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Amazon has many obd-II scanners -- from 7 bucks! CLICK ME for obd-II scanners at Amazon

A friend has the BAFX scanner which sends the data to any Android smartphone via Bluetooth. It costs 14 bucks and works great according to him. It lets you clear trouble codes, turn of the "check engine" light -- all with just a little poking & stroking your Android's screen as you sit comfortably in a car seat. Also, it doesn't just give you a numerical fault code, it tells you in English what the code means. BAFX link at Amazon I see this is the number one scanner in Amazon sales -- great reviews too. I have one on my Chrismas list.

Anyway, for 7 bucks (wired version) to 14 bucks (wireless Android Bluetooth version, buying one of these scanners isn't hard to justify even if you can do only minor repairs yourself. Heck, even if you do NOT do your own repairs, having such a scanner could keep you from getting ripped off.

John

Looks like Walt and I were posting similar things at the same time.

That wireless Bluetooth ODB-II by BAFX (or another company perhaps) route is pretty slick and the Torque Pro app from the Google Play store is 4 bucks, bringing the grand total to 18 bucks.

Amazingly cheap, IMNSHO.

John

The Check Engine light is a result of democraps and their tree hugging bullshit. Totally worthless light.

Yes.

Great minds think alike?

Yes, I have the BAFX bluetooth reader and Torque Pro, but I bought mine a couple years ago and I think the prices were higher. At $18 for the reader and the program everyone should have one of these, even if you're not a mechanic. Then instead of going into the dealer with the engine light on not knowing what is wrong and having your muffler bearings and blinker fluid replaced - again, you can say "My engine light is on, the trouble code is "xxxx" and I need a new o2 sensor." It's always better to be an informed customer.

This thread is funny by some standards !! The other day when this old fellow was cussing all the new electronics on these newer %�+%^+= motors I reminded him that used to be tha 100,000 mile motor was getting lots of miles on it , nowadays that ain't chit for milage on one

I haven't had one lately, but son did. It was a transmission going away. His 05 Pintiac clears by unhooking the battery. Too bad that couldn't fix the tranny. Old F150 lit up with bad plugs (Ford plugs are another thread). New ones turned it off. I also have had "bad" gas do the deed.

One EMP, and all our stuff will quit unless it is a 52 Hudson. So far my legs still work with only a little complaint from the back.

this....yeah the damn thing is a lil touchy but it also lets you know about certain problems before they snowball and get REALLY expensive to fix.....

Back when i owned a dodge pu.i bought a scanner to find out what was the matter.

Having sold the truck i leave it at my bud's auto parts store,so he can use it on folks stuff when they come in.
Don't recall how much it cost but it has made him a lot of money.

I picked up an Actron scanner from Sears a few years back. If the CEL comes on at least I can identify the problem myself and avoid getting reamed at the dealer or auto parts store.

Another good resource is ALLDATAdiy.com . For a few bucks you get online access to the service manuals for your vehicle.

The Manufacturers could care less about the repair shops regardless whether they are dealers or independents. Why would they? How would they benefit? Their motivation is meeting EPA milage standards and cost of manufacturing. We take for granted much of the technology in vehicles today. That said be prepared to pay for it when your warranty expires or do it yourself.

Owning a scanner to pull codes will not enable you enough info to fix the problem. Sometimes you will guess right, but don't count on it for even a minute. A code identification will only get me in the ball park, period. That's only the very beginning, unless you depend upon lucky guessing. I'm not allowed to guess. Just because a code shows HO2 sensor (oxygen sensor problem), that by no means identifies the sensors as bad. There are circuit wiring, pcm, and other sensors that are all part of the system and need to be evaluated.

People make me laugh when they read codes and come to a split second decision as to the cause of the problem. It can take hours to just diagnose these systems today, forget about the actual repair.

Ken

Yes, as I recall we used to sell a lot of parts to guys out of our parts department with their own or a buddies scanners. We would warn them they were not returnable. Some would be back for part after part. Some got buy cheaper some didn't. Sometimes the car showed up at our shop after a few days. Of course always with the list of new parts that They had installed. We sold a lot of wiring harness connectors also. Seems thats an art getting them apart without breaking them. LOL. I just spent $2200 on my a/c so I know what its like to pay a big shop bill.

Sometimes the scanner pinpoints the problem exactly. Sometimes not. I am pretty experienced with motor vehicles and by using the scanner in conjunction with other resources I can usually find and fix the problem myself.

One time my truck just started dying while going down the road. CEL came on. Scan showed that problem was the speed sensor in the transmission. $20 part and about 10 min labor, problem solved.

Do you work at a dealer or something?

In ten thousand years archeologists will be slowly whisking away dust toward a strange orange glow. When they finally uncover it they will read "Check Engine".


I don't know if this works any more since my new Toyotas give a procedure for turning off the light in the owners manual, but, we used to just disconnect the battery for 1 minute and reconnect it. That usually reset the light.

As others have said, my T100 has 178,000+ and the "Check Engine" light greets me on startup and stays as my constant companion until I shut her down. I wouldn't know what to do without it.

Alan

The CIL comes on in my Taco when it's due for an oil change. I can deal with that.

Even if I knew the problem I don't have the tools, knowledge or desire to work in a cramped engine compartment for hours. For whatever the reason(s) our vehicles have become more complicated with time. They are far better than the vehicles of my youth, too.

I can't make myself believe that the factories designed these systems as a means to scam owners out of their money. If I were a dealer or parts house that had to constantly deal with a customer that was doing everything possible to keep from spending a dime with me I don't think I'd bend over backwards to keep him from wasting a dollar.

When my older brother came back from The Hague in '67 he was going to buy a new car. A two door Plymouth Belvedere. I asked him if he were getting a/c on it and he let me know right then he was not about to pay some auto company $400 for an air conditioner. I told him, to no avail, that he was making a mistake. He was an engineer that worked for Redstone Arsenal and you couldn't tell him anything.

Two years later he decided that he needed a station wagon so he went back to the Plymouth dealer in Huntsville to trade. The same salesman that sold him the Belvedere told him they were not the least bit interested in taking the Belvedere in on trade. When he asked them the reason they told him they couldn't sell a car without a/c. I snickered.

Another example of his all-knowing genius; he was showing me his property out in Lacey's Spring (even though I could see every square foot from the dining room table). He showed me his persimmon tree and pointed to a beautiful persimmon on the tree that was a deep orange. Only problem was the persimmon was slick and shiny. He remarked that there was a good one right there. I told him it was not ready. He argued that it was...just look at that color.

After being put in my place I told him to dig in and enjoy it. He plucked it off and popped it into his mouth and bit down....for about a second. I looked at him and said that I didn't have a college education like his but I did know enough to know you don't eat a persimmon that is not shriveled up like a prune.

He ain't changed a bit.

FWIW, the check light came on my wife's 2005 Chevy 5.3 and the truck would barely run by the time she made it 3 miles to home. It has been a while but I believe it was either a bad NOx sensor or bad O2 sensor.

Light can be as simple as a loose gas cap. Ask me I know, cost $75 at the shop to find that out. We do Auto zone freebie now, and then decide what's the next move.

Funny how we all approach things so very differently...

If it's computerized, I always wonder if it can be hacked...

Download firmware from manufacturer, find out code that reads the problem sensor, disable code, reset light.

Light off, didn't have to spend money on replacing a sensor and it will still alert you if a new problem comes along....