OBD scanner

[Channa]

try and find a used ex rac obd reader on e bay or similar bit more than generic it seems

Recent years there as been a demand from the trade that OBD readers become more universal SO a garage can diagnose a VW or a Vauxhall

Manufacturers in truth have been reluctant as it keeps customers captive ,part of the reason is since block exemption rules were scrapped they are trying other means to protect their income streams

Channa

 

[wildebus]

3 years to be precise and it was at a fiat main commercial dealership.

They had a computer diagnostic machine (in the corner covered in dust) and explained how it worked . I can't repeat his logic as he would get into trouble slagging off their equipment and charges.
No better than a reader you can buy cheaply is the safest thing I can quote.

Sounds like Fiat
I remember just around 30 years ago going to the Iveco Offices in Slough to do PMs (preventive maintenance) on the Mini-Computer they had at one place. Used to have a PM carried out on it every 6 months months to make sure all was ok. Only thing was ... it was never switched on inbetween times and it was not connected to anything! (wasn't covered in dust though - used to give the outside a wipe as part of the PM :lol-061

 

[wildebus]

try and find a used ex rac obd reader on e bay or similar bit more than generic it seems

Recent years there as been a demand from the trade that OBD readers become more universal SO a garage can diagnose a VW or a Vauxhall

Manufacturers in truth have been reluctant as it keeps customers captive ,part of the reason is since block exemption rules were scrapped they are trying other means to protect their income streams

Channa

Rules came into place that the OBD-II Port HAD to be standardised for ALL manufacturers so one reader could read any make as far as the general areas were concerned. The Makers had no choice but to comply.
Dates for the EU were 2000 for Petrol and 2003 (or 2004 maybe?) for Diesel. Most cars had these in place before those dates and the US had the rules many years before.

 

[Channa]

I came across this talking of Volkswagens

CHanna
YouTube

 

[wildebus]

Talking of VWs, this may be of passing interest ...
This is a video I did of running VCDS on my T5 doing a full instrument check. This is the kind of thing that you could run prior to buying a vehicle to check no lights have been 'removed' to hide faults. The same s/w can be used to check the ABS at each wheel and report back the function. It is another tool in 'buyers kit', just as useful as an HPI check or an AA report

[video=youtube_share;EXKHtrMWXIE]https://youtu.be/EXKHtrMWXIE[/video]

 

[wildebus]

The scanners that garages use cost between £2000 and £3000. They are sold to garages on the basis that they can charge £50 to £75 each time they use them. This is nonsense. The four post lift costs far more than that, but doesn't incur a per-use fee.

My garage takes the view that the scanner is just another workshop tool, and the cost of their tools is already built into their per-hour rate. And that's why I use them, instead of some scammy place that looks for excuses to charge a bit more.

Having said that, I do have a Mercedes-specific scanner that cost a bit over £100, which does almost as much as the garage's one, as well as a generic OBDB scanner that was less than £20 but only manages to reach a couple of the ECUs and has very limited capabilities.

I wonder how much the Mercedes Scanner would read on my VW LT? The VW specific one only deals with a limited bit on it due, I imagine, to its MB roots (and the LT does have the MB port as well, not the usual one found on VWs)