Discussion
Any OBD reader will work with any OBD capable car for reading the standard engine fault codes. I bought a generic USB bridge device which I plug into my laptop, so I can run different software for each car I plug it into if I want to do anything complicated, or submit commands manually after I've looked the protocol up on the internet.
I think mine was £7 including delivery; something like that. I'd be tempted by a Bluetooth one for my phone if I was buying one now.
I think mine was £7 including delivery; something like that. I'd be tempted by a Bluetooth one for my phone if I was buying one now.
kambites said:
Any OBD reader will work with any OBD capable car for reading the standard engine fault codes. I bought a generic USB bridge device which I plug into my laptop, so I can run different software for each car I plug it into if I want to do anything complicated, or submit commands manually after I've looked the protocol up on the internet.
I think mine was £7 including delivery; something like that. I'd be tempted by a Bluetooth one for my phone if I was buying one now.
I would prefer to get a standard all in one rather than having to connect something to my laptop, find sometimes not all software works with MacsI think mine was £7 including delivery; something like that. I'd be tempted by a Bluetooth one for my phone if I was buying one now.
RZ1 said:
I would prefer to get a standard all in one rather than having to connect something to my laptop, find sometimes not all software works with Macs
In that case any stand-alone reader will read basic engine fault codes from any modern car. I think you're restricted to very expensive manufacturer specific things if you want more. Buy the cheapest you can find. I wouldn't spend more than 20 quid.
nottyash said:
Thats the type of thing, never realised they were soo cheap, wonder how much extra it will be to get one that can reset fault codes and airbags. The light on my E36 seems to pop on a few weeks after resetting it without fail. Got to the stage where i cant be bothered to keep paying my local guy £50 to reset it, however with the new MOT laws it might be worthwhile being able to do it myselfThis claims to be able to reset codes for £25:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D900-Universal-OBD2-EOBD...
It's very standardised, so anything that claims to reset standard fault codes should be able to do it. I don't know if airbags are standard OBD or manufacturer specific though.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D900-Universal-OBD2-EOBD...
It's very standardised, so anything that claims to reset standard fault codes should be able to do it. I don't know if airbags are standard OBD or manufacturer specific though.
RZ1 said:
nottyash said:
Thats the type of thing, never realised they were soo cheap, wonder how much extra it will be to get one that can reset fault codes and airbags. The light on my E36 seems to pop on a few weeks after resetting it without fail. Got to the stage where i cant be bothered to keep paying my local guy £50 to reset it, however with the new MOT laws it might be worthwhile being able to do it myself
Mine works on the VW, a MR2 mk 3 and a Jag X type .
I dont think it resets air bags though.
kambites said:
It might be cheaper to buy a cheap proper phone and an interface than a standalone unit that will do everything you want. 
That one you linked to looks ok but sounds very cheap, never realised they were that cheap, been getting ripped off now paying £50 a time to have the fault codes read on my cars and having the air bag light reset
The problem is that the air-bag isn't part of the standard eOBD spec (which is mostlyengine related) so to reset a BMW air-bag fault light you need to know the BMW specific command and/or have a means to enter it. With an interface to a generic device (like a phone or a laptop) you can submit commands manually as raw bit streams, so you can do anything if you're willing to do the research to work out how to. With the stand-alone units, you're limits to the functionality of the device you buy.
kambites said:
The problem is that the air-bag isn't part of the standard eOBD spec (which is mostlyengine related) so to reset a BMW air-bag fault light you need to know the BMW specific command and/or have a means to enter it. With an interface to a generic device (like a phone or a laptop) you can submit commands manually as raw bit streams, so you can do anything if you're willing to do the research to work out how to. With the stand-alone units, you're limits to the functionality of the device you buy.
Hmm ok fair enough, well have just seen this, looks a bit better, lots of options, but its VAG only, dont really want to get one for VAG and one for BMWhttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-VOLKSWAGEN-VAG-Code-R...
kambites said:
This claims to be able to reset codes for £25:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D900-Universal-OBD2-EOBD...
It's very standardised, so anything that claims to reset standard fault codes should be able to do it. I don't know if airbags are standard OBD or manufacturer specific though.
I have the 2011 version of this unit, works on my VW Golf Mk4 and Daewoo Lanos, havent tried it on anything else yet. It has BMW in the menu as an option so as long as its got an OBD port I guess it will work but probably not on anything recent.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D900-Universal-OBD2-EOBD...
It's very standardised, so anything that claims to reset standard fault codes should be able to do it. I don't know if airbags are standard OBD or manufacturer specific though.
I bought this one as it doesnt just show you the codes but also translates them so it tells you what the code means. It also shows live data (revs, sensor outputs etc) and will reset some codes (but not the service reminder on the golf grrr).
ive used that u480 listed on quite a few cars and its worked ok, airbag tools are manufacturer specific though and can get expensive. http://www.talktomycar.co.uk/
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