I'm seriously considering buying one of these for my '89 and '92. I have one of the $20 code readers but I want something more advanced that tells me exactly what's wrong with the car when something does happen because I'm tired of paying rediculous prices at a shop. I went to Checker last night and the guy I spoke with didn't know anything about it. I'd like to get some input from someone who has used one. It costs about $170, and I'll gladly pay that if it does a lot more than a $20 code reader.
Thanks for any input.

chris

 

I got mine used off e-bay for $112. It comes in very handy.

 

I've had one for a little over a year. It doesn't do me much good on the Camaro, since all it will tell is trouble codes, but I've used it on my Bonnevilles quite a bit.

Don't fool yourself about the "exactly what's wrong with the car" part, though. I got the unit when one of the cars was hard to start - no codes would set, but it didn't tell me why it wouldn't start. New plugs and wires helped, but didn't cure it. About 10 days ago, the SES light came on, and a "cam sensor failure" code was finally set - getting the part today to see if that's been the cause all along. Last spring, the other car would die suddenly while driving, no code would set, it wouldn't indicate why. Dealer was able to determine that the crank sensor was intermittent, and would open when warm enough - Auto Xray didn't help in either of those cases.

I have used it to set TPS voltage, though.

 

So do you think it's worth $170?

 

Be careful when buying a scanner!!!!! Every computer will react different to them, so all of any given scanners 'abilities' might not be compatable with your paticular car. Call up the manufacturer you're considering and ask them what their scanner will do for your exact car. Here is a post with some of the problems I am talking about: https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...threadid=87095 Auto X-rays are nice, I do own and use one, but you get what you pay for and these are some of the cheapest tools of their sort. I am not trying to scare you away from an auto x-ray, but know what your getting before you lay down your loot.

 

Thanks dude, I'm hittin' the link now. I've been wanting one for some time now, but never got around to getting one. I've had good luck with the little code reader, but some of the codes are so vague, and don't really pinpoint like I think the X-ray is suppose to do. I do most of my own maintenance, but on occasion when I have to take my car to a shop, they rape you for minor repairs. So I'm hoping this tool will help better than a basic code reader.

 

I'm selling mine on Friday to buy an interface cable for my laptop. The AutoXray on my car (90 Iroc w/ SD 350) told very little, when we plugged it into my friend's 92 RS V6, it had 12 more items in the list, most of which I wish I had.

The items I used the most on it were:

Block Learn/Integrator/Block Cell
Injector Pulse
O2 Voltage
Manifold Air Pressure
Throttle Position

It's a fairly useful tool if you want a little more information than just SES codes. I got mine online from a place in Tempe AZ, 130$ refurbished I think it was.