Are these Code Reader Scanners any good?

I have the one you sent the picture of. I have used it many times on my Jeep and for a while i was in the console. It is ok, nothing like the machine they have at Christian brothers but it will let you have your codes and will reset them without having to disconnect the battery. I like that best. It seems like it was less than 100$ but it has been a couple of years maybe. It does have a site that you can send your information to and it will send you a printout with what the potential causes are. It cost's like 9.95 I think.

Firestone would charge me 75$ for the diagnosis and want 467$ to replace a sensor and "clean my fuel injection system"

Oh, don't think that you can just clear the codes and get your car inspected. They know that you have cleared the codes and you have to drive 50 miles before you can get it inspected again. I tried this on my Jeep, because I can't find an airbag spring even before they went broke. They inspected it with the airbag light anyway so I guess it doesn't matter?

I never go to Autozone, they are chuckleheads (the one by me is anyway). Some of the older guys at my O'rielly are very good. That is why I go there, or NAPA.

I could borrow one from the NAPA guys, but I just like having it. I like tools "they are shiney"!

 

Thanks for the detailed information. Glad to hear this $100 jobbie will be fine for me!

 

Scott, mine responded once. When I did it I wasn't expecting it. Havn't tried since. Mine is a 02 but looks like the 03 and up. I wonder why yours didn't do it. My light stays on. Looks neat when I am low on fuel and washer fluid and running the hi beams

 

Mine has the hemi and first year with drive-by-wire.

It did a full sweep of the dash, but gave a generic code. The hemi forum said this year needed the code reader.

 

Don't know what drive by wire is. I would think "Hemi" is just the motor and the difference would be more about the computor stuff. Course times have changed since I was in a shop.

 

Drive by wire is how the gas pedal controls engine. Not like our Mavericks with linkage

 

Drive by wire means no throttle cable.

Pressing the pedal activates the throttle only after several electronic signals have been processed and approved, and sent on to the intake.

So when one of those signals is bad or one of the many sensors goes out, you lose your throttle...I know this from personal experience. 3 times now.

 

HA My fav Fords have a real issue with sludge build up on the throttle blades that use Drive by wire BS.....so there is a new Flash for the computer to compensate for the sludge build up...........Also many of them have to be relearned if a battery goes bad or you unplug the throttle body like say in an instance where you have to pull the intake to change plugs!!!!!

 

back to the reason you want a scanner.....


No offense intended.......but unless you got a host of other high dollar tools to go along with a code scanner......you will likely rarely diag a problem yourself. Real scanners have scopes,show live data, and have test controls built in(figure on 2500 and up).... Besides that you will need a Power Probe, Test leads, A DVOM, and also be able to interpret all data and how it effects one system to the next, not to mention you need accurate diagnostic charts and wiring diagrams. Yes sometimes you get lucky when the code flags a certain sensor it may be that sensor but many times it is not......It aint easy anymore, or cheap or else everybody would be doing it!!!!

 

I had Auto Zone check out the fault code on a 85 S10...he told me the transfer case was bad. I told him it was a 2 wheel drive and didn't have a transfer case. He say "Well that's your problem then. I can order you one and it will be here next Wednesday."

 

http://drr.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/80760912/m/121103482


Some good reading an thoughts here,,,

 

Weird. lol Gotta love morons

Those old codes are easy to check...all you need is a paper clip and be able to count

 

In the past, I have taken it in to Dodge and they told me "code is XXXXX and that means PCV valve is shot", so I pay my $80, buy a pcv, and install it myself. Problem fixed.

I just want to skip the $80 to dodge, and the BS about "oh, and your headlight fluid is due to be replaced, we can do that while we are swapping the pcv for an extra $300."

 

they still took the time to diag it properly if they are good diag techs.....trust me.....I do not charge for a code scan but I do charge to correctly diag why the code was flagged in the first place!!!!


Also the dealere is used to seeing the same issues over and over so they can swag the diag.....that means super wild ass guess....lol but you know what io mean