alpine003

Some ecu's are more finicky than others and will occasionally trip the cel when using 200 cell cats. I would recommend getting o2 extender bungs off e bay for $20 and try that first. Lots of guys with similiar issues were cured by getting o2 extenders.

Unfortunately most of the Porsche crowd isn't as hardcore as other groups so there currently is no correlated data on which ecu revision programs are the finicky ones.

Although I can appreciate the smartphone Bluetooth readers, sometimes it's good to just have a $20 scanner if all your looking to do is to clear the generic codes or are willing to look up generic codes and match them to a more detailed description.

I've had this one for over 5 years and it served me well on multiple vehicles. $18 shipped.


Btw, I also have more elaborate scanners in my arsenal too.

scorchpa

It's supposed to have a sleep function, but to be safe, I actually spliced the power line from the obd extension cable to the head unit power, so now it only powers on when the ignition is on. This is a semi-permanent, totally hidden installation of the OBDII reader that I have had on now for 4 months with no issues at all, and is of course 100% reversible.... 15 min install and <$30

Ahsai

Clever!

Ahsai

I guess you guys are missing my point. The stand alone simple scanner can only read codes and it will not plot real sensor data, don't have mode 5&6, which will help OP diagnosing his issue or at least understand what is happening w/o bring the car to the mechanic all the time.

Longtail996

Ahsai, what do you recommend for those of us on iPhone?

Ahsai

I have not tried it yet but scorchpa raved about this one

It should work on iOS and Android. The problem with apple is I have not seen one app as good as Android Torque in terms of diagnostic capability but then I have not been following Apple apps that closely so maybe they have something diff now.

Maybe scorchpa can comment more.

Cuda911

Asahai, so that cheapo $8 one will actually give useful info an also let me reset the CEL? I was a bit confused, since your later post indicates that the cheapo ones don't give diagnostic info I will need. So, if you still recommend that one, I'll buy it and then PM you for info. At $8.95 and free shipping, not much to lose there!

As an update: Coincidentally, today a buddy of mine was over at the indy shop that installed my Fabspeed system (a different shop than the one that cleared out the code for me). My buddy was talking to the shop owner, and mentioned the issues I was having. So, the owner called me this afternoon. He says that if the code pops up again, bring it in to him and there is apparently something he can tweak. I'm not sure what.

And correct, Fabspeed claims it won't trip CEL. Indy Shop #1 (the one that cleared the code this morning) says that the CEL might be tripping because I track the car, which is harder on cats. (the cats are less than a year old). Indy Shop #2 owner told me today that Fabspeed has a lifetime warranty, so at least I'm not worried there. The whole Fabspeed set-up cost a small fortune.).

Anyway, I do like to learn, so I'd still like to get a cheap code reader.

Question: Why does Porsche keep its codes so super secret? Schnelly, thanks for the Pelican code link.

scorchpa

$8 one will do everything you need (read codes, clear codes, read all engine parameters etc). I do have the WiFi version, but primarily use it with Torque in Android. I've downloaded a couple free or $1 apps on Wifi, and you can still do everything Torque can, just UI isnt as nice. Now if you really want to do everything, then you're talking duramatic which is a couple hundred bucks, but for just clearing and reading codes as well as reading the main engine parameters, the $8 unit is a no brainer.

Cuda911

Thanks! Placing my order now.

EDIT: Order has been placed. I went for the "Super Mini ELM327 V1.5 OBD2 OBD-II Bluetooth CAN-BUS" one. Amazon says 17 to 28 days shipping. I tried a few vendors and all say the same, so I assume this is some default Amazon time frame. Hard to imagine it could take that long to get here. I'll let you know once it shows up.

Yeah, sounds like a good idea. When the CEL came on the first time time, I spent a lot of time worrying on the rest of the drive up to LA and back .

Ahsai

Yes, the cheapo $8 will do everything you need and more because the power is in the software - Android Torque, which reports data values (e.g., O2 sensor voltage) in realtime and mode 5 and 6 data.

I was commenting those simple stand alone scanners though handy for reading and resetting codes, they won't help you understand and diagnose cat, O2 sensor related issues.

Ahsai

Torque Pro app + $8 bluetooth scanner plotting the precat and postcat O2 sensor voltages in time.

What you're looking at is a bad bank 1 cat and a healthy bank 2 cat

Cuda911

OK, great.... Looks like another toy for me to have fun with!

So, to belabor the point... I'm assuming I need to go to the app store and buy this Torque Pro App?

Ahsai

Correct. It's $5 with change but before that, you could just download the free verion - Torque Lite to test your OBDII scanner and setup to make sure it communicates with your car correcty. Torque Lite can already read and reset codes but has very limited capability.

Cuda911

OK, thanks again. I'll put in some OT at the fry station and earn some $$ to pop for the full Torque Pro.

CJWessing

Looks like Torque Pro is only for Android phones, got a recommendation for iPhones?