"Jason Bleazard" <dml@bleazard.net> wrote:
: Anyone ever used any of the various cheap code readers? Are they even worth
: the plastic they're made out of? There are a bunch of them on eBay for around
: $40 if you want to see what I'm looking at (go to eBay and search for "OBD II
: reader"). I'm sure they're silly little toys compared to the high-end
: scanners, but all I want is something to replace the ignition key trick to
: retrieve codes. That doesn't seem to work any more on the 2001 :-(.
I have this one, from Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46030
I got it on sale for $30-35. I notice it is currently available
to ITC members for $35. Its very simple but does the job. You just
plug it in and it will spit out the PXXXX style codes, one at a time.
After the codes are finished displaying, you can unplug the reader,
or if you leave it plugged in, it will automatically clear the codes.
I have a software based OBD-II code reader and scanner that runs
on my laptop, which obviously gives a heck of a lot more information,
but it only works on Chrysler vehicles. I threw this generic reader
onto an order one day because I figured it would be convenient to not
have to dig the laptop out and also the ability for it to work on
non-chrysler vehicles could come in handy. I can show it to you next
time you come down, or if I'm coming up sooner, I'll try to remember to
bring it along and give you a demo. :-) Its nothing fancy, you get
what you pay for, but if all you need is to pull the codes (or reset
them), this does the trick.
I have seen these code readers at parts stores and such also. I
doubt they will be cheaper than Harbor Freight/Ebay, but it might
be worth your while to swing into one to check it out.
For what its worth, I think just about any parts store will pull
your codes nowadays, and they will almost certainly be able to tell you
what they mean also. (Otherwise they can't sell you the parts to fix
the problem.) :-)
--
-Jon-
.- Jon Steiger --- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -.
| 67 Dodge Coronet, 70 Plymouth Barracuda, 76 Peugeot TSA |
| 78 Dodge B100, 90 Dodge Dakota Convertible, 92 Dodge Ram 4x4 |
| 96 Dodge Dakota, 96 Suzuki Intruder 1400, 96 Kolb FireFly |
| 99 Jeep Cherokee 4x4, 01 Dodge Ram 3500 CTD |
`--------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
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