which diagnostic tool to buy?

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zeke - 26 Apr 2006 15:31 GMT

family has a couple new nissans plus a few 3 or 4 year old american cars

primarily for the nissans but also for the US models, I wanted to buy a good
diagnostic tool and have come across these

http://www.automotiveservicetools.com/shopequipment/products/otc/otc-3774-nemisy
s.html

http://www.nemisysotc.com/

it looks like a laptop is needed to save the data but the tool itself can be used with
or without laptop, no problem as I have several laptops which would work for this
purpose

any suggestions welcome

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willshak - 26 Apr 2006 15:53 GMT

> family has a couple new nissans plus a few 3 or 4 year old american cars
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> any suggestions welcome

Sounds like a lot of bucks for a tool that will be seldom used, unless
you are in the automotive repair business. Why not a cheaper OBD II?
There are many brands that will work and are cheaper. Equus sells one
for $170 that can be connected to a PC to generate reports.

Signature

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

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zeke - 26 Apr 2006 16:25 GMT

> Sounds like a lot of bucks for a tool that will be seldom used, unless
> you are in the automotive repair business. Why not a cheaper OBD II?

well, the thinking was that while I admittedly am not in the repair business, I am
from time-to-time asked to do simple jobs like replacing faulty sensors, shocks,
breaks and have even replaced an original A/C compressor for a family car

none of this of course qualifies me as a mechanic but perhaps an above average
do-it-yourself and I thought the tool would add credence to the ability to drive to
the dealer shop with a simple printed report in hand:

1. Me: Good morning. I am here because of this diagnostic report
2. Dealer: Ok. What seems to be the trouble?
3. Me: According to this report, the manifold pressure is off.....

so the thinking was that since all the family cars are under warranty, why not have
the best possible diagnostic data available and be able to speak directly to the issue

plus it would be kind of cool to hookup the live monitoring data while driving and
watch the data right there and offload it after a long trip to the laptop for analysis

> There are many brands that will work and are cheaper. Equus sells one
> for $170 that can be connected to a PC to generate reports.

like this one for $149 http://www.levineautoparts.com/eqobdiicodre.html ?
or another model?

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AS - 26 Apr 2006 16:42 GMT

You can buy a better one, the Equus Innova 3110 for $169,
http://stores.ebay.com/Race-Parts-Direct

>> Sounds like a lot of bucks for a tool that will be seldom used, unless
>> you are in the automotive repair business. Why not a cheaper OBD II?
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> like this one for $149 http://www.levineautoparts.com/eqobdiicodre.html ?
> or another model?

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willshak - 26 Apr 2006 17:01 GMT

>> Sounds like a lot of bucks for a tool that will be seldom used, unless
>> you are in the automotive repair business. Why not a cheaper OBD II?
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> like this one for $149 http://www.levineautoparts.com/eqobdiicodre.html ?
> or another model?

No, the 3110 here, for example.
http://www.toolsource.com/ost/product.asp?sourceid=googleobd2&dept%5Fid=500&pf%5
Fid=95767&mscssid=B64RCUH81G8Q9JSLV8MXM30H0F500439

If that link is too long, here's a shorter link http://tinyurl.com/zue6e

Signature

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To Email, remove the double zeroes after 'at'

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Truckdude - 26 Apr 2006 20:43 GMT

>> Sounds like a lot of bucks for a tool that will be seldom used, unless
>> you are in the automotive repair business. Why not a cheaper OBD II?
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> 2. Dealer: Ok. What seems to be the trouble?
> 3. Me: According to this report, the manifold pressure is off.....

Any code reader not only adds credence to your stated problem, but it keeps
honest people honest. Not necessary at my regular shop, but it's nice
should I have to go to the dealer.

> so the thinking was that since all the family cars are under warranty, why
> not have the best possible diagnostic data available and be able to speak
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> like this one for $149 http://www.levineautoparts.com/eqobdiicodre.html ?
> or another model?

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AS - 26 Apr 2006 16:33 GMT

Look at this one, useful if your cars are 96 and newer, any brand, any
model:

http://auterraweb.com/scantools.html

It offers ODB_II, CAN, VPW, PWM, ISO, KWP2000 compatibility, free
upgrades, dyno, real time sensor readings, etc. etc. It reads both
generic (common to all vehicles) or brand specific codes.

It can run from a Palm PDA or a windows computer.

If you have a Palm PDA I recommend the serial version but then you need
a serial port in your computer. The serial version is the A-301.

If you only care about the PC version, then the A-302 USB version would
be best.

You can buy the product directly from auterra for $269 or buy it for
$210 by bidding on ebay, $10 prices including shipping.

No, i do not benefit in any way or form by mentioning this product.

> family has a couple new nissans plus a few 3 or 4 year old american cars
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> any suggestions welcome

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Ed - 26 Apr 2006 17:36 GMT

I've been learning to use a borrowed Nemisys the last couple days.
It's a lot better
than the Actron CP9145 I bought on eBay for $160. For one thing, it
can show the
parameters graphically. You can select which ones you want to watch,
set them for graphical
display, and move them to the top of the list, giving an easy way to
compare, for example,
system voltage relative to engine speed. In addition to real-time
display while driving,
you can hit the record button when a symptom occurs, causing capture
of a period before
and after the event. The most recent 5 such snapshots are saved in the
scanner. You
can then either review them on the scanner after pulling over tot he
curb,
or go home and roll them up to you computer via an rs232 cable.

Although I have yet to learn how to do it, you are supposed to be able
to actually
set engine parameters with the scanner. For example, you can move the
EGR pentil
around, or force the TCC in and out of lockup. Again, I still have not
figured out how to
do all this, but if it really works that puts this device miles ahead
of the cheaper
unit. Very easy to use too.

Not affiliated, etc.

Ed

> family has a couple new nissans plus a few 3 or 4 year old american
> cars
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> any suggestions welcome

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zeke - 26 Apr 2006 18:50 GMT

> I've been learning to use a borrowed Nemisys the last couple days.
> Although I have yet to learn how to do it, you are supposed to be able
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> have not
> figured out how to do all this

that's interesting to read

did you access this link and read the online manuals?
http://www.nemisysotc.com/ (link at bottom right side)

they have both the quick-start guide as well as the actual 100-pg (or close)
detail user manual

you can of course save the acrobat document to your local drive and print it

have you actually used it for a vehicle diagnosis and been able to get a
specific issue resolved? what was it?

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Ed - 27 Apr 2006 00:10 GMT

Zeke,

> that's interesting to read
>
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> they have both the quick-start guide as well as the actual 100-pg
> (or close) detail user manual

The borrowed unit came with a CD that has the manual and the PC-based
software for
uploading and scanning the saved test data.

> have you actually used it for a vehicle diagnosis and been able to
> get a specific issue resolved? what was it?

To your three questions, Yes, no, and don't know!

The problem I have is a very challenging one, having stumped both my
GM dealer and a long
used and trusted independent shop. I call it Herky Jerky, GM calls it
chuggle. Briefly,
while driving along the freeway it will suddenly sort of shudder, as
if you had quickly changed
gears or tapped the brake or something. Apparently, something either
in the engine or the
drive train causes the TCC to engage/disengage.

So, yes, I've used the NemiSys to get some scans and uploaded them to
my PC. But as you might guess
the difficult part is interpreting the data. I look at things like the
TCC mode and slip, RPM, vehicle speed,
system voltage and try to see what is going on at the event. Can't say
that I've done it yet though.
So, I don't yet know what to fix. Before getting my hands on this
really good scanner, other scanners
have been used by me, the dealer, and the independent, and we have
replaced a lot of stuff, all without
fixing the problem.

I will have to say that I really can't advise someone to buy one of
these neat but expensive tools
on the hop it will zoom in on the problem. If error codes are set even
a cheap scanner will
give you some guidance. If no codes are set, as is my case, all the
data may not put you
any closer to solving the problem.

Ed

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Edward Strauss - 27 Apr 2006 08:02 GMT

> Zeke,

> > that's interesting to read
> >
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> > they have both the quick-start guide as well as the actual 100-pg
> > (or close) detail user manual

> The borrowed unit came with a CD that has the manual and the PC-based
> software for
> uploading and scanning the saved test data.

> > have you actually used it for a vehicle diagnosis and been able to
> > get a specific issue resolved? what was it?

> To your three questions, Yes, no, and don't know!

> The problem I have is a very challenging one, having stumped both my
> GM dealer and a long
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> in the engine or the
> drive train causes the TCC to engage/disengage.

Had you changed the transmission filter before all this started
happening?? Had a vehicle where a person had pried the old filter
out damaging the metal lines that run above it. Just a thought...

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