it is very limited in function.
If buying a scanntool look for one that can read the live data stream this will allow you to look at the various sensor readings to see if they make sense which is a very important diagnostic tool. Both Memoscan and Autel make suitable low cost tools that do this.

[Edited on 29/3/14 by britishtrident]


Links, please?


Just do an eBay search on Autel


Quite a few different models - which do you recommend?

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MikeRJ

posted on 30/3/14 at 01:59 PM Reply With Quote
The Launch Creader is only about £22 now and will display live readings. Mine has been very useful recently:

1) MIL illuminated on wife's hyundai coupe. Trouble code suggested oxygen sensor response time, and just by looking at the live data I could see it was very sluggish.

2) Neighbour bought a new MAF sensor for his Vectra, as the old one had put the MIL on and the engine was running very badly. A brand new one from ECP didn't resolve the problem, but looking at the live data stream we could see that both inlet air temperature and mass airflow were set to very high values. With the old sensor fitted, inlet air temp was fine, but MAF was zero (unsurprising) as the element was visible broken). A quick check with the multimeter found that the ground terminal was probably disconnected within MAF sensor electronics, causing very high voltages on the temperature and airflow outputs (around 9 volts). Another (genuine OEM) sensor saw the car running properly.

3) A colleagues Civic Type S had an intermittent MIL, and the local garage charged them £50 to plug their machine in and tell them the oxygen sensor was duff. They cleared the codes, but light was back on within a few days. I read the codes with the C-Reader, and whilst they were related to the oxygen sensor, it was actually the heater circuit that was the cause of the problem, intermittently going open circuit. This turned out to be a wiring/connector problem rather than the sensor itself.

In summary, get a reader that will display live data. For the few pounds extra cost the additional functionality is well worthwhile.

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T66

posted on 30/3/14 at 02:20 PM Reply With Quote
I wouldnt advice on the £910 one in the similar items list at the bottom of the page.






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Johneturbo

posted on 25/4/14 at 02:15 PM Reply With Quote
I bought one of these NEW! OBD2 ELM327 V1.5 Bluetooth Car Scanner Android Torque Auto Scan Tool OBD-II and it worked a treat with torque pro on my phone not tried the live data yet but it gave me the fault code i needed and for only £6.65 incl pp bargain!
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