On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 05:50:14 GMT, Ray > wrote:

>Lawrence Glickman wrote:
>>
>>>And a shop manual is pretty much ESSENTIAL for ODB-II diagnostic
>>>procedures.
>>
>>
>> Well I have a PIM manual that came with my scanner, and OBDII
>> diagnostic CD Roms, BUT, the translations of the codes are built Into
>> the 9145, so after entering your car made, model, and year, you get
>> the proper interpretation of the code right on the display of the
>> 9145. No need for a manual to translate, although I have both the
>> manual and the CD Roms.
>>
>> Lg
>>
>
>Uh, ok... but does it cover FIXING anything?

Of course not. I only paid a few hundred for it. Now the $5000 jobs
the dealers use, yes, that will fix anything. I think you can buy one
from Snap On for $3000. The one's the dealers use get updated via
satellite dish from company headquarters.

Then again, you're not going to use a scanner all that often on 1 car
to justify that kind of expense.

The one I have gives me *clues.* Then I have to do some detective
work. How good is it? Haven't had any codes at all so far on the
2003 so I can't tell ya. I almost am tempted to pull the vacuum hose
off the egr valve just to throw an MIL code so I can SEE what I get in
the way of a diagnosis. Might do that tomorrow.

> My TA shop manual has
>flowcharts for EACH OBD-II code. That section alone is like 500 pages.

Well OK, I got what I paid for. Hey it is better than nothing. You
know what a dealer charges to READ your codes for you? $75
They may or may not include that in the cost of the repair.

But you have to go with some kind of scan tool on these new cars. You
agree with that, right? I mean they're computerized, everything is
controlled by electronics, so without some kind of scanner a person
wouldn't have a clue where to begin to look. Without some kind of
code to give a little direction.

>And I forgot - I have used my laptop with the car - I bought an AutoTap
>scantool. I will eventually take one of my old PC's and move it into
>the garage...

I think AutoTap is a great idea. My only question is how deep does it
dig into any 1 make of car. I can only see my engine emission-related
things, can't read, for example, transmission fluid temps, toggle
solenoids, check this and that.

>And yes, I can browse/wander through a paper manual much better than a
>computerized one - especially when you're looking for "something" that
>doesn't fit nicely into any category. An example - the vacuum lines for
>the wife's Beretta's A/C. Found the best description for it with the
>wiring diagrams. Weird, but that's where they put it. Now, if the
>manual was full-text searchable...

Well that's the idea of putting it on CD ROM.
I have an Encyclopedia on CD ROM, and if I want to search on some
idea, I can pull up -every- reference to it, no matter what article it
appears in. Can't do that with a book.

So they each have their advantages and disadvantages, books and CD
ROM.

Lg