OBD Diagnostic Tools

[Boggs]

8 yeasr ago when I bought my Disco, there were only a few diagnostic tools on the market. Islander, Hawkeye etc etc.
Now there are zillions. Even some tailored to Landies are only $200 according to one advertiser on this site. It seems they charge double for a brand specific one
My assumption is that a specific tool will tell you that "the doodad on the whatsit" is playing up, whereas the generic version will still read the fault but only spew out a code and you have to find out what it mean? Am I correct?
Some $50 ones such as Ancel are getting very positive reviews. I even see what looks like rebadged ones on Repco and Supercheap sites.
My Disco is starting to show its age and I need to do more maintenance myself. I'm capable of doing most repairs so long as I know what the problem is. Once you know the parts you need, buying them fro the UK is a huge saving. Seems most repairers here put 100% markup on the same imported stuff.
Thoughts please on the latest generation of OBD tools!
Boggs

[John_D4]

An iid Bluetooth will do pretty much anything that you’ll ever need to. I’m very happy with mine

[SimmAus]

I think most see the GAP iid tool as the gold standard. I have one and cannot fault it. I haven’t played around as much as others on here, but it is comforting to know that it is the most “capable” tool available.

[John_D4]

If you do get an iid, buy a 30cm extension cable from eBay and you can leave it attached permanently. You just need to click on ‘disconnect’ before closing the app. Otherwise the iid will flatten the car battery.

[BradC]

If you do get an iid, buy a 30cm extension cable from eBay and you can leave it attached permanently. You just need to click on ‘disconnect’ before closing the app. Otherwise the iid will flatten the car battery.

I've found with more recent firmware (like any in the last 3 years) as long as your phone goes out of bluetooth range of the dongle it all disconnects itself. The App complains when you re-open it, but I haven't had a flat battery unless using the IID dash / SWC interface and forget to turn it off before stopping the car. I no longer use that.

[John_D4]

I've found with more recent firmware (like any in the last 3 years) as long as your phone goes out of bluetooth range of the dongle it all disconnects itself. The App complains when you re-open it, but I haven't had a flat battery unless using the IID dash / SWC interface and forget to turn it off before stopping the car. I no longer use that.

I did not know that. Not sure if I’m going to test it tho [emoji2369]

[BradC]

I did not know that. Not sure if I’m going to test it tho [emoji2369]

I never tested it deliberately, but I can count on more than the digits I have available the amount of times I've left the car having forgotten to disconnect the phone (I use live view pretty much any time I'm going more than 5 minutes down the road).

[DFender]

Also very much interested in this. Would love to have a decent dash display of a few different temps and if possible economy info (L/100) etc.

Looking at replacing the head unit etc with an Android unit if I decide to make it permanent but would love some input on obd units and/or apps suggestions.

[74andy]

Anyone had success with this one?. Land Rover OBD2 Scan Tool Full System – OBD2 Australia (https://obd2australia.com.au/product/land-rover-obd2-scan-tool-full-system/?utm_campaign=17668105142&utm_source=x&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&seg_aprod=&ad_id=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz9SWxLrbgQMVuMAWBR3SmwJFEAAYASAA EgKLzPD_BwE)

thinking harder about getting a scanner after 3 amigos appeared on trip to cape York last month - could have done with traction control a couple times, wondering if I could have diagnosed and fixed/got part sent if I had a scanner..

Also tempted just to try this one and return it if it doesn’t work https://www.jaycar.com.au/obd-ii-engine-code-reader-diagnostic-tool-with-2-4in-lcd/p/PP2147?pos=1&queryId=d7f8d5c290d9ebd193b9428cc163c8ae&sort=relevance&searchText=Pp2147

[74andy]

Also very much interested in this. Would love to have a decent dash display of a few different temps and if possible economy info (L/100) etc.

Looking at replacing the head unit etc with an Android unit if I decide to make it permanent but would love some input on obd units and/or apps suggestions.

Like this with display on phone? 404 Error Page | Jaycar Electronics (https://www.jaycar.com.au/obd-ii-engine-code-reader-with-bluetooth-technology/p/PP2145)


Would depend on an app being available..

[Pedro_The_Swift]

My IID tool been plugged in for two years now..
At least this way I dont have to remember where I put it.... [bigrolf]

new firmware just recently too!! :Thump:

[gavinwibrow]

My IID tool been plugged in for two years now..
At least this way I dont have to remember where I put it.... [bigrolf]

new firmware just recently too!! :Thump:





Anything significant in the firmware update making it recommended to do please?

[loanrangie]

Anything significant in the firmware update making it recommended to do please?

Nothing that you would notice, generally the updates are just added functionality for later models.

[DFender]

My IID tool been plugged in for two years now..
At least this way I dont have to remember where I put it.... [bigrolf]

new firmware just recently too!! :Thump:

Hey Pedro - can the IIDTool give me some real time stats on fuel usage etc?

[stuarth44]

bought one, trying to calibrate the suspension setting , height, overide the 50km/h limit
anyone use one?

[John_D4]

I didn’t that you could over ride the 50kmh suspension. I know that you can just reset your regular height to +50mm which will really give you the same. You’d just need to set it back before you get back to non-4wd roads so you don’t scare up your tyre wear.

[loanrangie]

bought one, trying to calibrate the suspension setting , height, overide the 50km/h limit
anyone use one?You can't,all you can do is setup the preset height buttons and adjust the base height.
If you want to adjust the height and negate the speed restriction you'll need a Llams unit or other electronic lifter.

[AeroSG]

Anyone had success with this one?. Land Rover OBD2 Scan Tool Full System – OBD2 Australia (https://obd2australia.com.au/product/land-rover-obd2-scan-tool-full-system/?utm_campaign=17668105142&utm_source=x&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=&utm_term=&seg_aprod=&ad_id=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz9SWxLrbgQMVuMAWBR3SmwJFEAAYASAA EgKLzPD_BwE)

thinking harder about getting a scanner after 3 amigos appeared on trip to cape York last month - could have done with traction control a couple times, wondering if I could have diagnosed and fixed/got part sent if I had a scanner..

Also tempted just to try this one and return it if it doesn’t work jaycar.com.au (https://www.jaycar.com.au/obd-ii-engine-code-reader-diagnostic-tool-with-2-4in-lcd/p/PP2147?pos=1&queryId=d7f8d5c290d9ebd193b9428cc163c8ae&sort=relevance&searchText=Pp2147)


Hey 74Andy,

You probably reached your own conclusions about this a while ago. I'm just leaving more info here for anyone else searching on the subject.

Most people here will tell you to get the GAP IID tool and I'm sure its an awesome unit for JLR vehicles. But the reality is there's heaps of alternatives, depending on what you're wanting to achieve, including the ones you linked to.

A 'full system scan tool' and particularly a tool that specifically covers your vehicle (eg Land Rover) is going to be way more useful than a sub-$100 generic unit like the Jaycar item. The generic/basic tools frequently only provide engine data and/or generic codes. The codes might include a description that points you in the right direction to fix the problem. Or they might not. Expect to do a lot of additional research and faultfinding once you've read the generic fault code, before you'll be able to make any progress. On a complex vehicle like a D4, they are marginally better than nothing.

I have one of those basic OBD2 scanners and I can pickup fault codes but not much else. And it won't provide details from some of the more 'exotic' sub-computers on board my D4 like the air suspension and EPB etc. I had a case where my D4 went into reduced performance mode and the OBD tool gave me a generic DTC code and nothing else. Google told me the code was related to inlet pressure. The actual problem(s) turned out to require replacing both inlet manifolds plus the oil filter/pump unit and other minor items. So the basic tool was correct but didn't tell me much that I didn't already suspect. The advantage of the generic/basic tool is you can use them on any vehicle (post - 2007 in Aust).

By contrast a mate has the 'full system' Land Rover tool you asked about. He had a suspension warning on the dash and the Land Rover specific menus enabled him to pinpoint the offending sensor in minutes. A quick check on YT to watch someone else locate and then replace the same sensor, and he had it fixed in short order. No pi55ing about with googling generic codes. Turned out the sensor had just disconnected itself and needed to be plugged back in. He was also able to clear the fault code using the scan tool. A quick read on the website shows it'll also provide a bunch of live sensor data feeds so I'm planning to borrow it for my D4 transmission service so I can check the correct transmission fluid temps for the service procedure.

The vehicle-specific full system scanner will also give you data from any other vehicle you plug it in to (more/better than the basic scan tools). Its just that the vehicle specific units have been fine tuned to make sure the detailed codes it shows are correctly interpreted for the specific vehicle type. So if you plug the Land Rover tool into a Ford vehicle, it will probably give you plenty of detailed info but there may be some anomalies because of OEM specific coding variations on the more exotic sub-systems.

There's also a range of alternative systems that use a bluetooth OBD reader and talk to software or apps on your laptop, tablet and phone. The BT version of the GAP tool fits into this category. The type of bluetooth OBD reader is less important, as long as you pay enough $$ for a quality unit that doesn't scramble the data. The bigger difference is whether the software or app that you use, has been specifically setup to manage any vehicle-specific codes, and interrogates all of the multiple ECUs onboard the vehicle. Lots of them will do this, but you need to ensure that your specific type of vehicle is listed for compatibility. Otherwise you might be limited to just generic codes and there may be anomalies with your vehicle.

Hope this info is useful to someone.
Cheers, Dave