We all recommend these things but you need to know its easy to do. It is.
oThe cars plug in point is behind a cover in front of the drivers right knee, Two screws hold it in place and then it can be wiggled off. The scket can then be seen. These diagnostic tools just plug in and you will then have a simple menu to read things from the cars computer. They are powered by the cars plug so dont have batteries. They Dont cause other problems either so anyone with a bit of common sense can use them.
I also have
MES the Fiat specific diagnostic software, and a code reader bought from Lidl or Aldi for about £15 that does read most codes on all our cars. Its just a small box with a tiny screen and a plug on the end to attach to the car. The code reader came with a booklet that lists the code numbers, so you read the code and look up the number to see what it means. Its not always helpful as the meanings given are sometimes generic / vague.
MES cost me £125. It is a set of leads in a posh case and the softwars that I opted to have on a memory stick. You down load the software onto a lap top and use the leads to connect the car. You have to turn the computer off connect the wires and then start the computer so it picks up the hardware attached like any new thing you attach. Plug into the car and follow the instructions. Over the 5 years I have had my
MES its saved me at least 6 garage resets which were £60 a time, and are now more like £120, so its paid for its self.
If you only read codes so you know the problem before going into a garage I think its worth having.
MES is simple to use and tells you what the error codes actually mean for your car. You can instruct the car to turn off the ligts by clearing codes so you can see if it was just a glytch or if the problem is still there.
Mes allows you to check and test many computer controlled parts of the car and to see what if anything is not working as it should, this includes all the instruments and lights and all teh solenoids and electrical components.