What's a fella got to pay for a semi-decent repair scanner?

I've relied on my little Scangauge for a long time, but it might be time for more. I think I want a proper diagnostic tool. I want real time outputs, I want to see the proprietary codes that the Scangauge can't see, I want diagnostic data. But I'm not a professional mechanic and I don't know exactly what data I want, and I see stuff ranging from $50 to thousands of dollars and I don't know what's right for me.

I've had the cheapo bluetooth dongles, but what about this one, will it last? https://www.amazon.com/BlueDriver-Bluetooth-Professional-iPhone-Android/dp/B00652G4TS/

I generally trust CNET reviews as much as anything out there, they say this is "the best dedicated scanner on a budget" - thoughts? https://www.amazon.com/INNOVA-CarScan-Pro-5210-RepairSolutions2/dp/B07Z46L5FG/

Tomsguide likes this for a budget scanner: https://www.newegg.com/p/0JZ-0119-00002?item=9SIBFASJ4H4473

Or do I need to be spending more than $150 to get a quality scanner?

I use BlueDriver and have been pretty impressed with it. It will give you great descriptions of the codes it pulls along with links to buy the correct sensors and parts that are common resolutions. I'm sure they get a piece of that amazon link pie but it's been pretty handy.

There's also no subscription bullshit with bluedriver

Herzog said:

I use BlueDriver and have been pretty impressed with it. It will give you great descriptions of the codes it pulls along with links to buy the correct sensors and parts that are common resolutions. I'm sure they get a piece of that amazon link pie but it's been pretty handy.

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That's good to hear. Will it output to a laptop or just a phone/tablet?

Kevin B. said:

That's good to hear. Will it output to a laptop or just a phone/tablet?

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I've not tried it with anything but my iphone. Now I wonder!

Amazon says just iThingy and Android. That wouldn't be a deal breaker, I've got a 10" Tab that would easier to use than the phone screen...

I have the usb - OBDII dongle and a sub to forscan for a couple more weeks if you want to try that. Windows

or you can get a free 2 month trial

I have the blue driver also, had it for 5ish yrs I think. Works great for my needs. You can create a report and email it to you along with links to parts for repair, gives great live output to for anything supported by the ecu. It is app based so if you can get the sdk to allow it to run on your laptop it may work fine. You wont reprogram anything but scan, clear codes and live data like fuel trim o2 sensor stuff.

In the next month or so I will be purchasing an Autel or xtool. These are Chinese tools but both brands appear to be very good. I know two automotive shops that use Autels as their “shop scan tool”.

I think the xtool is a little better value and the one I will likely purchase, but still researching. They both have a TON of different tools to choose from and lots of upgrade options. You can get on their websites and dial in the right one for you. Some require to be connected to internet to perform a scan. Watch out for those. They become useless when you’re out in the sticks, if you were to bring it.

They both require purchasing upgrades to the software as needed. Not really a subscription. If you never buy/ work on a car newer than 2023 you will never need the upgrade. Ten years from now if you buy a new car, you buy the current year software upgrade and it will then cover the past ten years so you are fully updated. These come with a few years of upgrades with the purchase. But upgrades are around $300 each time. The ones I’m considering are in the $1000-2000 range. These include items like key fob programming, tpms updates, and minor ecm programming like removing the seat belt programming to shift from park on GM vehicles. Then it’s a matter of picking screen and battery size and blue tooth vs cable.

One last thing. There is not a scan tool out there that has every feature. Many techs and shops own several scan tools and they have learned which one to use for a specific job or vehicle.

Forscan and a Bluetooth dongle for my 7.3. It’s the bees knees and costs next to nothing 😎.

Rot Box said:

Forscan and a Bluetooth dongle for my 7.3. It’s the bees knees and costs next to nothing 😎.

FORScan Home

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FORScan looks like it checks all the boxes. Which dongle are you using? I went through three or four of them before I bought the Scangauge...

I have this one. Welcome to use it first.

OBDLink EX FORScan OBD2 Adapter for Ford https://a.co/d/gRQuMTE

This is the one I have.. not Bluetooth like I said earlier for some reason lol

FORScan ELM327 OBD2 USB Adapter for Windows, Diagnostic Coding Tool with MS-CAN/HS-CAN Switch for Ford Lincoln Mazda Mercury Series Vehicles https://a.co/d/cWclrad

I just picked up the OBDLink and forscan! This will
Be a life saver to me as a double Ford owner!

SoopaHick said:

I just picked up the OBDLink and forscan! This will
Be a life saver to me as a double Ford owner!

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Yah, mine's pretty cool, I appreciate the recommendation. It hasn't solved the issue I bought it for but it told me which door sensor switch was buggy so that's pretty cool.

I’ve been fighting a no boost issue off and on for a while now on the little go cart. I’m still learning my Launch scan tool, but today I found out there’s a whole section for induction sensors and tests, at least for this car. I opened it up and found a waste gate solenoid open test. I selected it and engine speed and went for a drive while recording a data log. This is a screen shot of the results. It’s a bit easier to see in this layout but really is obvious when they are overlayed. These graphs cover about 45 seconds of data log.




Once engine speed gets to about 3k the circuit opens and faults. I assume this is from engine vibrations. Once I saw this I headed back to the house. I selected the test again but viewed it in the live stream. I started wiggling the harness around. We could see the stream bouncing from OK to fault and back to OK again. We eventually traced it back to the waste gate solenoid connector. Moving it would cause the fault. Holding it still while moving the harness around would not cause the fault.

I thought this was a great example of the importance of having a decent scan tool in your toolbox.

Just to follow up with my last post. Once I got back to the car again it was a quick check to verify what the scan tool was telling us.



The left terminal had pushed out a little, making a poor connection. I pulled it all the way out. Adjusted the retaining clip on the terminal and pushed it back in. Then pushed the connector back on the solenoid and made sure the wire didn’t push out again. We now have boost for days. 😎
I can’t imagine trying to find that problem without the scanner and that open circuit test.