Fault Code Reader?

[PeteB]

I'm after a fault code reader for my own Discovery 4, the damn thing is in need of some interpretation! Anyone use a fault code ready to help with diagnosis? Anyone recommend anything? They seem to be priced from £150 to £500, while I ain't afraid to spend the dosh, but is an expensive thing right? I would sell it once the car goes so get something back from the job. Or keep it if I get a later model

[Paddy1000111]

I use a foxwell NT644. It seems to scan everything I throw at it including all the manufacturer diagnostics. It comes with lifetime updates and can do individual unit scanning like ABS and alarm modules. Also seems to cover injector recoding, dpf regeneration, electronic park brake resets, gearbox re-learning and other stuff for most models. It's also the only scanner I have found that works with TD5 defenders as they aren't OBD compliant (outside of the td5 specific tools)

I leave it in the car as it's always handy. What's wrong with your disco? I could have a look on my machine and see if it will cover it? 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Paddy1000111

[PeteB]

Undiagnosed electrical issues. Wouldn't start on the key last week, nothing,zilch, nadder. Put the battery on charge and did an ECU hard reset and it started, but said Gearbox Fault, then suspension fault, and no not starting again. Smell of hot wires in the engine bay too. Had an alternator last year which was a bugger to fit and I did one of the rockers too. With all these warning coming on (inc EBD, HDC and just about everything) it is a badelectrical connection. Very basic OBD reader just said U0001 cambus link issue.....

[Paddy1000111]

Interesting issues. Have you had the battery drop tested etc? What can happen is the low voltage during a start or after being sat overnight can raise a string of faults if the battery is dead, usually low voltage/communication errors so units throw fault lights. It's similar to when you remove the battery the car forgets its self tests so when you start it again it usually has power steering, abs, headlight errors etc whilst it does it's self test on the first drive.

[PeteB]

The battery was fitted about 18 month ago and I did wonder - it is at 12.8v at rest. I'm think of a wiring issue somewhere, a ground, bad connecting plug, earth intermittency etc. Hate bloody electrics when they go wrong! Foxwell was recommended but a dedicated D4 unit - would that also do things like tell me which/why the parking sensor has stopped working etc? or is that a bumper off and test each sensor for faults?

[Paddy1000111]

I'm not 100%. If I scan my volvo with my foxwell I can access the computer in each door, phone modules, everything. It has even more connectivity with land rover so I don't see why it wouldn't scan it. For the price I would ring around a couple of local garages and ask them to plug in and tell you the codes. I can't imagine them wanting more than £30 for that. 

[spudulike]

I have just looked and it seems your car has an OBD2 (on board diagnostic port). You should be able to plug in a cheap (£5) OBD2 dongle and then read this with a Torque app on an android phone or am I missing something??

I have this one....bloody marvelous! 

Auto Scanner Bluetooth ELM 327 OBDII OBD2 Car Diagnostic Scanner For Android iOS

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

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Notice: 1. NOT for iOS ! NOT for vehicles. Bluetooth connection, no Batteries, Cables, or Switches. How to use: Plug the device in your car's port, start the car, enable...

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by spudulike

[Paddy1000111]

Just now, spudulike said:

I have just looked and it seems your car has an OBD2 (on board diagnostic port). YOu should be able to plug in a cheap (£5) OBD2 dongle and then read this with a Torque app on an android phone or am I missing something??

I have this one....bloody marvelous! 

Auto Scanner Bluetooth ELM 327 OBDII OBD2 Car Diagnostic Scanner For Android iOS

WWW.EBAY.CO.UK

---

Notice: 1. NOT for iOS ! NOT for vehicles. Bluetooth connection, no Batteries, Cables, or Switches. How to use: Plug the device in your car's port, start the car, enable...

 

Only thing is with these is they won't read manufacturer level diagnostics. They will read OBDII but that only covers basic warning lights. The manufacturer level stuff is read from different lines on the OBD port and is why the old snap on stuff used to come with "keys" which re-directed the wiring to different ports on the scanner. Sadly the basic bluetooth ones won't cover the different protocols/pins used by manufacture diagnostics. The foxwell one has a set of relay banks that you can hear all clicking away re-wiring the link so it can speak to each module on the vehicle

[Rac man]

If your in a motoring organisation ie rac if your happy to ring tell a warning lights on with loss of power,we are always happy to run a scan  ,sometimes after flat battery coms error is common, usually just delete codes sometimes have to reset bcm etc it could be worth the cost of a call 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Rac man

[Powerfab]

The GAP Diagnostic iid scanner is supposed to be the go to for all things LR. 

IIDTool - Gap Diagnostic (gap-diagnostic.com) Only problem is it costs £400. 

 

I've just bought a Discovery 3 myself so interested in the outcome of this. Like Pete, I'm not averse to spending the money if its well spent, but if there's something does 80% of the scanning this one does for 1/2 the price I'm all ears.