Diagnostic software, whatya got ?

[omegod]

I currently have vauxhall and ford software on my laptop and make good use of them for diagnostic use as well as occasional programming of keys / remotes/injectors ( not for profit mind and happy to help shiters out !) but I would like to expand and get a few more brands , Has anyone managed to find erm... " cost effective" versions of other software they can point me in the direction of.   Got a small OBD reader too which has paid for itself several times over 

[twosmoke300]

Tech2 with both old and new Saab as well as vaux cards

Snap on ethos plus

Autel Maxisys

Vag com can

[Vince70]

Ive VAG com lite plus the BMW software but I can't get it working on my laptop with Windows 10 as my AVG antivirus won't let it run so I will have to get a cheap old laptop with Windows XP and hopefully that will work or if not just buy a roll of some nice black insulating tape to stick over any dash lights.

[Richard]

I have VOL-FCR for Volvos from 1996 to 1998 and VIDA-DICE for 1999 onwards. It's easy to put a light on when you're working on a car, the last time was when I forgot to plug the ABS sensor back in after doing a CV boot, so it's great having the means to reset it.

[Richard]

Ive VAG com lite plus the BMW softwear but I can't get it working on my laptop with Windows 10 as my AVG antivirus won't let it run so I will have to get a cheap old laptop with Windows XP and hopefully that will work or if not just buy a roll of some nice black insulating tape to stick over any dash lights.

 

I run mine in Virtual Machines.

[Dave_Q]

I've got VAGCOM, VAG tacho, MPPS (remap cable) and a Citroen Diagbox thing that I've never been able to get working.

Happy to help people with diagnostics/key coding/remaps if needed.

 

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

[bub2006]

I've got a generic obd2 reader. Saved me a fortune over past few years.

[Eddie Honda]

I've got a clone Honda HIM, with a cheap old Tosh lappy running Win 7. CD that came with it was virustastic, but I found a clean copy of the software and it appears to run okay.

[PiperCub]

Got a cheapo (as in £8 off ebay) generic OBD reader. No good for any of my current fleet as all too old/not OBD compliant but has saved me money on occasion and done favours for others. 

Only useful for engine type errors though which is generally all you need, for any more chassis related ones I'd need to get something better (maybe more specific) but I'll cross that proverbial when I come to it.

[Joey spud]

I have Wurth Snooper on my work lap top and its a bit 'clunky' but it gets there eventually.

 

 

Did a DPF regen in Clacket lane services last night,got some funny looks as this C-max was outside the main entrance reving away at 2300rpm for 45 mins.

[cort16]

I've got one of these blue tooth ones that connects to my phone. It's diagnosed the problem may 7-8 out of the 10 times I've used it will put out the EML. It has it's limitations but it's very handy.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I've got nowt but would like a diagnostic doofus. Whats the best way to spend £2-300 or so on one??

[Des]

In my arsenal I have ears, eyes and a nose, when they fail I have a multimeter and the sense of touch and taste coupled with the bravado to take a wild guess.

[omegod]

I've got nowt but would like a diagnostic doofus. Whats the best way to spend £2-300 or so on one??

 

I think that's a decent budget these days for DIY kit and would prob get something snazzy.  

 

Quite an impressive array of stuff there amongst you all and I'm rather jealous, I'm not able to invest in much but will gather as many free one's as I can muster   

[jonny69]

Peugeot Planet is supposed to be quite good for diagnostics and activating things like cruise control on the ECU if your car hasn't got it. I thought it was free but I never found it anywhere when I was looking.

[fordperv]

In my arsenal I have ears, eyes and a nose, when they fail I have a multimeter and the sense of touch and taste coupled with the bravado to take a wild guess.

I use the same hardware on my cars, on everyone else's newer stuff I have a Bluetooth code reader to point me in the right direction

[Bear]

BMW INPA etc., Mercedes Carsoft/Xentry. Getting Planet2000 ASAP.

[TRW]

I've got a cheapo OBD reader, Sykes Pickavant ACR 2 with various pods and a Lucas Laser 2000 also with various pods

 

I have a Crypton Cadet with various disks but its out of action atm. Must get around to fixing that shortly.

[lisbon_road]

I have OPCOM which is Opel/Vauxhall software cracked by someone in Hungary.  Worked fine on my Windows 7 laptop but some sort of issue on my W8 laptop.  I also have a couple of different shareware OBD2 readers.

 

I have a generic OBD2 reader plus a reader that came with the OPCOM.  I bought a converter thing to be able to read pre OBD2 Vauxhalls.  It worked (on the old laptop) but I could only read fault codes on older cars, which to be frank wasn't much better than a paperclip test.  Does anyone know how I could access live data off the early pre OBD2 cars?  It would be really useful to see what the lambda sensor and perhaps the MAP sensor are seeing.  Help???

[scaryoldcortina]

I tend to use a Picoscope to look at lambdas and other sensors on older cars, often the ecu doesn't report anything useful anyway.

 

 

There are a lot of cheap 2 channel USB scopes on ebay these days...

[cort1977]

I got one like this for about $50.   http://www.amazon.com/Actron-CP9550-PocketScan-Plus/dp/B003IOITIK/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1448304685&sr=8-14&keywords=obd+code+reader

 

Can anyone explain what the differences are between a cheap generic code reader and more sophisticated units and software?

 

Is it mostly proprietary software like VAGCOM or does it allow you to do more stuff like regens?

[Pillock]

Cheap stuff will only look at the standard codes, and then tell you the fault code. That's it.

More expensive stuff knows more about different manufactures so might have the nonstandard codes in that Ford, GM or whoever use for their own diagnostic stuff.

[omegod]

Peugeot Planet is supposed to be quite good for diagnostics and activating things like cruise control on the ECU if your car hasn't got it. I thought it was free but I never found it anywhere when I was looking.

 

I tried getting that too without success, I did however get more viruses than a sailor visiting Hamburg after a very long voyage 

[spike60]

I have the use of a Snap on Solus Pro, left in my care by a friend who moved away. It has 2006 data so not worth that much these days, was around £3000 when new so I'm told.

[FakeConcern]

I have just bought Lexia for Citroen from someone on the C4 Owners forum & now got an old laptop with XP from someone at work. Not had a chance to install it yet.

[dieselnutjob]

I have the following:-

 

An old Bosch KTS500

Peugeot Planet

Citroen Lexia

Rover T4

Landrover T4

An old Vag-com (pre canbus)

Avon diagnostics

Lynx diagnostic for Defender

 

I also sell a Rover / MG tool and we are starting to cover more Landrover stuff too (TD5, 300TDI auto and BMW engined P38 diesel) plus a lot of Freelander stuff.  See http://www.pscan.eu for more details.

[Stanky]

Just a suggestion, but is it possible to have a pinned thread for members who are willing to offer diagnostic tool scans in exchange for beer tokens with a map, even if it just approximate?

 

A VW forum I belonged to many years ago had this, with members who would offer scanning for a small charge or free (i'm acutely aware how much a decent scanning setup costs to buy and maintain) and there was a map so you could send a PM to a local member with a VAG-COM and have your car scanned/fault codes cleared.

 

Just a suggestion - was there not a member map thread around somewhere which could possibly be pinned and those willing to offer up services annotated? Mods? might this work?

[sierraman]

You see VAGCOM on eBay a lot but does it allow you to put the handbrake into service mode on a Passat?

[TRW]

Just a suggestion, but is it possible to have a pinned thread for members who are willing to offer diagnostic tool scans in exchange for beer tokens with a map, even if it just approximate?

 

 

I thought this idea was covered by the tool thread on here a few months ago?

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/21410-autoshite-tool-borrow/

[Stanky]

Good work, I thought I'd seen something similar. Mods, could we maybe make it a sticky post as it seems to have slipped down to page eleventeen and might not be found?