Handheld OBD2
Submitted: Thursday, Jan 24, 2013 at 15:24
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Tube-o-Glue
Has anyone used the cheap OBD2 handheld scan
tools that are available on ebay.
Are they suitable for use on earlier OBD1 vehicles. I see that some adapter cables are available for vehicles that dont have the 16 pin plugs but most of the listings are very vague as to whether you can use the OBD2 scan
tools if using an adapter cable on older vehicles. I hope to use it a 1998 and a 1996 Subaru outback.
Any replies appreciated thanks.
Pete
Reply By: dbish - Thursday, Jan 24, 2013 at 18:49
Thursday, Jan 24, 2013 at 18:49
I have one & it only works on 2006 Subaru, tried on earler & wont work works on BA falcon & later, BT50/ford courier. Thats the ones ive used it on at this stage.
AnswerID:
503303
Reply By: olcoolone - Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 11:59
Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 11:59
Unless you understand what your doing; a scan tool can be a waste of money and cheap on's IMO are not worth the money.
Scan
tools will in most cases will not tell you what is wrong and without knowledge they can cause a lot of headaches.
A scan tool is like a street directory, it will point you in the supposedly right direction but it will not tell you anything about the buildings on the street.
The best one to get is one that can read raw data and data log.
There is not one scan tool that's the best at everything.
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503350
Follow Up By: Tube-o-Glue - Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 12:33
Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 12:33
I have virtually decided that they would be a waste of money as by counting the MIL flashes I know the problem is in the oxygen sensor circuit but I was hoping that one of the scan
tools could narrow it down a bit as I don't want to buy a new sensor if it's not necessarally the actual sensor that faulty.
Pete
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Follow Up By: dbish - Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 21:04
Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 21:04
Some years ago Jaycar had a HEGO tester kit, I built one & used it at work for checking HEGO sensors. You knew straight away if the sensor was at fault or not.
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Reply By: olcoolone - Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 17:16
Friday, Jan 25, 2013 at 17:16
Not much can go wrong with O2 sensor circuits other then the sensor it's self.
Unless you can read the live data from the sensor or measure the voltage a scan tool will tell you nothing you don't already know.
As s rule of thumb a O2 sensor Is only good for about 100,000k.
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503381