OBDII Reader and Scanner User Feedback

rh1

rh1

Honorary Master
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
17,119
Reaction score
19,741
Location
Somewhere close to you
Hi All

As both my cars are well over 10 years old, and I am doing more and more basic maintenance on the cars (oil change, brake pad change, air and pollen filter changes). I am thinking of getting a reader or scanner.

I am comfortable spending up to a R1000. Maybe more. The problem is there is a plethora of devices out there and it is difficult to see what is good value for money.

As I have a Honda and a Nissan, the brand/model should work well with this. Looking for something that works well. Good aftermarket support etc.

Do any of you have experience good or bad with OBDII readers/scanners? If you have to buy another one, what would you look for?
 
brought mine off Gumtree,

what I found is the app is what determines what sort of experience you have,
Iphone users need not apply,
 
rh1 said:
Thanks, make and model of the scanner/reader?
Click to expand...
anonymous Blue Scanner, they all kind of the same,
ELM237, hundreds on Takealot/ Gumtree

only specific one I know about is Carly, but that is Specific to VW/ AUDI/ BMW Cars...
www.mycarly.com

Diagnose and code your car

With the Carly app and scanner you can carry out diagnostics on your car, uncover odometer fraud or code your vehicle. Easy and at the push of a button on your mobile phone. One scanner for all car brands. | Carly OBD
www.mycarly.com www.mycarly.com
 
  • Like
Reactions: rh1
rh1 said:
So any of these will work, thank you.

Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store

South Africa's leading online store. Fast, reliable delivery to your door. Many ways to pay. Shop anything you can imagine: TVs, laptops, cellphones, kitchen appliances, toys, books, beauty & more. Shop the mobile app anytime, anywhere.
www.takealot.com www.takealot.com
Click to expand...
Yes, the very 1st one in that list looks very similar to mine.
 
It's one thing being able to read codes. It's completely another to be able to interpret it. Many OBD Readers just gives you generic P codes, then you need to google what they mean for that specific car. Some do interpret these for you, but without context and experience, these can lead you down the wrong path.

Case in point, you get an airmass sensor fault. That's it. So you replace the airmass sensor and the fault remains. Now you suspect ECU, change that, and still the fault is there. What's missing here is that these readers don't tell you if it's a signal or plausibility fault. Missing signal is one thing, plausibility means the readings make no sense. I've found in such cases that many times it's the O2 sensor that's giving incorrect readings but the ECU blames the airmass sensor.

The point I'm trying to make is that an OBD reader is just a tool. Without experience it'll not matter if you don't know those specific cars and know their quirks. FWIW
 
I have the icarsoft, it works well on different cars, except my Corsa, it should work on both your cars since the newer one's are standardized.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20220602_111218.jpg
    IMG_20220602_111218.jpg
    221.3 KB · Views: 18
  • Like
Reactions: rh1
  • Like
Reactions: rh1
rh1 said:
Hi All

As both my cars are well over 10 years old, and I am doing more and more basic maintenance on the cars (oil change, brake pad change, air and pollen filter changes). I am thinking of getting a reader or scanner.

I am comfortable spending up to a R1000. Maybe more. The problem is there is a plethora of devices out there and it is difficult to see what is good value for money.

As I have a Honda and a Nissan, the brand/model should work well with this. Looking for something that works well. Good aftermarket support etc.

Do any of you have experience good or bad with OBDII readers/scanners? If you have to buy another one, what would you look for?
Click to expand...

Search for Konnwei KW680 for around R700.
 
gbyleveldt said:
It's one thing being able to read codes. It's completely another to be able to interpret it. Many OBD Readers just gives you generic P codes, then you need to google what they mean for that specific car. Some do interpret these for you, but without context and experience, these can lead you down the wrong path.

Case in point, you get an airmass sensor fault. That's it. So you replace the airmass sensor and the fault remains. Now you suspect ECU, change that, and still the fault is there. What's missing here is that these readers don't tell you if it's a signal or plausibility fault. Missing signal is one thing, plausibility means the readings make no sense. I've found in such cases that many times it's the O2 sensor that's giving incorrect readings but the ECU blames the airmass sensor.

The point I'm trying to make is that an OBD reader is just a tool. Without experience it'll not matter if you don't know those specific cars and know their quirks. FWIW
Click to expand...
That's where the internet proves just useful it is, get a code a code and go onto the internet and search, you will get all the possibilities, narrow it down and you will find the problem, of course not taking anything away from the good points you are making.
 
TheChamp said:
That's where the internet proves just useful it is, get a code a code and go onto the internet and search, you will get all the possibilities, narrow it down and you will find the problem, of course not taking anything away from the good points you are making.
Click to expand...
That’s probably true; it’s just that I’m in the industry and I get a little disillusioned with these kinda tools being touted as a magic wand that’ll tell you straight away what’s wrong. Where in reality I get constant phone calls from workshops where they don’t have the experience to understand what to make of what the tool is telling them. But it’s quite possible that I only get phoned with hard stuff hence my negative feelings around this. And I was probably grumpy when I posted that as well :ROFL:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X