So I am looking into getting a scanner to read codes, and clear them. I have never owned one before and was wondering what people would suggest and where to buy them.

Any help and information about this would be greatly appreciated.

 

This is the one I have. I love it. It also does Dyno, 1/4 mile, 0-60. Just need a Palm and a serial cable.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...520833621&rd=1

 

I have a kit from scantool.net but I find its refresh rate is too slow.. But it works great to check and reset CEL's and see the fuel trims.

 

I bought a really basic one from checker 100 bucks. It reads and clears codes. Nothing else. I have a list of all the DTCs and don't need it for anything else so it works for me.

Ben

 

try the snap-on one if you have the extra cash laying around. Very nice.

 

back from the dead lol...what do you think of these scanner's. I'm not sure if it will read fuel trims though...

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00947059000

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...&vertical=AUTO

 

The second unit claims to be able to "View, Record, and Play back live PCM Streams" I have to assume that means that it will allow you to look at the data such as engine RPM, Fuel trims, etc..

 

I picked up the digimoto one and have been really happy with it!

http://www.digimoto.com

 

that looks like a nice one, I wonder if you can just use the USB port for the scanner and the D9 cable for the UTEC. Also it has awsome features showing fuel trims, temp sensors, etc. And the price isn't bad either.

 

The digimoto box is the same as the one from Scantool and it doesnt really like the USB serial ports. Of course most things dont. It mostly has to do with the low voltage requirements for USB devices so a lot of times the device will not receive or transmit at a strong enough signal which causes problems. If you really want a stable solution I recommend getting a SocketIO PCMCIA card instead. These work great and I have never had any issues with them.

 

anything based on the elm OBD chip, derives its voltage from the serial port.. so you need an USB to Serial adapter that provides a driver signal to power it. PDA Serial/USB adapters don't generally do that, but the ones you get for GPS devices does.. Keyspan Serial USB devices work best..

FWIW I have my Scantool box (elm chip) hooked up to a USB/Serial adapter that I originally get from Delorme for my GPS antenna..

 

Oh and I use a Socket SerialIO CF card on my PDA, and use it on my laptop occasionally too.. but my favorite serial device is a Keyspan USB to 4 serial port adapter.. IT has 4 ports on it.. I can hook up 4 serial devices to it, at the time it was a Serial LCD Display, Touch screen overlay for a VGA LCD Screen, OBD-II Scantool, and UTEC/Tuner combo.. (it was for an in-car PC that I removed from my car)

 

I found the CReader OBDII device on eBay for $40+. It will automatically clear and reset - GREAT for P0300 codes!

 

Yeah I think its a good idea for everyone to have a simple code reader so they can quickly read and reset the OBD-II codes without having to fire up a PC..

 

Let me make this a bit more clear - it will automatically clear and reset codes WHILE YOU DRIVE if you leave it plugged in...

I got a P0300 the other day while driving - a bad one with associated misfire. In a few seconds it was gone. I didn't have to pull over and pull underhood fuses or anything ... a godsend until I have a more permanent fix!