Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?

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Jun 30, 2009 | 11:36 AM
  #1  
Hey All,

I'm looking for a scanner for my '92 Z28 so I can read the engine codes and see why my baby isn't running right.

If anyone has a good idea on where/what to buy, that would be great!

Thanks.
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Jun 30, 2009 | 11:45 AM
  #2  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
www.moates.net sells an OBD-I ALDL reader.
I have one, and I love it. I use TunerProRT for the software on the PC. He sells all kinds of cool doo-dads that might seem kinda confusing at first. You just need the $80 kit.
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Jun 30, 2009 | 12:31 PM
  #3  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
Thanks for link, but which one do I need, there are so many different gadgets.
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Jun 30, 2009 | 12:46 PM
  #4  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
OBD1 (ONE) ? Last I checked that was called a "paperclip" to the layman?
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Jun 30, 2009 | 07:04 PM
  #5  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
Quote: OBD1 (ONE) ? Last I checked that was called a "paperclip" to the layman?
You'll never get a paper clip to tell you what the moates thingy will.
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Jun 30, 2009 | 07:09 PM
  #6  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
Quote: Thanks for link, but which one do I need, there are so many different gadgets.
This is what I have:
http://www.moates.net/product_info.p...roducts_id=127
When used with the TunerProRT software (free download), you can see what all the sensors are indicating along with things like whether the ECM is in closed loop or not. Here's one of the screens:
Name:  tunerprort.jpg
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Jul 1, 2009 | 01:12 AM
  #7  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
I don't know what have that stuff means, but basically with that program I'm going to be able to tell what is wrong with my car? And is that the same program I can use to tune the car?
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Jul 1, 2009 | 07:36 AM
  #8  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
The thing from moates is just a hardware interface, it doesn't include any software. There are a few different pieces of software that you can use, but I prefer TunerProRT. It's not going to diagnose your car, but it will let you see what the ECM is thinking. As far as I'm concerned, trying to diagnose a problem without one of these is just shooting in the dark.
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Jul 1, 2009 | 12:32 PM
  #9  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
Now that's nifty. I didn't think you could get all that info until OBD2. Learn something new everyday.
If you just want to find out what's wrong, just use a paperclip to pull the code. If you want to do some serious tuning/troubleshooting, then look at the above mentioned gizmos.
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Jul 1, 2009 | 01:19 PM
  #10  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
It's really a cool thing to have regardless. When your car is running good, it gives you a baseline to compare to later on when it's not running so good. The real-time updating (about 10/second) is awesome as well as the screen with large guage like displays so you can drive and monitor what's going on. You can also datalog and play it back later. The key to it all is having a config file for the software that lets it understand what your particular ECM model is spewing out. Using some of the other doo-dads that moates sells you can do quite a bit of fancy stuff. For example, you can acheive real time tuning by using a laptop and a PROM simulator plugged into the ECM.
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Jul 1, 2009 | 10:32 PM
  #11  
Re: Diagnostic Tool, Where To Buy One?
My car is really messed up from past events and hasn't run right since we bought it, I think I'm going to buy one of these.
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