what are the pros and cons (if any). AS prev posted I have some $$$ to spend and I am prob gonna get one but why? Just looking to reinforce my decision before I spend my money on something else!

 

It's just SO AWESOME!

 

^what he said.

Also its really helps when you are having problems with the truck and to track protential problems, that you didnt know was bad since there is no SES light. I had this happen with an injector problem, truck ran like crap but no SES. It was a bad injector, saw it on AE and immediatly fixed it boom fix. Also the ability to go and scan codes on any vechical. My .02 cents.

 

what they ^^^ said and you can monitor things too..if you get good with it.. you see a problem be for it is a problem ..self testing of injectors and reading sensors is a great tool..

 

It has it's pros and cons vs other "scan tools" however, I like it alot for its ability to gather tons of raw information. Much more than any scanner I've seen. Anything that can be monitored can be with AE. Large display, the graphing function is great for diagnostics. It also has a screen with very large numbers that you can see at a glance. I'm considering a tablet pc so it is a little easier to manage in the vehicle.

 

I like it for its ability to monitor data in real time, and even record it for later playback. It can give you a real good idea of what's going on with your engine. I don't regret for one moment my purchase of AE.

 

I agree with JT. As a matter of fact, I need to do some serious datalogging for later comparison sake for if/when I have a problem. If I do the right things, it ought to jump out at me.

 

does it let you mess with anything like tire size or recalibration of certain things,...... sorry for being so specific

 

No, it doesn't. Those paramaters are contained within the PCM. The only way to change those is with something like Jody's chip.

 

Not in our trucks to my knowledge. I could be wrong but for now I will say no. It is a scanner and data monitor. It is passive and does not program or alter programming, but it will initiate a buzz test among a few other commands that I am not prepared to do not having a problem. Someone else may chime in on that.

 

thanks guys just ordered from ITP, I dont think I will regret!

 

Alan told me that the speedo recal is going to be included in a near future update, perhaps by the end of this year. Also, I found that you can program transponder keys for our vehicles if you get the extended Ford package as an addon.

 

what is this and how do you do it???

 

Ron, some of the newer models keys have "transponder chips" in them. They are sometimes referred to as "chip keys". The plastic head is pretty large, and you can barely see some joints in the plastic on one of the corners where the chip was installed. They also typically have an offset hole where theya ttached to the key ring (the hole is not centered in the palstic key head).

Well, if you have two keys and need a third or fourth, you can actually purchase the keys online for much less than at Ford (Ford's $30 each versus online for $10-14 each), and isntructions are avilable to let you program the extra keys yourself.

IF, however, you only have ONE key and want to get a second, third, etc.... everyone will tell you that only the dealer can do the programming for a mere $75 in addition to the $30 per key price. Some local locksmiths cna also do the programming, but they are hard to find and charge almost as much as Ford does (only one here in Birmingham that I've been able to find, and he wants $65 to do the programming for me).

However, according to the AE website, if you purchase the full Ford package with AE, it includes the ability to program these transponder keys, and I assume (not verified yet with AE) that the programming they are talking about is the one that Ford wants the $75 to do since the instructions are readily available on the internet for you to do your own 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th keys (but, like I said, you have to already have TWO programmed transponder keys to do the extras yourself).

I assume also that the AE literature provides the instructions for how to do this programming, since it is listed as one of the product features.

How do I know? I only got one key with my 2003 Excursion, and am working through thse very issues myself right now. Purchasing AE has been something I have wanted to do for a while, and if I can get my old (read as 14 year old) computer to load up and get it upgraded to run Win98, then I will go that route and set up the old machine in the garage with a long connection cable and do my own keys. Otherwise, I'll probably have to get the local locksmith to do it for me, which I really don't want to pay for!!

 

thanks a lot Pete..i did not know that.it would be handy to program keys....can you keep us posted??