Diagnostics for freelander 2 2014

[disco gazza]

After spending some $$ on a code to unlock my iid tool for my Freeby,its sadly lacking in functions. :soapbox:
Is it worth spending $$ ona 2nd hand nanocom and getting the licence swapped over or is it better to buy something else.
iCarsoft - Foxwell NT710 - Autel what model?
All suggestions welcome.
TIA

DG

[Tins]

Can’t speak for the others but really you get what you pay for.

Once you’re used to the somewhat quirky and non intuitive interface you would find a Nanocom to be extremely functional.

[shack]

After spending some $$ on a code to unlock my iid tool for my Freeby,its sadly lacking in functions. :soapbox:
Is it worth spending $$ ona 2nd hand nanocom and getting the licence swapped over or is it better to buy something else.
iCarsoft - Foxwell NT710 - Autel what model?
All suggestions welcome.
TIA

DGAs far as I'm aware, the gap tool is the gold standard.

What functions are you lacking that you would like to have?

[Tins]

As far as I'm aware, the gap tool is the gold standard.

As long as you keep in mind that certain features are VIN locked. Not an issue if you only want to use it on the one car.

[disco gazza]

Shack,
Have a look at Gap site and pick "products-iid tool"
Then scroll down to where it says "pick vehicle", put freeby 2 into that and it will come up with whats available.
When you actually use it, its very limited in its scope compared to a RR,D3-4,RRS,Defender etc.
That's the reason I'm asking whether a different diagnostic is better,as a new nanocom for the FL2 is $860+.Thats a bit rich for this little black duck
who is now a pensioner.

cheers
DG

[shack]

Shack,
Have a look at Gap site and pick "products-iid tool"
Then scroll down to where it says "pick vehicle", put freeby 2 into that and it will come up with whats available.



Will do...

Again, what features are you after?

[disco gazza]

Something similar to the iid tool.
Was looking at the foxwell NT710 for Jag/LR that seems to fit what I would be looking for.
Plus its on special at the moment.......bonus [smilebigeye]

DG

[loanrangie]

The Autel units get recommended a lot for their low price and functionality.

[AK83]

Just a note on Autel.
Support for their devices can best be described as attrocious and non existent.

I got one(of the super duper versions). When they work on vehicles that they work on, they're probably fantastic, and can do many of the functions that vehicle specific scan tools can do, but they're not always guaranteed to work on all models of a specific vehicle type, and it's related to the ECU brand/model that is installed on your vehicle.

I got one for the Peugeot 307 Hdi, and searched the net for all relevant info before I hit the buy button. Looked perfect for what I needed.
Got it in my hands, connected to the 307 instantly, but could do basically none of the requests I needed it too(service resets, and adjustments for the DPF and subsystems). Reason is, the Autel can't communicate with the specific ECU(Siemens) in my 307. I'ts coded to work on about 18 different ECUs .. just not the type in this 307! So freaking annoying, as this wasn't revealed in any(many, many) of the searches, videos, and enquiries I'd made on other fora.

Tried to make some/any contact with Autel, months ago(maybe 6 or more) and still yet to hear anything, and all info from the Autel forum say don't expect any either!

In the end, I had to use hacks and old computers to get a Peugeot/Citroen specific software to talk to the ECU in the 307, which finally worked and I could get the info I needed to restore the 307 to better health. One small repair is still needed to rid it of a pollution fault is still has.

So Autel is a kind of yeah/no. I suspect that if it recognises your vehicle properly(ie the ECUs in the car), that it could work really well, but if for some reason the ECUs in your vehicle are not part of Autels database, then it'll be a waste of $s and you'll get zero help from Autel themselves.

[disco gazza]

Thanks for the feedback AK. The autel is now scrubbed.
Was reading that the iCarsoft V3 is supposed to be a lot better than the previous 2 versions as it has a lot of things that the iid tool does.
Plus its more LR/Jag specific so thats a bonus.
I shall keep looking.

DG

[AK83]

Is your FL a diesel or petrol?
Can make a difference as to what you should look at getting, and sometimes holding off and paying a bit more gets you a lot more.

Technically the Autel I have is probably more than I need, but that's not the point. Dunno what the future holds, so I thought better to have now by paying $500 more, than to have to re-purchase again and end up with a thing that ends up not ever being used again.

With modern diesels and their DPFs and additive systems and whatnot, I did wait and get a super duper Autel model(MK906Pro). Wireless(bt) dongle is also a handy feature to have rather than being limited to wired devices.
Don't get me wrong about the Autel, I believe that when it does recognise a vehicles systems, it should work really well. It's just that my 307's specific ECU isn't recognised in Autels' domain. Others are and the Autel would be fantastic to have ... then.

eg. I'm thinking of getting a later model 307 or maybe 308 for the missus, where the Autel will come into it's own then.

With my 307, not being CAN(instead is VAN) system, and the ECU isn't recognised, I couldn't reset the fuel additive system. I could see it by setting another ECU type(Siemens instead of the installed Bosch), I can see all the reset options, etc .. but not being able to actually see my ECU, it doesn't reset anything. ie. it can't communicate back to the ECU.
Body systems and stuff work fine, but I don't (yet) need any of that stuff, as the little Pug, just continues to work fine.

I just connected the Autel to the D2 TD5, and it works up to a point, but can't do as much as the nanocom can. Stuff like operate the BCU functions ... open/close windows, lights on/off ... etc. It can only see if you manually activate this stuff. It reads codes, erases codes, (didn't try) but says it can code keys, set EKA, and all that stuff .. so it does work, but in a more limited way compared to nanocom. It also has live data capture and all that jazz, and also says it can read and rewrite injector codes and so on.

So as a device, I think it is actually quite good .. just like I said, as a company, Autel needs a proper service/support department. Forums are all questions, pretty much all unanswered other than a few that have been via other users.

I think this would be the way to choose what brand you want/need .. go to each brands support area and do a lot of reading on how well their support system works.
(idiot me never thought to look for the Autels' forum for more info like that).

I did quickly search for the FL in my Autels' database, and there are a ton of service items to choose from, and if yours is diesel, it does have options for resetting service settings for DPF.
Compared to the nanocom, far more options in the FL area, than the nanocom has for the D2.
Whether they actually all work, or more specifically would work on YOUR Freelander, I can't say.
But as yours is a more modern(2011?) I'd say it's more likely to operate fully, than not. The issue with mine and the Pug is that the 307 is an '04 model, and not CAN.

So a bit of a note: while you have a particular need now, with the vehicles you currently have, consider what vehicles you may need to delve into in the future too, and hence why I say maybe better to go with a higher end unit.

Another thing to remember(with modern vehicles) is that they all operate via so many embedded ECUs. I recall some folks concern that the new Defender uses so many ECUs for everything. Haha ... All modern cars use ECUs for everything.
The '04 307 does too, and this is kinda' part of the problem. It's just that the specific ECUs I needed to operate on were not recognised. Pretty much all others(doors, audio, accessories, etc) all worked fine. On a later 307(I think 2006 onwards) the Autel would have operated the specific pollution control ECU I needed.

Quickly: I'd refilled the fuel additive pouch in this 307, not realising that it's ECU also needed to be reset to be told it was now full. As the engine ECU isn't recognised, it also wouldn't operate the additive ECU too. If I set the Autel to think it was the 'wrong' ECU brand/model, it would then see the additive ECU, just that it wouldn't reset it. In the end I bought an adapter for a PC, installed the Pugeot software, and finally got to configure it. But it's slow as hell. Make that really, really really slow as hell .. maybe even slower than that too! Really infuriating how slow it all works .. compared to Autel(really fast) and even nanocom(which isn't so fast). And it's all cabled to high heaven. Little windows table battery is dead, so power adapter is needed there, and the Pug specific dongle is all cables and wires, and while they're long enough .. just damned annoying compared to the Autels' bt setup.

So my word of caution with something like the iCarsoft would be: what do you want/need to do? do you intend to keep the FL for a while, and is it diesel. If diesel, then make sure one of the features you will have on it, is that you can force regen the DPF, and/or reset/reconfigure it if it's able to be cleaned, or you ever need to replace it. Just replacing something like the DPF doesnt' work. It's needs to be set in the ECU too.

[disco gazza]

Hi Arthur,
Thanks for your detailed response.....very much appreciated. As my FL2 is the last version made(mines a may 2014 build) the Autel would probably work fine BUT I'm still awaiting a response from the guys on the fullfatrr site--lots of guys have freeby's as second or third runarounds.
Must put a question up on the freel2 site, must have forgotten to put it on there the other day. :oops2:

DG

[LRD414]

Shack,
Have a look at Gap site and pick "products-iid tool"
Then scroll down to where it says "pick vehicle", put freeby 2 into that and it will come up with whats available.
When you actually use it, its very limited in its scope compared to a RR,D3-4,RRS,Defender etc.
That's the reason I'm asking whether a different diagnostic is better,as a new nanocom for the FL2 is $860+.Thats a bit rich for this little black duck
who is now a pensioner.

cheers
DG

Recently bought a 2013 FL2 to go with the D4. My Gap iiD BT seems to be fine in that I could read and clear codes as well as view live values when plugged in to the FL2. I know I won’t be able to edit the CCF as the tool is vin locked to the D4 but I don’t see that as a real issue. What do you reckon is lacking with the iiD when using with the FL2?

Scott

[disco gazza]

Been down with a dose of the flu. :toilet:

So went and started little beast up and plugged iid in.
This time I'm I'm getting alot more info than what I was when I first plugged it in and did the code.
We'll see how we go now that I have had a little play with it.

cheers DG

[shack]

Been down with a dose of the flu. :toilet:

So went and started little beast up and plugged iid in.
This time I'm I'm getting alot more info than what I was when I first plugged it in and did the code.
We'll see how we go now that I have had a little play with it.

cheers DGYeah, I looked through the available functions on the FL2 and thought it looked ok...