BajaRunner

Apparently its against the law now for auto shops to pull the code for free in California.

Whats a decent one to buy? Looking to spend no more than $75.

Thanks

troyboy162

i bought one for 19 dollars on ebay that plugs into a laptop. the software out there can clear codes and do things like real time sensor outputs. its cheap and it works but my laptop is on the trail with me always

RMA

What software out there are you talking about , what do you use exactly with this $19 plug

troyboy162

i think this is basicaly the same one as i have
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/USB-A...motiveQ5fTools theres a bunch of places that sell them, just shop for the cheapest that looks the same
the software soported is listed and the included disk gives you drivers and software. theres lots of software out there that ranges from free to like 50 bucks if i remeber right. the minimum any of the softwares will do is show codes and clear them like a hand held unit. there a good deal as long as you have a laptop with you

DailyDrive

You can get the one in the auction from various websites that ship directly from the manufacturers in the far East (Honk Kong, China, Korea...) Probably will be cheaper than Ebay too. They are all the same thing anyway, just different color plastic.

okie81

I read that the iphone has an OBD II application. I was hoping someone here would have tried it by now. Anyone?

nickcam81

I recently purchased the innova equus 3130 from amazon for about $140. It gives you the dtc codes and discription, you can erase the codes, view live data, and it comes with the software and serial cable to hook up to your pc so u can print graphs and other info. I used it to diagnose my 96 tacoma that had a bad knock sensor and it worked great, I know your looking for something around $75 but this is worth the extra money because it has every feature you could need plus its portable. Just my 2 cents
Nick

BajaRunner

Well I didn't want to spend much, so I got this guy:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product

Its a USB reader that you connect to your computer and run an application.

troyboy162

thats the one i have with the orange on the label. the new ebay ones dont have orange on the lable anymore so it will be interesting to see what you get shipped. anyhow you will like it. it works very well and the laptop interface opens up lots of neat software posibilitys

96743runner

I know that you didn't want to spend too much money on one, but you should consider a Scangauge II. It gives a lot of useful info, it can clear codes, and it's very easy to use. I have one and I am very, very happy that I got it. I think that it was definitely worth the price. Just my opinion.

DailyDrive

All ODBII readers give you the same info, but Scangauge is really down at the bottom of the list, as far as available features and overall usefulness goes. Scangauge is in the price range of Auterra Palm devices, but Auterra is way better as it records data, much easier to use, and offers a screen with way more area to display data.

The sub $50 devices that Honk Kong is putting out are the best out of the pack if you consider price. The only downside is bulkiness, but if someone has a netbook or minibook, they are they best buy.

Fo-runna

Is it the scangauge II that you can mount in-cab to monitor oil pressure, coolant temp, voltage output, etc?

aa1911

iTrader: (1)

yeah, so I didn't read the whole thread, but here is a link to a cheap but decent looking scanner; I don't have this one, but I just ordered a laptop based one, will let you know how that works out.... wanted to share this as it looks like a great deal if you just need the codes and basics

http://www.diydiagnostics.com/advanced_specs.htm

eddieleephd

for the money this one seems to be really nice. It sounds like you can download a program and adjust your open loop fuel trims with it and such so this could be as good an investment as a $500 programmer.

you are speaking of the most expensive version and yes it will do most any thing. Many feel we can get a better quality than scan gauge for less money.
they sold one at PEPBOYS last time I was looking for a good $40 less and it did a little more. but if this is what you have and it works there is nothing wrong with that!

akaphilly

sc4runner.. could you get a screen shot of the one you bought? that would be sweet

DailyDrive

No matter how expensive your ODBII reader is, it won't show any more than what your car can output. None of them will do oil pressure or voltage via ODBII.

BTW, why is it against the law now for auto shops to pull the code for free in California?

aa1911

iTrader: (1)

So the Palmer performance engineering laptop based scanner arrived yesterday, hooked it up today but was in a hurry to leave the house and didn't do much with it yet but it has just about everything you could dream of! Will get more specifics when I play with it some more tomorrow.... Just got the S/C on my old tacoma with URD's fuel upgrade kit and need some tuning yet.

Software + Hardware + S&H = $219.00 so not super cheap but it will do all OBD II and CAN diagnostics plus all the other stuff. You can get the cable to end with either a 9 pin serial cable or a USB cable when you order.

BajaRunner

here's a screen shot. I pulled the code on my father's Tundra fine. It worked great. I think there's a lot of stuff to fool around with, and I would like to but just don't have the time right now.

turboale

Bringing this back from the dead. I'm about to go URD and was thinking of going this route for gauges, logging, etc. I was wondering if anyone has already done it on a 3rd gen? Does anyone know if there are any limitations to 96 trucks since it was the first year of OBDII?

For those that haven't seen it, Rev came out with v2.0.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx8felsUMgU

BajaRunner

Well after screwing around with the software that came with my OBDII scanner, it has all information/data that is shown in that video. Not quite as eye-candyish but still has AF Ratio, speed, rpm, o2 sensor outputs, etc.

Doesn't have a built in GPS, but, if I plug my handheld into the laptop, I'm able to get GPS tracking (Which is sort of overkill really) through the garmin software.