Favorite YourTube OBD 2 Android Car scan

[Geek-9pm]

I like this one best of the many videos about Automotive scan stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJcUoX3CpSw
I case you don't know, OBD 2 is required on cars made after 1996 in the USA.

You do NOT ned to pay $100 and up for a scanner tool if you have an android smartphone.  This is how they can get the cost way down. If you want, you can buy better software and this may help  the company that developed these little gadgets.  The hardware is now being made in China.

You can buy a dongle for the OBD2 for under $10 from on-line vendors. The lowets cost ones do not have any lights. You must use a andooied blutooth smart phone to read the scans.

Watch the bideo. 

[DaveLembke]

I have a $49.99 model OBD II scanner that you can scan for codes erase codes as well as have it connected when driving down the road and watch all the sensors to make sure none of their values are out of whack. Only complaint I have is that the cord is only about 2 feet long. So you cant be a passenger watching the sensors and values, you have to make sure no traffic in front of you on a back road and look down at it quickly and back up on a straight away to watch values.

They make cheaper units that just clear codes and display codes such as this one for $13 http://www.tmart.com/U480-OBDII-EOBDII-Memo-Car-Diagnostic-Scanner_p133255.html?cc=USD&fixed_price=us_us&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3tj-5I6q1QIVFYGzCh0oXAsNEAQYBSABEgJyQ_D_BwE

I could have gone cheap on the scanner, but I really wanted to see real time sensor values so that I could see what was going on vs just a code and shot gunning the problem by it might be this or it might be that with parts that are non returnable. One example was O2 sensor on a car that has 2 of them... well which one is it. With my scanner I saw which one wasnt reporting. Crawled under car and sure enough broken wire, something snagged it and ripped wire out. So I knew to just buy that one vs roulette of one or other for $80 sensors.

Then came the fun of trying to get the old one out. Rusted in... Fortunately I have an acetylene torch to get it cherry red to get the threads to loosen on the broken O2 sensor so I could install the new one after everything cooled.   

When looking for a scanner, I almost bought one that connected to USB port of laptop with software to be able to set laptop on passenger seat or be a passenger and watch its performance, but I realized .... how often will I actually need this? I am not tuning my car for max performance and tricking anything out, so as long as check engine light is out all is good, so I went cheaper but still features to diagnose better with the $50 scanner.

Its nice that this that you shared works over bluetooth so that no cable length issue in the vehicle.

[Geek-9pm]

Thanks for sharing. Tris is all new to me. 

At the risk of being redundant...
Some cheap models from China are now Bluetooth and all the information is shown in an Android App on a smartphone. No Cords. No cables. No strings. No lightrs. No bottoms. Small enough that it can be left plugged in.

Image from f from Google images.

With this thing, you Use  a smart phone as the human interface devices cuts the cost down by a fact of fie to one. Some reviews claim that want is inside is basically all the same thing.

I have yet to receive it. I will report if it really does what they claim.

[DaveLembke]

I have yet to receive it. I will report if it really does what they claim.

Cool .... I have always been nervous around the OBD / OBD II connection as for its a direct port to the computer brain of the vehicle. And computer brains for automobiles are pricey to replace as my wife found out on her Cavalier 20 years ago it was $1080 for the metal box brain that fried. Years ago my one friend used a paperclip to check the codes in his car. He was lucky enough to jump the correct pins. http://codes.rennacs.com/Manual-info.php

Not sure I would keep it plugged in all the time.