The Great Dash Light Diagnostics Con

BrendanF

Hi, Just thought I should recommend to drivers that if they have an 'Engine Fault' light appear on their dash & the garage wants to charge £35-£40 to connect it to a diagnostic 'computer' to get an error code & source of the problem, that they can but a scanner on Ebay for around £8-£9 that will do just that e.g. Memo Scanner U480

see youtube under 'The Great Engine Management Light Rip Off'

I recently discovered in 3 minutes that the warning on my 2004 Toyota Corolla was simply a tired catalytic converter so nothing to worry too much about (not tired enough to fail the recent MOT though). The scanner also erased the fault on the car's chip & the lo & behold, dash light went out. (although it will probably reappear?)

saved £30+ & I still have the scanner!

Brendan

captainawsome

Shhhh!!!! Don't tell everyone that any fault on a car can be diagnosed by its owner for less than a tenner, youl put millions out of work!!

motorguy

BrendanF wrote: »

Hi, Just thought I should recommend to drivers that if they have an 'Engine Fault' light appear on their dash & the garage wants to charge £35-£40 to connect it to a diagnostic 'computer' to get an error code & source of the problem, that they can but a scanner on Ebay for around £8-£9 that will do just that e.g. Memo Scanner U480

see youtube under 'The Great Engine Management Light Rip Off'

I recently discovered in 3 minutes that the warning on my 2004 Toyota Corolla was simply a tired catalytic converter so nothing to worry too much about (not tired enough to fail the recent MOT though). The scanner also erased the fault on the car's chip & the lo & behold, dash light went out. (although it will probably reappear?)

saved £30+ & I still have the scanner!

Brendan

In fairness, a garage will be using proper diagnostic kit and will be able to read codes in systems your ebay special wont.

Also, its not difficult to read codes - interpreting them correctly is the skilled bit

I've an Autel Maxiscan MS309 - costs £10-£12 on ebay and is probably as much as any amateur will need.

Prothet_of_Doom

There's power in Knowledge. Power = money. If someone has the knowledge and you don't have the knowledge, then you pay them for thier knowledge.

I have a code reader for BMW and Mini which cost £75, because the fault light on our mini dash, was an airbag light, and these cheap scanners, generally only do the engine, which are coded to a European Standard (OBD2?). I have used in 3 times in 3 years, and it's because BMW designed the wiring to the seat belt tensioner under the seat, slightly too short, and if someone kicks it, the circuit sees a change of resistance, and flicks the warning light on.
I figure that had I taken the car to a local specialist, or a MINI dealer, I might somehow have ended up paying for a pre-tensioner, rather than paying for some electrical tape, and making the connectors a bit more secure.

thescouselander

Dont bother with the memo scanner - that's yesterday's tech. Far better to get a bluetooth adapter like the ELM327 and use software on your phone or laptop to interface with the car. You'll get access to far more features that way and the software is constantly updated to cover new models.

arcon5

Yes your scanner told you your cat is not working as it should - but does it tell you why?
Because cats usually fail for other reasons than just wear - such as misfires, rich engines blah blah blah.

Just a basic example here.

forgotmyname

The code is only the starting point of where the problem maybe.

Just because a code comes up saying the CAT efficiency is low may not be
because the CAT is old, Possibly the fuelling is far enough out for the CAT
to be near its limit?

.

Gloomendoom

I've had a code scanner for years. My car had a problem last week. My code scanner showed no problems. The the garage the breakdown service took it to did a scan and couldn't find a problem. They took it to a main dealer and who did a scan and their equipment found the problem straight away.

Not all diagnostic scanners are the same.

BrendanF

forgotmyname wrote: »

The code is only the starting point of where the problem maybe.

Just because a code comes up saying the CAT efficiency is low may not be
because the CAT is old, Possibly the fuelling is far enough out for the CAT
to be near its limit?

.

thanks for all the useful contributions re possible cat issue causes - certainly worth investigating. A mechanic friend of mine says it could also be a cat sensor fault as this apparently is a known issue with Corollas of this vintage. I should also add that i get excellent fuel economy for a 10 year old car - 50+mpg on a 1.6 petrol & smooth with no signs of misfire.
Obviously if it had indicated a serious problem with other symptoms then a professional investigation would be in order.

forgotmyname

50mpg+ from a 1.6 petrol Corolla? Does it pink a lot? Or is that all downhill and it does 20mpg back up the otherside?

The issue now is that you have cleared the light, but no further forward in knowing the actual cause.

Retrogamer

I got an OBD2 bluetooth adapator and an app called Torque for my Android phone & tablet. I think both together cost me about £12.

It can read codes, clear codes and give live data for a lot of the engine sensors.