Hey all,

Last year I replaced the OEM exhaust system with a Fabspeed system (headers, 200 cell cats, mufflers, X-pipe, etc.).

Now, every once in awhile, my CEL comes on. I clear it (rather, I take it to the shop and they clear it), and it stays off, sometimes for months, then pops back on. The codes seem to indicate that the cats have gone bad.

My indy shop guy says it's probably just something I will have to live with.

I'd like to get an OBD II code reader so that I can clear the CEL myself.

Any recommendations for a good inexpensive OBD II reader that will clear the CEL?

If you have any other great advice, I'm open to hearing that, too.

Thanks in advance!

(Also, my seat belt dash light stays on all the time. There are no error codes, and the OBD II shows that the computer indicates that the belts are latched, so it doesn't seem to be the belt receptacle. The indy guy says that's probably something I just have to live with too, since it's probably a computer glitch somewhere. He says I could spend a small fortune trying to track it down. He's a very reputable Porsche indy. Any suggestions there?).

 

Any cheap 50$ scanner on amazon will clear a CEL.

 

I picked up an Actron OBDII scanner on Amazon dirt cheap - $40ish, maybe, but really ANY of the OBDII scanners on Amazon will work for reading and clearing codes.

Like this...

There are cheaper scanners, but the Actron listed above is (allegedly) updatable so it's a little future-proof...

The really cheap scanners will give you the code, and you can Google what it means. The ones with larger displays will give you the full text of the trouble code without having to search, but you'd want to double-check the results with a list like the one below to make sure there's no Porsche-specific info you should be aware of...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/boxst...e-listing.html

 

Depending on whether you're an Android fan or an Apple fan, I have different recommendations for you Let me know.

 

If I'm going on a road trip, I throw my scanner in whatever car I'm driving. That way if I throw a code, I can find a parking lot and determine if it's a worry-about-now or worry-about-later issue.

 

BTW, would this be covered under Fabspeed's warranty?

 

Ahsai, the bluetooth/wifi lashups are neat, but having a POS scanner is kind of nice too.

 

He wouldn't know until he reads the codes. MAF is always a suspect with intermittent MIL lights...

*edit* I'm a dork. Cats. Might be going bad, but you might also try a spacer for the downstream 02 sensors to see if that would be sufficient to get the readings back in line.

 

I love my Torque app for Andrid. Better than anything other than a Durametric and less than $25 including the Bluetooth adapter from eBay.

 

He can get both The bluetooth/wifi scanners offer more diagnostic capability than a POS scanner such as mode $5, $6 data and real-time sensor reading, which is essential to diagnose O2 and cat related issues, which is the case in point.

His shop did and said the code points to the cats (in post #1). You are too Schnell

 

Oh, you want me to READ everything?

 

A good question. I will contact Fabspeed and see what they say. I don't think the cats are actually "bad" even though it periodically throws a code. I think the computer is just set up to read from the OEM cats. But, I really have no clue how all that stuff is integrated.

The last two times the CEL came on was under identical circumstances. Both times, I overfilled the gas tank (so that it came out the filler spout) just before driving up to Los Angeles. Both times, the CEL came on while I was on the freeway half way to LA. I think I gotta stop driving to LA.

Android. Galaxy III.

I don't mind paying more if it gives me better functionality.

Argghhh... the CEL just came on for my POS Hyundai, too. Sheesh.

 

Don't quote me on this but I think Fabspeed does say their sport cats will not trip the CEL. Most users will not tolerate CEL anyway so that's not surprising.

Great. I would recommend this
and the $5 Android Torque Pro app.

A more well built version is http://www.scantool.net/obdlink-mx.html but really not necessary. Try the blue one above first, cheap enough to throw away if you don't like it.

Let me know once you get it. I can tell you exactly what to read and understand what the hell's going on with your cats

 

I used the elm327 (stated above) combined with a low profile obdII cable extension which allows me to keep the elm327 plugged in at all times (tucked away between the footwells). I also have an Android based head unit which allows me to get all the info and reset the codes directly from my head unit.

 

Without the sleep function (the blue dongle), does it drain your battery?