Many people prefer to have an OBD2 scanner, even though most don’t know what it does or how to work with it. It’s pretty easy to learn how to use an OBD2 scanner, even if you’re new to the whole thing.
Even if you’re wondering how to use an OBD2 scanner, it is the right article for you, so do read the entire thing. How to use the obd ii scanner? Find out why the autel car scanner (Autel Mk808) is the best among old ii scanners.
What Is OBD2?
Cars have been evolving day by day, and they’re pretty much just computers with wheels along with multiple functionalities. OBD2 is one of the advanced forms of diagnostic tools to check on your vehicle. They first introduced them in 1996, and they’ve been evolving ever since.
Now it’s a mandatory thing to be on board with pretty much all vehicles. OBD2 can precisely monitor your car’s ignition system without any issues, and it can even check up on auto transmissions as well.
Many people don’t know how to use an OBD2 scanner, and that’s one of the main reasons people get panic when the OBD2 alarm goes on if there’s something wrong with the car.
We tend to forget that OBD2 is for scanning what’s wrong with the car, not that it’d prevent anything from going wrong.
It’s just a very sophisticated and reliable software to monitor your car’s full functionalities so that you can do maintenance whenever needed. And by checking them regularly, you can increase the overall lifespan of your vehicle.
How to use a diagnostic code reader
How Does OBD2 Reader Work
There are many different types of scanners out there, and it depends on which type of scanner you’ve bought for your vehicle. There are also cheap scanners available in the market which don’t come with the complete functionalities, which is certainly a downside.
But whichever model you choose to buy, it’s certainly easy to learn how to use an OBD2 scanner.
If you’ve bought the code reader, it still has some limited functionalities, and it only lets you read and clear abs codes.
But all OBD2 scanners do share some basic functionalities, including checking for pending codes and make a customized list of parameters. Some of them can even set up pids which is noteworthy.
Even though many car owners seriously expect that the OBD2 scanners can deal with car problems, that’s not a practical thought. It never can solve all the car problems, but it does tell how what’s wrong with your car so that the car technician can help you out faster.
The malfunction indicator light, which lights up on the engine headlight indicator signal on your car meter, is how you can see OBD2 signs.
And when you visit the indicator blinking, it means that PCM can’t exactly show you the signal sent by your car sensors. Since it can’t directly show you the error messages, it keeps them in the storage so that the scanner can decode them later and guide you.
How To Connect And Read An OBD2 Scanner
To connect the OBD2 scanner to your car, you’ll have to make sure that your vehicle is compatible first. You can always go on your car website to check if your car is compatible or not.
You’ll have to locate your car’s OBD2 diagnostic port so that you can connect your scanner through the port. The mounting connector has a 16-pin connector, and plugging in is easy for anyone new to learning how to use an OBD2 scanner. The next step is to turn on the ignition, and your engine will be off.
But the power it leaves will turn on dash lights along with the OBD2 port, which is our primary goal. The scan tool will power up and show you a menu, and different scanners have different operational menus.
To read the codes, you’ll have to navigate the lists and select “Read Codes.” If the storage hm more than one code, it’ll let you cycle through the principles one by one, or you might need to press different buttons to see the rest of the regulations.
If you have a Bluetooth-enabled OBD2 scanner, you can connect it to your smartphone and read the codes from there, which are very convenient.
For this, all you have to do open your smartphone and go to the Bluetooth settings and search for available devices right after powering up the OBD2 system. Connect your phone to the OBD2 device showing there, and the name would be the model number of your OBD2 scanner.
After connecting with your smartphone, open up your OBD2 app, and you’ll be set. The apps are more user-friendly, and they’ll show you directly about any issues in your vehicle.
How To Use OBD2 Scanner? [60 sec]
Do you know you can Reset Abs Light and Clear Obd2 Codes Without a Scan tools.
The OBD2 scanner is a very user-friendly device, and you don’t precisely need prior knowledge to use it. Even if you’re entirely new to the device, you can quickly learn to use an OBD2 scanner.
There are different OBD2 scanners in the market, and it’s pretty easy since the basic functionalities are pretty much the same.
So it won’t be a complex problem for anyone new to figuring out how to use an OBD2 scanner. The first thing you need to make sure of is to connect the data link connector of the scanner with your car right after turning off your vehicle.
After the connection is established, the scanner will start up and start functioning. If the scanner doesn’t start up, you’d need to use the power button to boot it up.
After the scanner is booted up, it’ll ask you to provide some basic information about your car and wait for some moments. After that, it’ll start scanning your vehicle, and later on, it’ll provide you with some codes of error messages. You can always connect your smartphone with your OBD2 and transfer the logs to your phone.
Or you can write everything down to check them later. You can check the manuals to understand the error codes, figure out what’s wrong with your vehicle, and take immediate action.
If you are fully aware of using an obd2 reader, you can discover which is the best autel scanner for you.
Should I Get A Bluetooth OBD2 scanner?
To get things more cleared up, OBD2 has been evolving ever since it was first introduced, and now it comes with a bunch of unique features. Another popular of them is the Bluetooth-enabled OBD2 scanner. One question is how to use the obd2 Bluetooth scanner? But, first, we discover it’s the price.
Now, they indeed are more expensive than regular scanners, but here’s the catch. Not everyone knows how to deal with OBD2 scanners, and there are high expectations among car owners.
If you do know how to deal with OBD2 and understand the necessity, purchasing an OBD2 scanner is a fantastic idea without a doubt.
Even though it’s certainly easy to learn how to use an OBD2 scanner, if you’re not sure why you’d need a Bluetooth-enabled one, maybe it wouldn’t be an excellent choice to buy one. It’d be somewhat a waste of money, so it all depends on you.
As a mechanical engineer, it’s easy for David to explain the functionality of the tool. David test most of the tools before writing a review. its help him to learn something new and suggest the best product for you.