OBD2 Reader

[Wendelspanswick]

Can anyone recommend a decent OBD2 reader, I've tried a couple of cheap eBay Bluetooth readers and the Torque app but the first reader didn't work at all and the second is really flaky and loses its connection all the time.

 

[wookie]

It might help if you say what car it's for, for example my missus has a Pug 306 so I got one of those Chinese knock off copies of the PP2000/Lexia3 kit for £45, okay it only does Citroen's and Peugeot's but that's fine for me and it means I can do most of what a dealer can do.

Can the basic OBD2 readers do actuator tests ? reprogram keys ? remap engine ecu's ? etc etc 'cos the Pug/Citroen kit I have can.

 

[skotl]

I bought a bluetooth unit that worked fine on *one* laptop running Windows XP and no other computers.

I got a code a couple of weeks back and got fed up trying to troubleshoot crappy free/cheap software and eventually splurged on OBD Auto Doctor

It's listed at £30 and £40 but a tip is that you can order in € or $ - I bought the $40 version, which worked out at £31.

You can get a trial version that will prove whether it works on your model of car, and with your model of OBD2 reader, before spending the shekels.

 

[ms08]

Not had any issues with cheapies - are you sure the pins in the socket are all ok - sometimes they can get pushed back and cause problems.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

It might help if you say what car it's for, for example my missus has a Pug 306 so I got one of those Chinese knock off copies of the PP2000/Lexia3 kit for £45, okay it only does Citroen's and Peugeot's but that's fine for me and it means I can do most of what a dealer can do.

Can the basic OBD2 readers do actuator tests ? reprogram keys ? remap engine ecu's ? etc etc 'cos the Pug/Citroen kit I have can.

Not had any issues with cheapies - are you sure the pins in the socket are all ok - sometimes they can get pushed back and cause problems.

It's for a 2006 Hyundai, just want to read and clear codes but the Torque app on 2 separate devices keeps losing its connection to the cheapy Bluetooth reader on both my wife's Hyundai and my 2010 Renault Trafic so I'm pretty sure it's the reader which is a pain as I've already sent one back!
Not bothered about whether it's Bluetooth or not, in fact I'm thinking that non Bluetooth might be better?

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I bought a bluetooth unit that worked fine on *one* laptop running Windows XP and no other computers.

I got a code a couple of weeks back and got fed up trying to troubleshoot crappy free/cheap software and eventually splurged on OBD Auto Doctor

It's listed at £30 and £40 but a tip is that you can order in € or $ - I bought the $40 version, which worked out at £31.

You can get a trial version that will prove whether it works on your model of car, and with your model of OBD2 reader, before spending the shekels.

What restrictions has the trial version got?
My problem seems to be the adaptor, I still need a reliable method to connect to the car's ECU.

 

[Johnseat]

If you just want to read and delete codes then the generic obd2 reader on ebay are great.
I paid less than £11 for mine with free delivery and it arrived within on Saturday when order Thursday night.
Look at this on eBay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182072216214

 

[skotl]

What restrictions has the trial version got?
My problem seems to be the adaptor, I still need a reliable method to connect to the car's ECU.

I meant to say that there is a totally free version, but one of the restrictions is that it won't reset codes.

You can download the trial or free and that at least will prove whether it connects. The differences between editions are here