Thread: Faultmate

Hi

FCR or MSV2? ..........

Originally Posted by Cupcakes

hi everyone

i am considering purchasing a faultmate

i want to get some input on the main benifits of this,

i know i can read a clear all faults, enable a couple things etc

i want to know, in the real world, is it worth the considerable outlay of cash???

cheers

Hi Cupcakes, what vehicle are you running ?

The main benefits can be weighed in terms of convenience and insurance in the case of faults while off the beaten path. Depending on the model you get, and faults you anticipate and other issues which would normally require a trip to a dealer or a workshop. I will speak in terms of an MSV2 Extreme as that is where my experience is mainly.

There are many brands besides Faultmate, although that is the one I ended up with. I can say, if you choose this specific path, expect little in the way of customer support, it is forum based only, so you need to be dedicated and patient enough to figure stuff out and wait for help when it is needed. If something goes wrong, expect to ship your device to Cyprus on your dime. There are no sellers, or service centers anywhere unfortunately.

You need to factor in the cost of a battery charger, such as a Ctek to do any updates to ECU's. This is an absolute requirement. When dealers are servicing with Testbooks, they too hook a battery charger to the vehicle.

If you change your own oil, or want to update your own ECU's the payback is quicker. Let's assume it will cost you 25-50.00 to go have someone do it for you. Multiply that by the number of times you might do it.

The one time I paid the dealer to update to the latest ECU updates it cost me about $350. I guess they charged me for every minute their testbook was hooked to the vehicle. Multiple that by the times you might want to do your own updates. If you would like to check / update once a year, the payback here alone might be just 2-3 years. For example, I just updated my Suspension / Air Compressor system, I picked up the new relay, and then updated the software myself. If that had been a dealer trip, it would have been 2 trips to the dealer (one to drop off and one to pick up) 2 days wait, and 500.00 guaranteed. Instead, I picked up the relay online and did it myself in about 20 minutes. As you will see below, the savings is obvious.

YWB500220 electrical, fuse & relay, relay ENGINE COMPARTMENT, 70 amp 1 $12.04 $12.04
LR020590 KIT - COMPRESSOR 1 $ 7.11 $ 7.11
JPO500010 KIT - COMPRESSOR 1 $25.06 $25.06

All in all, the payback is there for such a device. It is also nice to have some peace of mind while off in remote areas. Generally you can transfer the license to another vehicle down the road if you change vehicles. Most of the other devices out there come "unlocked" for multiple vehicles.

I have a faultmate MSV2 Extreme. It cost me $1500 AUD for the faultmate and two licences (one for my D3 and one for the wifes Freelander). It means I can get the Freelander repaired anywhere not just a dealers which is very usefull.
I am hoping to go to Cape York next year and consider this to be an essential (albeit expensive) electronic spanner. With todays cars, unless you want to be reliant on a dealer, they are an essential piece of kit. You can also check whats wrong with your vehicle before it goes in to the delear/mechanic so you can check if you are being conned or not.


Ivan

Also a plus from me for the Faultmate and I am in the identical situation as Ivan using it also on a Freelander. It is the 'go to' diagnostic device for the Disco. The reality is that if you are intending at all to look after your Disco yourself or want the support due to the highly technical nature of this vehicle...you simply must have diagnostic capability. It certainly saved me a bomb hunting for the recent mouse damage fault.

You will save yourself money over the long haul and kiss your own hand every time it saves you going to a dealer. They are so very helpful and pay their own way.

Paul from Hard Range also was ridiculously helpful...couldn't recommend him higher.

Cheers!

Hi Cupcakes,
I've got an MSV 2, used it mainly for servicing and playing around with different settings. When my tranny module got water in it the MSV helped me diagnose the problem and reset all the clutches in the gearbox, successfully I might add. So on that occasion for me it paid for itself there and then. For me this would have been a tilt tray job to the dealer and then possibly a $100 taxi ride to pick the vehicle up when it had been fixed, plus the bill of course,
I agree with one of the previous posts dealing with Cyprus can be time consuming, saying that the information is usually timely when they have read your message and usually good. Me I would rather have the MSV 2 than not have it, as mentioned a good "electric spanner".

Originally Posted by unseenone

You need to factor in the cost of a battery charger, such as a Ctek to do any updates to ECU's. This is an absolute requirement. When dealers are servicing with Testbooks, they too hook a battery charger to the vehicle.

Or switch-in your aux battery if you have one and have a switch, purely as insurance against the battery voltage dropping below the threshold for the ecus to continue with an update once started.