Hi All,
I was just looking through the Harbor Freight catalog I got today and saw a "Universal Code Reader" for sale for get this... $39.99! I am considering getting one to use on my truck but wonder if it actually would work? It says it will work on all vehicles with the OBDII connector. Does anyone here have one or know someone who does? If not maybe I'll be the guinie pig and try it out to report back.
Thanks!
-Steve

 

If you end up being a guinea pig on this let us know how it works
One day I hope to buy a Palm Pilot and then get a kit from www.diagtek.com to use it as a scanner. It reads codes, you can use it to monitor live data etc. It's $250 over and above the cost of the Palm Pilot though

 

After doing some looking around online I learned a few things about OBDII and scanners. I see that the really cheap code scanners only seem to pull the "generic OBDII codes". These are the codes that start with P0. There are also manufacture specific codes that vehicles will send to a scanner that start with P1 and then the 3 digit number. I'm pretty sure that the $39.99 one will not do the manufacture specific codes. I DID find one online for $139 that DOES pull both P0 and P1 codes.
Now for a question... in your experience how often is the code pulled that is a P1 code? I know when my COP went on the truck it gave a code of P0302 that was "cylinder 2 misfire". Maybe someone like Racerguy who does this for a living can answer my question about P1 and P0 codes and what may be a P1 code that will not come up as anything else. If most codes are P0 codes I'll get this thing and try it out.
Thanks,
Steve

 

P1*** codes are common too. They are more engine running codes than engine off. There are P1 codes for most things including transmission problems, A/C etc.
A scanner that does B and C codes might come in handy sometimes too. B codes are for body...power windows, GEM etc., C codes are for chassis such as ABS problems.

 

Thanks Racerguy! I knew you could and would answer my question. After reading your post I think I might just save some pennies and get a scanner that does both P0 and P1 codes. I understand that the B and C codes would be nice to have but I think those scanners would be cost prohibitive for me (correct me if I'm wrong). I really don't want to spend over $150. I was looking at the Equus and AutoXRay mostly. They seem to be similar in price and function. The nice thing about the AutoXRay is that you can upgrade it by downloading software (for additional cost). They both seem to be easy to use.
Thanks,
Steve

 

I really dont know anything about any of the scanners out there other than the Ford issued ones I use at work. I think that any scanner would be better than no scanner though