OBDII Scanners?

[roccaas]

Just replaced coil on #7, #3 went last year, so a scanner is necessary to start saving money on future repairs.

Buy the $20 scanner and Google the codes, or $150 for more options?

We don't do smog/emissions in Georgia, so the flashing LED's are not so important. I just want something that works well with 10 year old Fords.

 

[tonydiv]

You can get a decent one that will list out the codes and provide running data for $50 to $70. I have one that I picked up at Auto Zone for about $60 that gives me everything I need to do a repair without having to run to the computer to look stuff up.

If you are thinking about picking up a programmer in the future, you can kill two birds with one stone. You can improve the way it runs, and read and reset codes with nearly all of the programmers out there.

 

[jv2000]

Just wanted to weigh in on a code reader solution I got that seems to work great on my Expedition (i've also used it to read and clear codes on a 2004 Tundra and on my wife's 2006 BMW X3). It's a Bluetooth OBDII connector that you pair up to and Android powered smart phone. Here is a little write up/review I did for it and for the Torque Pro app, hope it helps some folks, reading these codes and being able to get information from your ECU can be really helpful.


ELM327 Bluetooth OBDII Reader and Torque Android App Review

A good standalone reader is this one (haven't tried it but the reviews are really good):


Autel MaxiScan MS300 OBDII Scan Tool