Anyone interested in a OBD-2 low cost scan tool interface, should check out ELM327 scan tools, available in USB corded models, or now wireless WiFi, or Bluetooth models, for about $25 in round numbers, depending on source, shipped. Some are China knock offs, so be careful where you order. I used Amazon to order from.

EDIT: 10/18/19 TCCA & FTE Ranger forum members have found Amazon dealer BAFX to be a helpful & stand-up / product back-up ELM seller for consideration.

These scan tools plug into the vehicles in cabin DLC = Data Link Connector, (under dash close to the steering wheel) & query the vehicles various computer / controllers, to scan for pending, or set trouble codes, in more than just the engine computer & display streaming / live sensor PID feeds if we wish, to our laptop, or smart phone (that's running a loaded diagnostic program of our choice), via a corded USB, or wireless WiFi, or Bluetooth connection.

I recently had an ABS light suddenly show up on my 99 Ranger that has 4WABS, so I first suspected the rear ABS speed sensor, as its a common problem part in Ranger ABS woes. After a trouble shooting test drive, monitoring the speed-o, cruise control & tranny shifting, all of which use the rear ABS speed sensor PID output to do their thing & All were working ok, No problems at all, caused me to move the rear ABS speed sensor Low down my suspect list. So I moved on to other trouble shooting, like pulling & cleaning both front wheel ABS speed sensors, inspect wiring, fuses, etc, but all that work led me to a trouble shooting dead end!!!!!

Having a garage scan the ABS computer/controller was going to be costly, so I began looking for alternatives.

Thus I researched on line & at the posted suggestions of Tech folks on the TCCA forum, I opted for an ELM scan tool. I opted for a LYL WiFi ELM327 scan tool off Amazon & using FORScan, a diagnostic freeware, tweaked for Fords & recommended by the TCCA forum Tech gurus. SO, using my laptop, I connected to the ELM plugged into the Rangers in cab DLC & via WiFi, was thus able to sit in a warm house & scan my 99 Rangers ABS & other computer / controllers, while it idled 40ft away in the driveway, to determine why my ABS light suddenly turned on.

Found two ABS codes, one in the ABS controller & later using the latest Dec 25th 2013, 2.1.13 version of FORScan, found another ABS code in the GEM controller, both indicating the rear ABS speed sensor belonged High up, not Low down on my suspect list, as the codes were indicating its circuit was either open, or shorted to ground!!!!
Also found 3 other codes for other things in other systems controllers, two of which were body codes I didn't know I had, because my Actron scan tool couldn't access more than the engine controller !!!!

Running FORScan, the ELM scan tool will scan 145 parameters just in the 99 Rangers engine computer alone & that doesn't include things accessible in the Tranny, GEM, ABS, SRS/Airbag, PATS, Body, etc, computer/controllers. So the ELM combined with the FORScan freeware that's tweaked for Fords, make it a powerful & Very good bang for our trouble shooting bucks!!!!
Right now using FORScan, I have a choice of up to 19 of the 145 monitored engine parameters, that can be displayed at once on the Dashboard window, in numerical live streaming data form, for comparison, or in Oscilloscope mode, displaying line drawing form, or in Table numerical form, & am told more mind blowing things are to come in FORScan!!!!!

After the weather warmed up I pulled & replaced the rear ABS speed sensor Sat & yup it was open circuit!!!! The new one measured 1.91K ohms across its winding contacts. How in the world things like the speed-o, cruise control & tranny shifting, that use the rear ABS speed sensors PID output to do their thing & All did so on the test drive without fault, with the rear ABS speed sensor winding open circuit, is beyond me, maybe they were using the Front Wheel ABS speed sensors? Anyway the ELM got me back on track trouble shooting & all is now well, the rear ABS speed sensor is replaced, the ABS trouble light is out & the Ranger is ready for its yearly State inspection!!!!

All this cost $28.50 for the WiFi ELM shipped, + $8.21 for the rear ABS speed sensor, with an online Advance Auto 40% discount code, so for $36.71 my ABS is put right & I have a powerful & nifty new scan tool, that can be used Wireless, with my laptop running FORScan diagnostic software, while I was in a warm house 40ft away as the vehicle idled in the driveway, or can be used with a WiFi, or Bluetooth smart phone display running the appropriate diagnostic software, to trouble shoot our vehicles remotely!!!! What's in your electronic tool box???!!!!

 

Going to have that put on my wish list!!

 

Interesting . I shall investigate . Anyone looking for scope gadgets , look at AES wave.com . Lots of cool stuff .

 

That looks intriguing pawpaw. I have a few questions:

The ELM327 unit just plugs into the OBDII port inside the cab, and then it shows up as one of available WiFi networks on your laptop?

The FORScan is separate software which utilizes the ELM327 to provide enhanced data feedback specifically for Ford vehicles?

 

Right, the ELM plugs into the OBD-2 under dash DLC & is self powered from the DLC. It's LED's will light up if its getting power, receiving & transmitting. Depending on the model we choose, we can have a corded USB, or cordless WiFi, or Bluetooth connection to our viewing device. In the case of the WiFi, we'd plug the ELM in & turn the ignition key to Run, but not start the engine. The ELM would begin to transmit WiFi for our WiFi laptop to see. We click on the WiFi signal bar to open it up to see how strong the ELM WiFi signal is, then click on it (it'll say something like OBD-2 WiFi) & when the computer connects it'll say "Connected". Then we load/enable the FORScan software & have it do an auto connect to the ELM & the software query's the ELM for its IP address, baud rate, etc & enters that into the software initiation log & we're off to the races!!!!

Then through a down loaded software, like FORScan, etc, on our viewing device/laptop/smart phone/etc, we use the software to have the ELM query the vehicles different computer / controllers to extract trouble code clues, or set up a dash board of live streaming sensor PID's, to monitor whatever things we're interested in viewing, that the ELM can find on the vehicles different computer / controllers.

For instance if we're interested in fuel trim, on the FORScan dash board window, we can set up short & long term fuel trim for one or both cyl banks, along with say both cyl bank upstream O2 sensors & maybe the MAF sensor & watch the numbers change as the engine runs. Or we can have the Oscilloscope window display all those PID's live streaming data points as line drawings, so we can compare & see how both cyl bank fuel trims match up over time. If we want to really get crazy, we could even add the fuel injectors squirt time to the data stream, etc, etc t!!!! All this just from the engine computer!!!!
With the ELM we also have access to the other vehicle system computers/controllers, so there is a Wealth of data points we can access & display, depending on the kind of problems we're having & data we want to monitor during our scan tool trouble shoot.

The set trouble codes would be a clue to which PID's we'd choose to have the dashboard display. Right now we have a total of 19 things that can be shown at once on the Dashboard, way more than would likely be needed to trouble shoot a fuel trim problem for instance.

On my ABS problem I found I could access the rear & both front wheel speed sensors PID output, so I could have viewed their changing PID's as I drove & it would have been easy to see which one wasn't working. I wouldn't have had to pull the sensors to inspect, clean & measure them with a multimeter, just sit in the seat & drive, or have a helper drive while I watch the screen data. Heck I didn't even have to be in the vehicle, just let them drive by the house & I could have monitored the speed sensors via WiFi from my laptop while sitting in my lazy boy as they passed by!!!! LOL

 

BUMP:
FORScan, A free ELM-327 diagnostic software program, specifically targeted at Ford family & Mazda vehicles & here is a link to what it currently supports, which is Way more than most scantools can read. It's still under development, with frequent updates, but here is a list of control modules it currently supports/reads & we are told more is to come. FORScan documentation v1.3.x SO, if our vehicles have any of these controllers, we can now have access to their PID's for trouble shooting & the software can have the ELM scan for trouble codes.
This software & the low cost ELM-327 scantool, is a trouble shooting must have, for our electronic tool box!!!!

 

PawPaw,

Thanks for the heads up on this software! Ordered my ELM327 from Amazon the other day (USB style). $13 w/shipping.

Downloaded the software, already found 4 nagging problems on my son's 99 Ranger including the rear speed sensor for the ABS system (that's been bothering me for a while!)

The capabilities of this software are great for being Freeware.

Thanks for the info!!!

 

OK, good feedback & to hear the scantool & software are working for you too. I also found a couple of codes in the GEM that I didn't know I had, that'll likely help me trouble shoot my power window woes. The ELM & FORScan are a really good bang for our electronic toolbox buck!!!!

The FORScan software is still in development, so to get the latest & greatest revision, we need to revisit their website from time to time to download the latest version that'll have tweaks, fixes & the latest available tests. The largest help to me was being able to access all of the Rangers controllers trouble codes, that my Actron CP9145 couldn't read. I haven't made full use of FORScans abilities yet. Hope they get a gasser power balance test put up soon. Let us know how your trouble shoot goes.

 

Good to know, especially as some other cheap scan tools don't work right on Ford trucks. They will pull codes just fine, but many lack the Ford Truck specific PIDs so they won't let you read certain sensors in realtime, and will report things like B1S1 as 0v and bank#1 and Bank#2 fuel trim as 100%. Better scan tools let you set up the vehicle specific PIDs. Vehicles that require the Truck Specific PIDs include, Ranger, Explorer, Aerostar, and obviously all the light duty trucks. I'm not sure about the Windstar, it could go either way. The Ford cars do not require the special PIDs, most cheap scan tools can read those values.

 

If you are looking for a little more functionality including PATS and flash programming, try FoCom software.
http://www.obdtester.com/focom
Lots more money at $379, but it is comparable to OEM Ford IDIS. Support is out of Czechoslovakia, but I have found them to be reliable and knowledgeable. Product was developed for the European market, but they promptly add North American models on request.

 

BUMP:

FORScan has opened a "Forum" yesterday, 6-19-14, so it might be interesting to follow & see how folks from all over are using it to trouble shoot their vehicles woes.

Also new versions/revisions of FORScan out for downloading & trial that sound interesting, so I'm gonna give the newer version a try on trouble shooting my 99 Rangers intermittent power windows problem. Here is the FORScan "What's New" page. What's new

 

Here is a link to the list of the 180 modules the ELM-327 scantool, running FORScan software gives us access to, depending on whats available on our model/year vehicle controllers. It's Way more than most aftermarket scantools. FORScan documentation v1.3.x

 

I'm glad I saw this. I might be able to use this with my desktop machine if it will transmit through the garage wall, but I assume I'll need some sort of wifi card on my desktop machine? My desktop is hardwired into my wireless router. Can I transmit / receive data from the ELM327 through my wireless router to my dekstop machine? The wireless router I have is whatever Frontier provided with their internet service. If I have to get another card, it's pretty cheap. Forgive my ignorance on this subject, I'm a bit behind the times with this stuff. Such is the problem with being born too early relative to all this new technology.

I now have access to an iPad and was looking for some kind of app that I could use to view live data while driving the car. Does anyone have a recommendation for an app that runs on an iPad? From what I gather, the FORScan only works on windows machines.

I've read that hardwire connections are better due to the speed of the connection. Is this an issue with wifi or just bluetooth? I haven't found an OBDII to iPad cable. I can find OBDII to USB.

This is cool stuff.

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

I'm using WiFi through my laptop & wireless router to access my ELM with the vehicle 40 feet away with no problems.
The fact that your desk top is hard wired to the router shouldn't be a problem, hard wiring to my router was just another option I chose not to use with my laptop. You'd just access the ELM with your desktop through the router WiFi as long as the signal strength is high enough.
FORSCan says that WiFi data through put is faster than Bluetooth, so that might be an advantage for fast changing things we want to monitor. If we're just interested in looking at stored trouble codes, or looking at data in table form, speed wouldn't matter as much.
As I understand it, WiFi also transmits over greater distances. I can receive my neighbors WiFi router with a strong signal & he is about 300 ft away.

I've heard of some folks say they use "Torque" software on their phone or pad, but I know nothing about it at present, as FORScan on my laptop using WiFi ELM at present does all I need, but I can see where having info displayed on other viewing devices while on the road could be more convenient & interesting to have, as we could monitor things like tranny fluid temp, etc, etc while underway, without the bulk of a laptop as our viewing device.

 

Unfortunately, these ELM327 scantools are not all created equal.
For the one I bought, the wifi signal strength is only about three bars (out of five) while sitting in the vehicle. There's no way it will reach into the house, even at just twenty feet.