Advice on Buying an OBD II Reader
 

As title states, I'm looking to purchase an OBD II reader. New, so please don't flogg yours here.

I want one that is good bang for the money.

I have a stupid 2002 Mazda MPV (wife's car), so it needs to read codes from that. I have a Scangauge (stupid POS) that reads OBD II codes from just about any car, but it does not read codes off the Mazda. I borrowed an old school reader from a friend, but I'm not into borrowing stuff from others.

Anyway, I would like one that is capable of live stream data. I'm guessing they're out of my price range, which is around 200 bucks.

I see Lordco and CT selling the Innova/Equus brand. Are they any good?

napa sells one by a company called OTC, it seems to work pretty well. we have that one at the shop i work at as a back up in case our snap-on one fails. my boss said he got it on sale and it was "cheap" so that's what i'm going by. and once you get your scanner, if the code is P0171 (i think?) "system too lean" or something then it's usually the PCV hose at the back of the manifold that is leaking! it's very common on those cars. good luck!

OTC makes a lot of specialty tools for many manufacturers... good company... the INNOVA stuff works, but doesn't give live data until you get to the $200+ models...

at that point, you're better off buying a used pro unit...

I came across an awesome deal on a brand new Innova 3120. Below cost. It doesn't have live streaming data, but it does everything else.

Thanks for the input, guys.

First you should figure out why a common scanner doesn't work on your MPV.

Handheld OBD2 scanner are a dim a dozen, you can get live stream data for under $200 on handheld ones easily.. however truly capable scanners are always hooked to a laptop. All handheld uses the same chips these days.

http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.713

The scanner I used was a Scangauge II. Primarily designed to display info as you drive. Also has capability to pull codes and clear them.

Anyway, I found a reader that more than suits my need. I got it for under 125 bucks, brand new, with warranty, no taxes or shipping. Came with software so you can download/upload data to PC. Has adapters for CAN OBDII and I.

Live streaming would have been nice, but...............


Thanks for chiming in. Always helpul for others to find out about this sort of stuff.

hi there, sorry to bring back an old post but where did you get your OBDII cable? there are so many in eBay but i'm hesitant and i want to deal locally.

If you just need one, you can contact AMP and ask for a sample.. just remember the plastic connector and pins are 2 separate items.