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To: Raven6

You can get a cheap ODB 2 scanner for about 24 bucks on Amazon. I have it and it works fine.

https://www.amazon.com/ANCEL-AD310-Enhanced-Universal-Diagnostic/dp/B01G5EA74I/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=W6O21XS9345Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SJ8TrjzI-0o4CS8CVcoInO6ZJDWdAAImreh0tvN15DCIclcJUhkesOhFZJ1OAmu5cyERezWEJYiKy4i1ewmaQvrIk9HzTsiVj0Oh5xFMIXNVxPwduRZ5K1tjLYvmIxDPPPo4yWQxb82pwH1guqYBHmBADoC3ZK1qV4w7tS5R4hJ8e6iHkFamUT5csmvDuwNuoRt8mzunQrW_2uVYjnZ2PUcAlddcHokejIqiqmAr8vItGhQvePPn5jvbUyjIRdGzS-g5z8c-7J4IZlrPzVwxnWiawbmv4O09tOtoHyQOjss.MfSXdsLFxGx9giJjQLu6RxOYDwFmgN30OhftbfzwkHQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=odb2+scanner&qid=1777657562&sprefix=Odb%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-4-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1


119 posted on 05/01/2026 10:47:36 AM PDT by sloanrb
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To: sloanrb
You can get a cheap ODB 2 scanner...


Oh, I've got one. A nice Actron unit to be exact. The problem with most of what is available to the public, when it comes to OBDII readers, is that it is still limited in scope regarding just how much information it will decode. The one I have will do a lot, but the systems that are used in dealerships go to a whole other level, and require manufacturer proprietary information software to track down the more difficult to find problems... and I believe that to be by design. OBDII was supposed to be an industry wide agreed upon diagnostic software - and it is up to a point. But all manufacturers held back just a bit of proprietary information so that owners would have to still bring their vehicles in to the dealerships because the local mom & pop automotive repair shop couldn't locate the problem, even with their expensive "professional grade" diagnostic equipment from Snap-On Tools, etc., etc. Dealerships guard that proprietary software like it was gold, because it makes them a lot of money. John Q. Shadetree Mechanic can't afford the expensive professional equipment from the tool manufacturers because he will never recoup his expenses. Even if he could afford to go buy it and not worry about the costs, he would still be without the manufacturer's software and thus be unable to make the repair without a lot of detective work (the old fashioned way), which takes time and cuts into his time and whatever profit he is trying to make.


Two of my vehicles (the '68 and the '83) have carburetors, coils, plugs, an alternator, and a battery. The am/fm radios in them are the most complicated electronics in the entire vehicle. They're easy to work on and are very dependable. Of the other two, one is OBD1, the other is OBDII. The OBD1 vehicle is much easier to work on than the OBDII.


I work on all of them, but the old, pre-computer vehicles just seem to have a whole lot fewer issues...

127 posted on 05/01/2026 1:31:18 PM PDT by Raven6 (Psalm 144:1 and Proverbs 22:3)
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