Car has thrown a wobbly - EPC light on - so of course I consulted the internet. I read suggestions that I should use an ODB-II device to diagnose the fault.
If I tell you that my first thought was of the Wu-Tang rapper, that may give you an inkling of the level of my automotive knowledge.
Is it worth my buying one of these things, bearing in mind that the last time I changed a car bulb was on our Volvo 340, and I certainly won’t be getting my lily-white hands grubby on the Tiguan?
TIA
Yes. Indispensable.
Pourquoi, mon vieux?
Personally, I’d go see my local garagiste and pay to have it scanned.
Chances are he has a scanner with all the bells and whistles which will tell you a lot more than an entry level hobbyist version.
Personally, I’d go see my local garagiste and pay to have it scanned.
Yes me too
Our DS3 sometimes has a hissy fit during hot weather like we’re having now, so far the modern Audi is fine! See what happens tomorrow morning when cooler if not go to a garage
Had to switch off a couple of fault lamps for BIL last week with OBD2 scanner and some, not all fault correction.
I have one - an OBDLink LX and it has been somewhat useful for basic stuff. I suspect that the software you use with it has as much of an impact on how useful it is as the individual OBD dongle itself.
What’s the car? A generic ODB device doesn’t necessarily read all codes for all cars. Further, even your local garagiste, with maybe a more expensive one, may not be able to either. Your Volvo for instance. Volvo dealers will have their own device/software (called VIDA) to access what other readers can’t. Other manufacturers do similar.
Also, even if you can read the codes - whatcha gonna do about it? They’re undoubtedly cool gadget gizmos but in the hands of a non-mechanic it’s maybe useful info only.
If you’re not mechanically minded then let the garagiste do the diagnostics.The codes are only part of the puzzle, and sometimes misleading or even wrong - sensors can fail and give false readings.
Useful tools to have and can point you in the right direction (and can cancel some spurious codes).
Yes like Toyota and their techstream, fortunately I have a copy and it allowed me to fix a keyless door operation problem.
Yes and systems can fail and the main stealers pfaff around replacing a perfectly good sensor for a new sensor and claim the fault has gone (they clear it) then it re occurs a day later. Kerr ching. €€€€
I’m taking it to our local man. So far he’s been very reasonable.
I have one for my aging Subaru and it has proved indispensable. It was not cheap but this one can diagnose and reset faults and do other stuff I’m not interested in. The unit is specifically for Japanese cars and the software was downloaded to suit the VIN of the vehicle
They won’t solve any problems on their own, but they can provide evidence that will let you decide where the problem lies and allow you to formulate a solution.
I have a hand-held unit that has helped me fix faults on various cars. It connects to the car and a series of screens give codes relating to various aspects of the vehicle’s behaviour which you can then decipher using tables -either hard copy or found on the web.
If I were to buy again, I’d get one that works (via Bluetooth) in conjunction with a smartphone to provide plain English explanations of what’s going on.
The garagiste blamed it on les bougies, and replaced all of them for me today.
Very pleased.
New word, no idea of the meaning
Nor had I (of course!).
Spark plugs.