Cost effective Diagnostic equipment
Discussion
Hi guys
Just wondering what some of you guys were doing in regards to diagnostic equipment?
I need a fairly comprehensive third party machine for my own use as a mobile mechanic, so I need OBD codes, live readings and programming/service functions for at the very least Engine/Trans/Airbag/ABS, but I am wary that this sort of equipment can easily run into the thousands and as primarily a main dealer bod, I'm not too clued up on 3rd party readers.
In my experience Snap On readers were crap - I wouldn't mind if something similar was available for around £500, but not several thousand pounds. I did use Bosch KTS for a while and was impressed, but I would prefer a fully integrated system for the sort of costs involved.
What's the deal with some of the re brands/copy units coming out of China? I ask as I do have a dodgy Mercedes STAR system I got from China for my own vehicles, and to be honest its been excellent, I'm not sure if the third party stuff is as good?
Any advice would greatly appreciated
Just wondering what some of you guys were doing in regards to diagnostic equipment?
I need a fairly comprehensive third party machine for my own use as a mobile mechanic, so I need OBD codes, live readings and programming/service functions for at the very least Engine/Trans/Airbag/ABS, but I am wary that this sort of equipment can easily run into the thousands and as primarily a main dealer bod, I'm not too clued up on 3rd party readers.
In my experience Snap On readers were crap - I wouldn't mind if something similar was available for around £500, but not several thousand pounds. I did use Bosch KTS for a while and was impressed, but I would prefer a fully integrated system for the sort of costs involved.
What's the deal with some of the re brands/copy units coming out of China? I ask as I do have a dodgy Mercedes STAR system I got from China for my own vehicles, and to be honest its been excellent, I'm not sure if the third party stuff is as good?
Any advice would greatly appreciated
Edited by 279 on Wednesday 19th April 13:04
I bought a Delphi DS150E from AliExpress, cheap chinese knock-off as you say. It seems to work pretty well, been quite reliable. I think it has all the features you want. My local indy has a box that looks exactly the same as mine, but he ran the "Wow" software against my car, which had loads of advanced features and picked up different fault codes (with the same module) on my broken accord with a permanent VSA light.
A word of warning though, the software is obviously hacked and as such is FULL of viruses and malware etc. The instructions even tell you to turn off your AV scanner before installing
I got an old laptop which is totally isolated from my home network and keep that as my "crap" machine to install all this stuff on.
HTH
A word of warning though, the software is obviously hacked and as such is FULL of viruses and malware etc. The instructions even tell you to turn off your AV scanner before installing
I got an old laptop which is totally isolated from my home network and keep that as my "crap" machine to install all this stuff on.
HTH
eltax91 said:
I got an old laptop which is totally isolated from my home network and keep that as my "crap" machine to install all this stuff on.
Exactly the same as what I've done, old laptop isolated from network, currently running clone ds150, opcom for vauxhall and genuine vagcom for vw.I found the ds150 relatively good for European stuff but can be a little hit and miss for other brands, you can buy cloned kts machines with cracked software off Alibaba but it's still not that cheap and well...... it's cloned so quite how long it will last is anyone's guess.
279 said:
Thanks for the heads up on the Delphi clones - They look very good considering the price. What were the missing features and compatibility issues you guys found with your units?
On my Accord, it wouldn't let me individually test the abs solenoids like my Indy could, which with the code it threw, if I didn't have the Indy kit, would have seen me sending the abs ecu away for a refurb as that is a very common issue with these cars. 279 said:
Thanks for the heads up on the Delphi clones - They look very good considering the price. What were the missing features and compatibility issues you guys found with your units?
some of the more niche brands have very little coverage Chrysler/dodge/jeep being one, other then simple basic obd functionality. Covers European stuff very well I've used it for merc,jag,vw. You'll need a laptop with a windows higher than xp to run the 2014 onward software to.Thanks for the responses guys.
In the end, I've just won an allegedly OEM 2nd hand Autel DS708 for £255 from eBay as it looks like the Autel may have slightly better functionality and compatibility than the Delphi clone (from the limited info I could find on it).
I definitely think I'll pick up one of the Delphi clones as well for a bit of a comparison.
In the end, I've just won an allegedly OEM 2nd hand Autel DS708 for £255 from eBay as it looks like the Autel may have slightly better functionality and compatibility than the Delphi clone (from the limited info I could find on it).
I definitely think I'll pick up one of the Delphi clones as well for a bit of a comparison.
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