Hawkeye

Thanks Colin. I suppose it's like multi-meters. There's always a multi-meter that costs more and has more functions. I would expect my auto electricians multi-meter to do more than mine, but volts, ohms and a tacho function got me out of most situations with older petrol Land Rovers.

Most of us are looking for something that would cover what an enthusiast who does their own maintenance and most repairs would require and could afford. If I ran a workshop, or came from a country with a stronger currency, then the higher end equipment would be all I'd be looking at.

Wanglemoose
Where did you get your Hawkeye unit from?
Thanks
Simon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wanglemoose

I have a hawkeye unit, I bought it for my d2 and it is very simple to use and covers all the systems in the d2. I have since got it unlocked for the p38rr as i own one of them now and it does do most systems but for the air bag and the air suspension it needs extra dongles, it also wont talk to the HEVAC unit or the security system in the p38, these should be in the next upgrade.
Personally I think it is a great tool but it seems they put more into the development for particular models. The real bonus with the hawkeye is it doesn't lock to vin numbers so if you get a different vehicle you can still use it. Like any diag equipment you have to look at all of whats out there and find what best suits you.
hope this helps.
cheers
mick

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It seems like you and i are on the same wavelength i fear! I too have a well set up D2 for touring and bush duties and i've just purchased a mint P38 to use as the town car. I also have a hawkeye and my question is this - how much did it cost you to unlock for the P38?
cheers,
Deano

It is important to budget for the best diagnostic tool when you make a Landrover purchasing decision. Let’s face it these cars are a steal second hand.
My last two cars have been P38’s. Initially I used basic OBD tools. My logic was that I could just read the code and fix the offending part. This turned out to be intellectual laziness on my part. In reality the codes alone never made fixing the fault as simple as you would expect.
For example: The car was misfiring intermittently at highway speed – could be many things really? But the code reader should be able to pinpoint the problem straight away – right?
The OBD scanner said the knock sensor had failed- fitted a new one. Problem still there. Checked code again –New fault - Oxy sensor reading out of range. Suspicious? -but fitted a new one. The problem remained but seemed less prevalent. The system was now fault code free however.
The next to go was the CAT – due to the misfire. (I had to commute to work daily and couldn’t have the car off the road.) Eventually by trial and error found it was an intermittent coil pack. I put the original oxy sensor back on and back probed the input signal to the ECU to watch the oxy sensor output during warm-up and cruise. It operated normally – the OBD fault code was because of the misfire I.E showing continuous out of range value.
The OBD code was a translated fault and not an actual fault.

It cost me money for parts I didn’t need to replace –about $400 as I recall.
So when I purchased my next P38 (after a cracked block episode) I decided to budget for car plus the most powerful diagnostic on the market – MSV2 Extreme. With the sale of my wife’s car (Nissan Xtrail) I was able to cover the cost of the 2000 P38, MSV2 extreme from Hard Range (Good blokes) and an EMER SVi gas system.
This piece of kit is very powerful and the first thing I did was to make video AVI files of all inputs/outputs and put that in a file for future reference. By watching the videos at home I can observe and interpret the recorded data – idle, freeway cruise, hard acceleration, towing the boat, coasting etc. etc.
It allows you to really understand the complete feedback mechanisms inside the ECU. Fuel base trim, TPS dynamic trims, Oxygen sensor feedback trims, transient compensations, knock control etc.
This makes it so much easier to trace a fault at later stage or to see how parameters have changed with the age of the engine– no matter where you are in Australia.
If you really want to know all about your vehicle systems, then budget for the MSV extreme when you purchase the vehicle. It gives peace of mind knowing you can be self-sufficient and confident with these complex motor cars as they age.
I have no interests in the manufacturer of this kit – just a satisfied user who is very grateful that someone took the time to research and build these things to help us with our passion for Landrover.
My endless gratitude to whoever they are – I can enjoy the glorious purr of the Landy V8 for many years to come.


Attached is a photo of my car and,out of human concern, a photo to cater to the usual interests and whims of any lurking Toyota owners.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by peter51

It is important to budget for the best diagnostic tool when you make a Landrover purchasing decision. Let’s face it these cars are a steal second hand.
My last two cars have been P38’s. Initially I used basic OBD tools. My logic was that I could just read the code and fix the offending part. This turned out to be intellectual laziness on my part. In reality the codes alone never made fixing the fault as simple as you would expect.
For example: The car was misfiring intermittently at highway speed – could be many things really? But the code reader should be able to pinpoint the problem straight away – right?
The OBD scanner said the knock sensor had failed- fitted a new one. Problem still there. Checked code again –New fault - Oxy sensor reading out of range. Suspicious? -but fitted a new one. The problem remained but seemed less prevalent. The system was now fault code free however.
The next to go was the CAT – due to the misfire. (I had to commute to work daily and couldn’t have the car off the road.) Eventually by trial and error found it was an intermittent coil pack. I put the original oxy sensor back on and back probed the input signal to the ECU to watch the oxy sensor output during warm-up and cruise. It operated normally – the OBD fault code was because of the misfire I.E showing continuous out of range value.
The OBD code was a translated fault and not an actual fault.

It cost me money for parts I didn’t need to replace –about $400 as I recall.
So when I purchased my next P38 (after a cracked block episode) I decided to budget for car plus the most powerful diagnostic on the market – MSV2 Extreme. With the sale of my wife’s car (Nissan Xtrail) I was able to cover the cost of the 2000 P38, MSV2 extreme from Hard Range (Good blokes) and an EMER SVi gas system.
This piece of kit is very powerful and the first thing I did was to make video AVI files of all inputs/outputs and put that in a file for future reference. By watching the videos at home I can observe and interpret the recorded data – idle, freeway cruise, hard acceleration, towing the boat, coasting etc. etc.
It allows you to really understand the complete feedback mechanisms inside the ECU. Fuel base trim, TPS dynamic trims, Oxygen sensor feedback trims, transient compensations, knock control etc.
This makes it so much easier to trace a fault at later stage or to see how parameters have changed with the age of the engine– no matter where you are in Australia.
If you really want to know all about your vehicle systems, then budget for the MSV extreme when you purchase the vehicle. It gives peace of mind knowing you can be self-sufficient and confident with these complex motor cars as they age.
I have no interests in the manufacturer of this kit – just a satisfied user who is very grateful that someone took the time to research and build these things to help us with our passion for Landrover.
My endless gratitude to whoever they are – I can enjoy the glorious purr of the Landy V8 for many years to come.


Attached is a photo of my car and,out of human concern, a photo to cater to the usual interests and whims of any lurking Toyota owners.

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...Now THATS living on the edge!!!:eek:



:p:p:p:p:p


JC

I bought the MSV2 Extreme Faultmate and have a few comments. Firstly the quality of the product is OUTSTANDING. The reliability of the product is outstanding. The functionality available in them is awesome.

They really help you know your car better and once up and running are VERY easy to use. They are however, very daunting to first set up, with very little help to help keen owners that want to, and will, look after their cars and learn more about them, but just need the trainer wheels on for the first few days.

While BBS do provide a forum for owners to discuss the equipment and in most cases the software and user interface and for BBS to provide help. However, it is EXTREMELY INTIMIDATING for the novice, to the point where, for a few days, i felt i wanted my $1000 back. I felt treated like a moron for even buying the equipment let alone bothering the BBS operatives for asking basic questions. In fact, for the grand i spent, i felt totally ripped off with the total lack of help, especially when BBS refuse to help with windows 7. I use a MAC so Windows is already a headache for me just to try and understand, then to be told you need a machine with windows XP having just forked out another $600 for a windows 7 PC ('cos i couldnt buy a windows XP machine anymore) just for the Faultmate ****ed me off no end. Worse, you are not even told to buy an XP machine in literature prior to purchasing. Further, you also need a serial (rs232) port on your PC. Try getting one of those too. Why BBS have not updated to USB i am unsure (to quote the mad monk Tony Abbott i am not a "tech head") but it seems to be getting very outdated in these respects. BBS may say we offer old XP machines for sale, however it is better to be upfront first.

Additionally, i am having trouble with a couple of minor functions not working and have sought help via the BBS forums. It is specifically to do with being unable to turn ignition on and start the vehicle via the Vehicle Explorer software. I am constantly told the test unit works and it is not important to them as it is not to do with diagnostics. Well, if i start having trouble with my starting circuit in my P38, i would most definately like to use this function for diagnostic purposes. So i am unsure why i am being fobbed off there.

If Colin is reading this i hope he will take it as constructive feedback from a VERY satisfied customer who recommends his product to all LR owners and would most definately be buying from him again. In fact, i am looking at second LR specifically because of the functionality available to owners with the BBS gear to help understand your car better. I just hope this gives a balanced view with the good and the bad of the faultmate/BBS experience. So your not as one eyed with it as i am toward my P38!