I just ordered this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/251137344185?item=251137344185&ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:NL:3160

Free shipping!!
Item costs about 25 gbp...!!

Peter Pick-Up said:

I just ordered this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/251137344185?item=251137344185&ViewItem=&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:NL:3160

Free shipping!!
Item costs about 25 gbp...!!

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looks like a clone of the sealey one i have

dave said:

looks like a clone of the sealey one i have

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They are all made in China under different brands and labels....!!
( have a look at www.alibaba.com )

Peter Pick-Up said:

They are all made in China under different brands and labels....!!
( have a look at www.alibaba.com )

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hmm there is stuff on there that ben could put in the shop:idea:

dave said:

hmm there is stuff on there that @ben could put in the shop:idea:

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Beware...a lot of fake stuff there...!!!

I've looked over several years a EOBD kit BUT especially focusing on Fiats.

Autel are a good name, good make, have good reports and provide "badged" unit to other companies like Sealey.

There are other good makes of hand held devices out there as well.

All I would add / say is that you have to be very careful and very specific about what you are expecting from ANY unit and CLARITY about what it covers and specifically reports for vehicle makes.

The are both generic and manufacturer specific codes. Also applies to actuator and other diagnostic functions.

Because the complete OBD/EOBD/Diagnostics etc. area is so large and complex then unless you are paying around £1000 for a Professional piece of kit that guarantees full manufacturer support then anything less is a compromise.

MultiECUScan (was FiatECUScan) plus compatible and decent hardware will get one to near full equivalent manufacturer support levels but it too is not perfect.

Pay £1000s or £5000 to a pro outfit you can expect and demand 1st class quality/industrial support (even 24 by 7). Any less expenditure will possibly deliver lower expectations.

I'm sticking with MultiECUScan but I am always looking for a betters solutions at cost effective prices. Howver I think I'll have to wait a long time.

It's never going to be as comprehensive as Multiscan, but if it does work ok on the Croma, then it would be very useful to keep in the car.

halilson said:

It's never going to be as comprehensive as Multiscan, but if it does work ok on the Croma, then it would be very useful to keep in the car.

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That's my intention ( although I drive an Alfa GT, but with the same 1,9 jtd engine....!)

halilson said:

It's never going to be as comprehensive as Multiscan, but if it does work ok on the Croma, then it would be very useful to keep in the car.

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Exactly one good reason to purchase any reasonable hand held device or even a small blue tooth EOBD dongle which can be good for displaying data whilst on the move. (they can read code and reset fault codes).

Personally everytime I'm any distance from home (eg few days away with caravan in uk to on hols in Italy) but my Gendan kit in the car and take the laptop. Actually had to use it one year after I had gounded the car on a rock sticking out of the ground. Rock ripped through the wiring to the DPF second temperature wiring. FiatECUScan pointed me directly at the problem. Fixed wiring back at campsite and reset the code.

This one event paid for the kit in both time, worry and cost. Since then now that I service my own car then it is worth its weight in gold.

One thing I have noted with the small handheld units is that they are great for basic EOBD kit functions, but none that I have seen yet will do service and oil change resets in the same unit. You have to purchase another unit to do this.

s130 said:

One thing I have noted with the small handheld units is that they are great for basic EOBD kit functions, but none that I have seen yet will do service and oil change resets in the same unit. You have to purchase another unit to do this.

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Every time I look in the menu on my car, it says: "0km for service and oilchange"....!!
Been doing that for almost 1,5 year and 40.000km since I own it. and I don't really need it, as I keep all the records myself, and service the car every 10.000km.

I had to see my Alfa/Fiat dealer three times with error codes ( bad injector connectors, crank sensor and glowplugs...).
So I decided its time I can look it up myself...!!
( and there's always the dealer with his specific diagnose equipment...right??)

The 0km for service is probably ok as what has happened is that you have long since gone past the warnings which eventually go quiet.

However be very careful with the Oil change reset. The cars service menu (well on my 2005 & 56 plate Croma) ONLY has the mileage service. The oil warning is not driven by distance but is dynamically determined by the ECU. It will eventually flash the oil level warning light. When this happens you must a) change the oil or ensure that is has recently been changed and B) the ECU oil warning MUST be reset otherwise the ECU will no longer initiate DPF regenerations and your DPF will completely clog up, possibly beyond the point of no return.

Of course if you have had the DPF removed and mapped out then B) will not be an issue other than an annoying blinking oil light.

DPF is gone...