To answer some of what I'm reading here, the scan gauge/tool situation has grown to what can be called a "craze". There are dozens of apps for portable devices, and Bluetooth OBDII adapters are being cloned in China to meet the demand globally.

The Chinese OBDII adapters are sub-par with little or no quality control, so buying one of these is rolling the dice with no support from the manufacturer or the seller. I have an OBDLink MX that costs quite a bit more than the Asian variety, but there is customer support, quality control, and a warranty.

Apps are all over the quality map, but there are some heavy-hitters with support. Torque Pro is by far the favorite among any automotive enthusiast, but it doesn't come in Apple flavor. iOS has Dash Command with plenty of power, but adding sensors not on the default list is cumbersome. Car Gauge Pro is the most powerful portable app, with bi-directional control like AE, NGS, and a few others - but it's a very clumsy app, with no safeguards in place. It's more of a "What's this do? Oh crap." affair.

iOS has one other serious drawback: It won't link to a BT OBDII adapter - you are committed to buying a OBDII WiFi adapter to use that as a scan gauge/tool. OBDLink MX WiFi is not reputed to have the same reliability as the BT adapter, but I haven't tried one yet - so I can't speak to the validity of the tales of woe.

Many adapters of any type have problems when not configured for optimal connection to a given vehicle. Torque Pro has settings in each vehicle profile to configure the communications for optimal communication. I use TP on my 2000 7.3L Superduty, then switch vehicles and select the profile for my 2007 Gen II Prius with a whole different protocol embedded in the settings.

Wanna pi55 off the whole world? Have a Prius and a diesel Superduty in the same driveway.

 

I've had a Prius and a diesel Super Duty in the same driveway for over a decade. But I'm quite certain that isn't the real reason why the whole world is pi55ed off at me.

 

When you think about it. most new cars have plenty of brains and interactive screens already in the car itself that could do a lot of this and come with the car. It's too bad the situation is the way it is with the OEM's.

 

Duplicate post...

 

I took Stingy to a 4X4 show and got plenty of blank stares. Once I started talking specifics about the 7.3L, the conversation was engaging and all was forgiven. It's like a foreigner showing up, but is fluent in the native language with all the idioms. A little Dodge bashing (on the sly) goes a long way as well.

 

Now take Stinky to an Eco Fair in Portland and see how "forgiven" you get.

 

This is a interesting article.

Automakers to gearheads: Stop repairing cars

 

I have a few code readers but what I want to know is if I buy one of these New Generation Star units, is that what i need to get Transmission codes or any codes other than Engine/Emission that I don't even know exist?

 

The NGS, coupled with the appropriate version software PCMCIA card, is capable of reading all available, possible, and potential transmission codes for your 1999 Ford.

 

Thank you. Since I know nothing about the NGS, Can you tell me exactly which cards I would want to have for my truck? Is there any NGS training material available that you know of?

 

You need a red card and a green card. You don't need any training... the Ford Service Manual, in particular the PCED, goes through each operation step by step on an as needed basis according to the issue you are using the NGS to diagnose. Back in 1998 and 1999, when the Ford 1999 Super Duty factory Service Manuals were written, the NGS was the defacto Ford factory scantool in dealerships, so the service manuals were authored presuming access to that particular tool, which Ford wrote the software for.


Around 2000, Ford was flirting with a new diagnostic system called WDS, but that system only lasted for about 5 years, whereas the NGS lasted 25 years. Now, Ford uses IDS, but that is irrelevant for our purposes.

 

Thanks so much. Now I know what to look for and I'm on the Hunt.

 

Ok, I have a NGS on the way. It has the Red and Green Cards. The Red (diagnostic) card is for 1984-2001 which I assume is ok for my 1999 F250.

Sure to have questions once received.

 

That didn't take you very long. Just two days from determination to done deal?

Heck, it took me a dozen years to get my NGS from the time I knew I wanted/needed one to the time I actually had one of my very own. Of course I had to wait for the price to come down from the original $4,000.00, but at least in the meantime my local Ford service manager was kind enough to lend me one of the dealership's NGS tools for a week when I needed it, which was really only one time.

 

Got it and it seems to work. Ran the KOER test. Didn't know to press Brake or cycle Overdrive during test. Got codes P1000, P1703, P1780. Diagnostic card is 1999-2004 even though it is marked differently. Didn't try the Service card.