Diagnostic

Where can I get myself a decent diagnostic unit...and which one do I need, I've heard OBD AND OBD II being thrown up in posts...but unsure...

I'm buying a 2001 Puma Black next week, with the ABS and TC lights on..

Thanks

OBD II is what you need iirc. However as to which are good I don't know.

Some cheapies are reputed to not be good at showing abs faults. I have a cheap one and I have an airbag light and its not showing any fault :?

Cheers pal...where can you buy them from...I hear ebay isn't the greatest place..

I got mine on ebay

I just got an F-Super 2 and Formidable software. Doesn't seem to want to show DTCs from any module. I had to get the multimeter out to track down a failed ABS sensor. - I don't know if I've fixed the fault yet.

I suspect you may need to spend a decent amount to get one that works.

quest63 said:

I got mine on ebay

Click to expand...

How much was it mate? Does it do the Job?

It was about £12 and like I said I have an airbag / pretensioner light but its not finding any codes

Oh ok, well I'll have a look, see what I can find.

quest63 said:

It was about £12 and like I said I have an airbag / pretensioner light but its not finding any codes

Click to expand...

I assume that you had reader which is connected to PC. Did you use what software to read the fault codes?

I have this chinese OBD II bluetooth reader: http://www.dx.com/p/obdii-bluetooth-car-diagnostic-cable-black-blue-orange-dc-12v-42825" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I've used it succesfully with Windows 7 laptop and Forscan software. I don't know about ABS fault lights but it showed succesfully fault code that my Puma was running lean. It also worked fine with Ford Cougar 2.5.

Actually no it was one of these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Diagnostic-Scanner-CAN-BUS-Fault-Code-Reader-OBD2-OBDII-EOBD-EOBDII-U480-/261028835379?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item3cc687f033" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Slight correction - mine picked up the the (unclearable) P1000 DTC this morning after I had the battery off yesterday. I think I may look at an ELM based unit though for engine diagnostics in the future.

Then you really should try ELM reader which works with PC. If you don't want to wait 2-4 weeks for a reader to ship from China, you can always buy one directly from UK. Like this for example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ELM327-OBDII-OBD2-V1-5-CAN-BUS-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Reader-Interface-Scanner-UK-/330988669254" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You can also use Forscan to view all kinds of data live from car, like air/fuel ratio, TPS voltage, RPM, speed, is engine misfiring etc.

Thanks Jil - I was looking at forscan this morning.

So Forscan is free and it would be the latest version 2.1.17 to download?

Yes, it is completely free. You really should try it out. Even though the website doesn't look most modern, the software really works fine.

Has anyone had any success with these with getting rid of abs and airbag lights?

Mine isn't showing any DTC for the ABS warning. I had to fault find the real way. I'll find out in the morning if I've fixed it. - requires a drive cycle to clear the fault warning. [edit] took it round the block and it's cleared the warning indicator. Haven't had chance to see if the P1000 has cleared, which it's supposed to do.

For software, if you have an android phone, Torque is an amazing app. You can even overlay graphs onto video recordings (good for track days) and it is an excellent scanning tool. It's less than £2. Just a shame my Puma doesn't like scanning tools but it has worked on every other car I've plugged it in to.