OBDII Fault Code reader

[Ron1]

Good Afternoon All, Has anybody any experience of a satisfactory OBD II fault code reader suitable for my 1994 4 litre X300 Sovereign? Having done some research the only one that I can find at present is the iCarsoft i930. Does anyone know anything about these, have any experience, know of any alternative?

My current problem is intermittent starting which came to a head just before Xmas when it didn't start at all. This situation was resolved by putting a direct 12v feed onto the solenoid at which point the car started ok. I have checked the gear lever inhibitor switch which is tight and appears to be reading 12v with the gear lever in position. Currently the car is running fine (fingers x'd) no fault lights etc so I presume that I am looking at a fault between the ignition switch and solenoid and therefore to be able to read any recent fault codes would be helpful.

Any help/suggestions greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
Ron

[ptjs1]

Ron,

It really depends what you want to do. If it's Reading & resetting Fault Codes from the Engine ECU, Monitoring real-time values of MAF, O2 sensors etc etc then you can do the job for just £10 with a plug-in ELM327 chipset OBDII module and a laptop, tablet or smartphone. I've sorted lots of things using this setup and it works on all my neighbours cars who come knocking on the door all the time!

However, if you want to interrogate other systems beyond the ECU then you need something more Jaguar-specific. See Mike Kennedy's post here:

http://www.jec.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8983

If you're going to spend more than £10 then I would want to know it works properly on my model first.

Good luck

Paul

[Popsjag]

Hi Ron,

Try this one - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELM327-OBDII- ... 5af57dda57

Used by one of our members (using a laptop) & he's very happy with it (the one suggested by Paul as well).

Regards,
Steve.

[J44EAG]

I have several OBD11 discs similar if not the same and the ELM37 unit.

In my experience they can work reasonably well with 32 bit XP Windows but create havoc with a 64 bit Windows 7.

This advert says for OBD11 with no real indication if it is capable of OBD1 equipped cars which are pre 1996. And thats the problem......

Mike

[ptjs1]

Ron,

As you probably know, all AJ16 cars from April 1994 are OBDII, not OBDI, so no problem on your car.

I use a Bluetooth version of this type of module, not a wired one and would strongly suggest that a Bluetooth one is much more convenient. It's also necessary really if you're using a Tablet or Smartphone. If you use Apple equipment (iPhone, iPad) then you'll need a WiFi one as Apple lock out the Bluetooth connectivity.

Mike advises about the limitations of some of the free software that you usually get supplied. However, there's lots of free stuff out there on the 'net. I use a £2 app on my smartphone which has worked really well for fault codes, real-time sensor value mapping and even 0-60 & 1/4 mile recording!

Paul

[thejpster]

I use a ScanGauge II with my MY96. It's excellent and I've been able to use it in four different cars now. The only thing that doesn't work on the X300 is the fuel economy readout.

[Ron1]

Many thanks for your responses. Just to put matters into perspective, the nearest I come to a smart phone is a PAYG "candy bar" that in a busy year may cost £50 in top-ups! As for Bluetooth - obviously heard of it but not a clue at present otherwise. Don't have a 'tablet' unless you count paracetamol etc.

Since my message I have been in discussion with a very helpful chap called Robert at Scan-Tools Direct regarding the i930 code reader and having read the link provided above of Mike Kennedy comments have decided to try that route and ordered a iCarsoft i930. I note that Mike's original comments were made in October 2007, does anyone know of any feedback since from him or Jon Jeffries?

Having recently ventured into the world of laptops the ELM 327 would seem to be a no-brainer at £6.95 on eBay - if I had seen it at that price I would have been skeptical however it is helpful to have a recommendation and it would be interesting to compare both units.

Many thanks again, as usual an excellent response.
Regards
Ron

[J44EAG]

Actually, Ron, Oct 2007 refers to the date I must have originally registered for this Club site use!

My post on the iCarsoft i930 is very recent. Jon Jefferies bought his about six weeks before I took the plunge and my post on the unit was only done around Christmas 2014 so the details are slap bang up to date. The i930 is apparently only about six months old as a product. It was originally just for Land Rover models with the Jaguar add ons only being placed into the unit about three months ago. I am very pleased with the level of service I received and the immediate response to a couple of questions I asked about the unit. The seller certainly seems switched on and indeed asked me to let him know of any glitches I might find in use. I`m well pleased with my unit and hope you enjoy a similar experience.

Mike

[Orkney]

This all sounds very interesting, can I do the same thing for my Super V8 2000 MY?

I have an IPAD mini with Bluetooth, a Dell laptop Bluetooth and wifi, still running Vista and a stand alone Avantree bluetooth t/x and r/x unit.
So what would be the best way to go for a half decent price?
No problems showing up yet-but there might be codes stored

The wind is nearly as fast as the car today in Orkney
Ian

[ptjs1]

Orkney,

(With apologies to Ron for his thread getting slightly hijacked)

The cheapest way for you to get up and running and try out this sort of capability would be to:

- Use your iPad and purchase the DashCommand App to run on the iPad. This seems to be the best Apple-based OBDII app at reasonable money (£6.99)

- Buy a Wifi OBDII dongle with ELM 327 chipset. You can buy a cheap one for less than £10. As mentioned, if you're using an iPad, you can't use a Bluetooth OBDII dongle.

- Have a play with this combination and then see if you want to go further with bespoke OBDII manipulation devices.

If you want to discuss further, I'd suggest you start a new thread in order that Ron can keep his thread on track.

Cheers

Paul

[Orkney]

Yes Paul and sorry Ron, but I got excited at the prospect of using the iPad
Thanks for the info, I'll skulk back to my own board
Ian

[Ron1]

No apologies necessary, constructive discussion is always interesting & hopefully of assistance to others, I must say the grasp of modern technology is most impressive.

Thanks Mike, for the update.
My apologies to thejpster re Scangauge II - a quick search revealed prices similar to the i930, so I shall keep that one in reserve, however thanks for the input.

My i930 arrived this morning, so the fun starts here!

Thanks again to all.
Ron

[OllieG]

Hi All,

I realise this is quite an old thread, but I'm considering buying this iCarsoft LR II http://www.icarsoft.com/web/icarsoftus/ ... j2t_1.html

Any opinions on whether it's worth the expense over cheaper options?

Any comments welcome,

Ollie

[J44EAG]

The LR11 is the latest iCarsoft offering. I`d suggest it is well worth investigation.

You need to see what extras the LR11 has when compared to the much liked and very effective 930i. I`d suggest a phone call to the supplier and ask him to explain the advantages of the LR11. When I saw the model come on line, I was very tempted to get one! I had to hold myself back from doing so as the good old 930i has always done me well to date. You are a lucky chappie because you are in the position to look at both models of iCarsoft but will only need to buy one. Give the seller a call and have a chat. Most will welcome the opportunity to discuss their latest products.

Hope that helps.

Mike K

[Andy P]

Hi OllieG,
You might find this link useful to get a good comparison.,

http://www.ukprodiagnostics.co.uk/pages ... 225610.cfm

I thought I read somewhere the LR II is for 2005 onwards,not 100% positive though perhaps Mike K knows for sure.
It does say it covers the whole LR/Jag range though.
If it is o.k. for the X300 and X308 then I would go for the LR II myself.
Small price to pay for all that tech.
Good luck with your search.
Take care.
Andy