OBD Readers

[Super_Rich_Bernie]

There are a variety of cheap OBD2 readers on Amazon from as little as £12.

 

Has anyone got one/used one? I'd want it for my wifes BMW. At that price I might as well get one, assuming they work!

 

Any experience of or recomendations for these sub £20 tools?

 

Jonathan

[LesG]

Hi Jonathan,

 

The trouble with an OBD reader is just that; they only read (and usually clear) OBD codes stored in your ecu. OBD codes are only emissions-related ie., engine-only 'faults', and are flagged up when your ecu registers there is a failed component within the engine compartment, but that does not necessarily mean the component your ecu points to has failed. Your ecu will alert you to a problem, stick on the MIL lamp, and drop onto 'limp home' mode so get you home/to a garage without damaging your engine.

 

In short; save your £20 and either buy a decent diagnostic machine if you have the ability to use one (you'll get your money back off your neighbours believe me), or just trust your local diagnostic specialist and pay him what he asks.

[Michael H]

I bought one of the £15 ELM327 bluetooth OBDII modules a few months ago, but I've never managed to get it to pair up with the bluetooth on my Win7 laptop. I've kinda given up on it now.

 

Mike

[garybee]

The USB versions (usually listed as ELM327 readers) are absolutely fine at that price. I use one of these on a regular basis. They tell you the reason for the warning light which is not the same as telling you what the fault is. Mine has saved me thousands of pounds as it's enabled me to diagnose and fix issues myself instead of letting garages attempt to fix. It usually costs somewhere in the region of about £70 at a dealer to have fault codes read once, for less than £20 you can do this yourself as many times as you like (assuming you already have a laptop).

 

The cheap Bluetooth versions are more than a little flakey though. I've tried a couple of these and although they worked perfectly for a few uses, they quickly failed (and were returned for refunds). While they were working they were very handy though (used in combination with the android app 'Torque') so I'll try a slightly more expensive one at some point. Torque does a lot more than just read fault codes and is very neat in use.

[sparky]

Check that your car has a 16pin OBD socket first! BMW were still using the old round connection in the early 00 years.

Just a thought wouldnt want anyone to waste £20 and it not fit at all

[jimh]

Lots of people using Scangauge on Defenders.

here

 

I haven't tried one myself but lot's of positive posts on LR forums.

[Jonathan Kay]

Any more recent experiences of hardware or software? Recommendations?

Just seen a review of BlueDriver.

Jonathan

[Mechanical Moz]

I have a DS150E clone I bought via aliexpress for a little over £40. I was able to view and reset codes for the ABS system on a 2002 Peugeot but more importantly it works with the MEMS2 ECU in my Caterham. I can view and reset codes as well as view live data. I'm aware it is likely a counterfeit and there are questions around that, just saying it works with non OBD modules and ECUs. I keep meaning to do a write up with some pictures of it working with my 7 as options that are both cheap and work with the MEMS2 are limited.

[Jonathan Kay]

Thanks. I think a lot of people would be interested in that.

How about using the new Club blogging facility?

Jonathan