OBDII Scanners

@jbolt,

If you were next door I just hand you the ones I have to "test drive".

I have a couple old ones built around the original ELM parts (ELM 320, ELM323, and ELM 327) ....so old they require a PC serial port!
Then in 2015 or so, I got the OBDLink MX Wi-Fi.
More recently I got the OBDLink MX+ that supports bluetooth.

Most of my needs have been reading simple trouble codes (cylinder misfire, evap leaks, etc.) on various vehicles.
I know I have seen oxygen sensor voltages, and I believe some others.

I do have a couple Subarus in the driveway (my son's 2011 Impreza and my wife's 2015 Forester).
So, if you have some particular sensor data in mind, I can try to see if it's available.
Of course it may depend on the software as well as the hardware.
Also, I'd need a couple days turn-around time for that.....

Brian
 
The first questions you must answer fall into two categories:

Do you want a scanner or do you want a code reader. A code reader does just that. It reads the codes. You then come up with a definition, replace the part mentioned in the code which almost never fixes the problem, then rinse and repeat. A scanner will give you data. What the computer is seeing. In better cases, it allows bi-directional control and access to the adaption tables.

Do you want an OBD2 device, or one capable of all Subaru functions? OBD2 is exactly that, the generalized specifications put out by the feds for emmisions monitor. The MIL, the Check Engine Light, is an OBD2 device. ONLY. If the computer detects a problem that will affect emmisions, it is required to turn on the light. And only if the problem will affect emmisions.

If you want an OBD2 code reader. Any $20 device will do. It's when you want a real full featured scanner the things get deep. I am partial to the Launch X431 scanner series. I have several. The high end scanner Harbor Freight *used* to sell, the Zurich Pro, was a rebadged Launch. Autel is another popular one that I am less familar with.
 
MikeWi said:
I've got a blue-tooth dongle that sits in the OBDII port all the time. I then use a phone app called Torque to read real-time sensor values, and read codes. It's pretty handy, especially since it can graph sensor readings which is nice for things like O2 sensors.
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This is exactly what I do too. I paid about $20 for the good ODBII bluetooth dongle that lets me see the balance rates on my Duramax injectors. Torque is the app that I use too. Torque allows you to load PID sets for your specific vehicle family which is a really nice feature.
 
MikeInOr said:
This is exactly what I do too. I paid about $20 for the good ODBII bluetooth dongle that lets me see the balance rates on my Duramax injectors. Torque is the app that I use too. Torque allows you to load PID sets for your specific vehicle family which is a really nice feature.
Click to expand...
This is a well rated OBDII dongle that will read the balance rates on my Duramax injectors where many of the other dongles (that I tried) will not:

$20.55 is really cheap for a good scanner. I forget how much the Torque app costs but it was quite reasonable. If you are an iPhone user you will need to get a WiFi dongle instead of a BlueTooth dongle (I believe). I am not an iPhone guy so I don't have any experience with them and OBDII dongles.
 
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