Following on from my other broken car thread, I now need an OBD code reader.

I want one that can read codes from a number of makes of cars, as I now have a replacement Astra (don’t laugh!), need to look into the Honda problem, and probably help a few mates out reading their car faults.

One that would be able to reset the dash lights too.

Seem to be one or two on Ebay, but anyone have experience of good or bad ones?

TIA

I have 2 one orange LCD one with a lead that gives codes and resets (tenner off ebay or there abouts) the other is a bluetooth plugin that works with the phone. the should both be able to do the same cars however one works with some and the other works with some some cars both can work. there are only about 3 or 4 systems VAG group have their own and there are a couple of others. I think Honda and Vhall use the same system so get one that does them and see if it works

The way I understand it is that all recent cars can use obd readers but this doesn’t necessarily give you a whole lot of detail. Car manufacturers also have their own systems (think gm is tech2) which can give much more detail on what is wrong. I think these kind of readers are much more expensive.

A cheap ELM scanner will do the job. Roughly.

A bit more cash (add a zero) will get you an OBDLink or similar

To get something really good you generally need to look at something of professional quality like a Snap-On or Sykes Pickavant. Add another zero again. Plus a bit more cash for the specific reader keys.

There are cheaper solutions but these tend to be specific solutions for specific makes (like the modified scanners that you can use to reprogram Fords).

And resetting lights is no good if you can’t fix the underlying fault AND perform reprogramming duties if required (for example new sensors need to be programmed in).

I’d go with the cheapo to be honest.

Comparing my generic ELM with my Ford-specific reader and software, I’d say get yourself to an owners’ group for each car and get the best recommendations. I think it’s often going to make more sense to get 2 specific readers that work well rather than 1 that reads 2 cars less well.

I have a cheapo ELM Bluetooth one off eBay.

Works okay, let me reset a fault light (for a fault that had been fixed). There is some quite good PC software that has configs for various cars. Can’t remember what it is called but will have a look tomorrow if no one else knows it.

I got one of these of EBay a couple of weeks ago.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172257497933

It pretty good, scanned the car, said there were manufacturer specific codes, asked me to pick the car maker from a big list on screen, then gave the correct fault code with detailed info.

These obd readers work on most makes and models for engine codes and light resets. If you want to access airbags gearbox abs or other systems you’d need a more expensive genuine tool. Or a Chinese fake of the delphi or similar laptop based system.

something like this