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I am thinking of looking at a 98 explorer tomorrow. One of the only issues withit is the 4x4 dash light is flashing. The owner says the 4x4 works just fine and the light has been on a while. Is this a potential major issue or as this is several hundered less than others I have looked at will it be a good excuse to buy a code reader with the money I will save?
Probably not a major issue, a shift motor or module at it's worst. Could be just poor connection at the module. Your run of the mill code readers won't read trans codes, FYI.
Think mine was a 3110. Amazon was cheapest anywhere. Be sure it's a combo OBD II/CAN.
I was just looking at the 3160. Seems to me this will do what I need. If I read it right it will even reset codes.
Am I missing much by not having OBD1. Anything older than 1990 I only own fords.(o.k. maybe a V.W. but that is way before computers)
Yes it will reset codes. You can get OBD I readers for a dime a dozen. Much more important to get the OBD II/CAN scanner. A word of caution, don't use the batteries that come with it for long. Mine wasn't a year old and I went to use it and found the batteries corroded all to pieces. Not happy!