OBD 1 and 2 code readers
Thread Starter
I Voted For Bill and Opus
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 2,040
Likes: 9
From: Cheyenne, Wyoming
OBD 1 and 2 code readers
I am looking to purchase a code reader. My Truck being a 95 is OBD1.
I see there is 2 different types of code readers, The ones that cost around
50 dollars and apparently only gives you the error code number, and the more expensive models that gives you more information I am not sure what this extra information is. As I have said before this is the first digital vehical I have ever owned. My question is do the cheaper code reader narrow the problem down enough or is the extra information given by the more expensive readers worth the extra cost.
After decades of learning to listen and feel what a car or truck is doing in
order to tell what is wrong, it is something of a head trip to have a truck that
will actually tell me what is wrong.
I see there is 2 different types of code readers, The ones that cost around
50 dollars and apparently only gives you the error code number, and the more expensive models that gives you more information I am not sure what this extra information is. As I have said before this is the first digital vehical I have ever owned. My question is do the cheaper code reader narrow the problem down enough or is the extra information given by the more expensive readers worth the extra cost.
After decades of learning to listen and feel what a car or truck is doing in
order to tell what is wrong, it is something of a head trip to have a truck that
will actually tell me what is wrong.
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,806
Likes: 480
From: Cape Girardeau MO
I suppose it depends on how fancy you want to get. Mine is one where you have to count series of light blinks, know where the scanner is in its test sequence, capture the 2-digit portion of the code when it flashes by (on a '95, I'm thinking it's 3-digit codes to deal with), then look the code up in the book. But, it cost about $30.
I'm thinking the more expensive models perhaps have a text display of what the numeric code is or the like to simplify the process - same information, just presented nicer and more user-friendly.
The code reader can only trigger and then read what the computer gives it - it is not a programmer. So, I'm guessing there is not any more information available through the more expensive reader - just easier to use.
It is nice having something tell you what is wrong - it greatly narrows the troubleshooting scope, especially as the complexity of the vehicle increases.
But don't file your common sense or experience away just yet - these still have to be used for things the computer doesn't watch, or to decide whether the computer is telling you a fault, or just a symptom of another problem. :-)
I'm thinking the more expensive models perhaps have a text display of what the numeric code is or the like to simplify the process - same information, just presented nicer and more user-friendly.
The code reader can only trigger and then read what the computer gives it - it is not a programmer. So, I'm guessing there is not any more information available through the more expensive reader - just easier to use.
It is nice having something tell you what is wrong - it greatly narrows the troubleshooting scope, especially as the complexity of the vehicle increases.
But don't file your common sense or experience away just yet - these still have to be used for things the computer doesn't watch, or to decide whether the computer is telling you a fault, or just a symptom of another problem. :-)