Scan Tools - OBDLink
#1
03-25-2010, 02:37 AM
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 19
Scan Tools - OBDLink
So I finally bought my 2002 LS Blazer yesterday... and the engine light came on today 
Fortunately, I was actually close to a workshop that specialises in Chevy trucks (and that is as rare as hen's teeth here in a Australia, seeing as Chevy trucks aren't sold here!), so I swung in and they plugged a device in and lo and behold, the guy was able to tell me the problem was an O2 sensor, and then he did something and the engine light went off.
As someone who's total car knowledge can be summed with "right pedal go, left pedal stop", this was voodoo magic to me. If the engine light ever came on in my old car ('91 Toyota Corolla I owned for 14 years...), it was panic stations, because it meant an expensive trip to the mechanic who would spend a loooong time trying to figure out what was wrong...
I'm certain that given the scarcity of these vehicles here in Aus, finding a good mechanic with the right diagnostic tools is not going to be easy, so it makes sense that I get something that can help. I've been googling since lunch, and found a few options (and some older threads on here), and am wondering if anyone has experience with:
http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/p...d/obdlink.html
This seems like what I need to connect to my Blazer, and comes with some basic software, with the option to purchase more complete software (eg ScanXL + the GM add on).
At a minimum, does it have enough to identify why the engine light is on, and point me to the exact part of the car that needs looking at, and then tell the light to turn off so my wife doesn't freak?
What I am really looking for though, and I am not sure if it actually exists, is a car expert in a box :-)
Something that I can plug in once a week that will tell me if my car is running "where it's supposed to" - eg is the oil pressure right, is the coolant doing it's job, are all the cylinders firing the way they are supposed to, is the glugglesplacken in the fritzlecarbonator operating at the correct level...
Does such a device and software exist? Is the OBDLink that device? If so what software would I need? If not, what is? Can it be had for less then a couple of hundred bucks?
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks
Fortunately, I was actually close to a workshop that specialises in Chevy trucks (and that is as rare as hen's teeth here in a Australia, seeing as Chevy trucks aren't sold here!), so I swung in and they plugged a device in and lo and behold, the guy was able to tell me the problem was an O2 sensor, and then he did something and the engine light went off.
As someone who's total car knowledge can be summed with "right pedal go, left pedal stop", this was voodoo magic to me. If the engine light ever came on in my old car ('91 Toyota Corolla I owned for 14 years...), it was panic stations, because it meant an expensive trip to the mechanic who would spend a loooong time trying to figure out what was wrong...
I'm certain that given the scarcity of these vehicles here in Aus, finding a good mechanic with the right diagnostic tools is not going to be easy, so it makes sense that I get something that can help. I've been googling since lunch, and found a few options (and some older threads on here), and am wondering if anyone has experience with:
http://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/p...d/obdlink.html
This seems like what I need to connect to my Blazer, and comes with some basic software, with the option to purchase more complete software (eg ScanXL + the GM add on).
At a minimum, does it have enough to identify why the engine light is on, and point me to the exact part of the car that needs looking at, and then tell the light to turn off so my wife doesn't freak?
What I am really looking for though, and I am not sure if it actually exists, is a car expert in a box :-)
Something that I can plug in once a week that will tell me if my car is running "where it's supposed to" - eg is the oil pressure right, is the coolant doing it's job, are all the cylinders firing the way they are supposed to, is the glugglesplacken in the fritzlecarbonator operating at the correct level...
Does such a device and software exist? Is the OBDLink that device? If so what software would I need? If not, what is? Can it be had for less then a couple of hundred bucks?
Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks
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