E46Fanatics - which bmw scanner can help sloved my problem?

E46Fanatics (http://forum.e46fanatics.com/index.php)

- General E46 Forum (http://forum.e46fanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=4)

- - which bmw scanner can help sloved my problem? (http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=966015)

which bmw scanner can help sloved my problem?

Today i start my car and went inside my house for 10minutes, when i came out my car service engine soon light was on, wth i ask myself, i recently change oil on my car and it been a few thousand mile without problem. I try to resetting the miles back to 15525 on the dashboard and reset the service engine soon light but the service engine soon light didn't go away. I drove the car for 300 miles, i check the remaining miles on my car and it was still at 15525, the miles 15525 didn't even drop after i drive 300 miles after i reset it. Not sure what is going on, so I try to disconnect the battery but when i got to the battery, i can't even disconnect the negative wire that is hook up onto the battery terminal where the negative is hook up too. I know after you loosen the nuts on the negative wire terminal you should be able to pull the negative wire off the battery but that wasn't my case, it was stuck like hell, i pull so hard and almost got my battery ruined, the battery plastic around the battery terminal almost broke off and came out a bit of battery grease. I stop and used a hammer to bang it back down, lucky my car still started or else i'll be paying for a new $200 battery. Worst day ever, i can't even take out my battery. So i need a bmw scanner that can scan and reset my service engine soon light or read the code and tell me what wrong with my car. I went to autozone to get a code read but they bs and say they no longer do that. Which bmw scanner do you guys recommend that will help fix my problem?

I have a Peake R5/FCX 3 scanner for my bimmer; works very well and not very expensive. Just my two and a half cents worth!

any more recommend? what about those scanner that used a laptop?

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokensmile209 (Post 15068332)

any more recommend? what about those scanner that used a laptop?

For a simple SES light, I went the 'cheap' way, I bought a blue tooth 'dongle' off ebay for about $12 & down loaded torque lite app for my droid. pair the two, pull code(s), clear code(s) goggle code. Works on my '01 540i, '05 330cic, '96 Z71 truck & wifes '04 Trailblazer. Very simple & cheap. Can also read several items on the car like O2 voltage, coolant temp, RPM's, Speed......
You can go cheap or exspensive, pick your choice.

Carsoft is a cheap one and widely available. Others like INPA , DIS are a bit more expensive and a bit difficult to run. they also need a bit more knowledge to use properly .

I would recommend to get DIS out of all , large variety of features , clear detection of problems and easy to use .

BTW, you can NOT reset check engine light without a diagnostic tool. Disconnecting a battery wont do it, no pressing of any buttons will do it. Just so you know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blocked Out (Post 15068429)

BLOCKED OUT...my droid as mentioned above WILL clear the SES light. Not sure about the "reset" definition.

If you have a iPhone and want to use a scan app you will have to buy a OBD II dongle that transmits in WIFI, they run about $28 on eBay. I found out the hard way when I bought the cheaper $12 Bluetooth dongle, it did not work with my iPhone 4. It does work with the android though.

Willie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blocked Out (Post 15068429)

DIS? where can i get DIS? a program i have to buy? how much? or i can download somewhere? or will the Peake R5/FCX 3 scanner do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zchild (Post 15068118)

I have a Peake R5/FCX 3 scanner for my bimmer; works very well and not very expensive. Just my two and a half cents worth!

can you tell me more about this Peake R5/FCX 3 scanner? is this the best plug in play tool to clear my problem?

I bought a $25 code reader off Amazon. Works great and its for any OBD II vehicle.

No one recommending BMW scanner 1.4?
OP, if you are looking for a simple to use and easy to understand and set-up scanner buy a BMW scanner 1.4. You can change settings and code your car accordingly as well. Comes from China for $32, takes a little time. Else buy the same from US seller for a little higher price. There is a long thread on the BMW scanner.
DIS, carsoft, INPA are great but a pain to setup and higher chances of messing up if you dont know what you are doing.

For you current problem, go to autozone or such and ask them to read/clear code. They will do it for free.
Also, battery will cost you $100 not $200. At autozone 49DL is the model number, if you dont have a convertible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trj (Post 15069010)

The new law in California stated that AutoZone can't do that anymore, last time I check with AutoZone I was given a no reply....will have to check out bmw scanner 1.4

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Bimmer App

Quote:

Originally Posted by trj (Post 15069010)

The reason no one is recommending them is the latest batch are crap and are a waste of money. Do yourself a favor and buy one from these shores.

And Autozone will not reset the code, it's against their policy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokensmile209 (Post 15069087)

Quote:

Originally Posted by miweber929 (Post 15069203)

The reason no one is recommending them is the latest batch are crap and are a waste of money. Do yourself a favor and buy one from these shores.

And Autozone will not reset the code, it's against their policy.

Are you speaking for the whole community, advising against BMW scanner? It looks like only the people receiving broken items are posting on the threads, whoever receives a working item, they dont post. Only issue is, the one coming from overseas will take more time and more delay if you have to send one back. I believe xcar360 who are the ones coming with this product for cheap is a sponsor on this site now. So, one can directly deal with them.
No offense, but dont bash on a product because someone else couldnt get it to work or got a bad product. Or, did you get a bad one too? They are replicas of the BMW scanner 1.4 from PAsoft, which cost $650. You cant expect to have same level of quality and customer support from the cheaper(super cheap) version.

I am not asking OP to reset the code at auto zone, at least read the code to see what caused it.

I was giving OP a choice since everyone else seemed to give their choices. I bought BMW scanner 1.4 from a US seller paying more than $32($48 to be exact) because I needed it immediately to code my retrofitted xenons. However, the chance of people receiving the broken item from China or Taiwan is same as getting one from US seller. It is the same product with higher mark up price because it is being sold from a seller in the US. I have compared the one from US seller(mine) and the one ordered recently through xcar360(another forum member here). Both are same, even the sticker is attached in the same position(covering the indicator lights).

DIS, INPA, carsoft, etc available over ebay are also cheaper pirated versions. They use vag-com cables modified to work with the stated programs.The Vag-com cables you see for $10 are also the replicas from China, and you have the same chance of getting a bad one.
Plus you can do a lot of damage to the car if you dont know how to use them. I have all those softwares and prefer BMW scanner to read and code simple things on my car. If I have to do something that BMW scanner can't do, then only I resort to INPA.
That is the reason I advised OP on getting a BMW scanner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trj (Post 15069935)

I am aware of the CA law not erasing the code, but I was not aware of not even reading the code. :hmm:
Some stores here in CO will only read the code and not erase it.
May be try a different store and ask them to read it. Almost all the auto parts store will read the code for free.
You have a OBDII car(same year and model as mine) so any generic scanner can read the code. You do not need a BMW specific scanner. It definitely helps to narrow down a problem but is definitely not a necessity.

OP, your problem is not the scanner, but the code. Get it read at the auto parts store or from someone who has an OBD2 scanner. The SES light can be caused by some small as a loose gas cap to something major.
You can decide on which scanner to get later, but the first thing to do is to know what caused the SES light.

Are you speaking for the whole community, advising against BMW scanner? It looks like only the people receiving broken items are posting on the threads, whoever receives a working item, they dont post. Only issue is, the one coming from overseas will take more time and more delay if you have to send one back. I believe xcar360 who are the ones coming with this product for cheap is a sponsor on this site now. So, one can directly deal with them.
No offense, but dont bash on a product because someone else couldnt get it to work or got a bad product. Or, did you get a bad one too? They are replicas of the BMW scanner 1.4 from PAsoft, which cost $650. You cant expect to have same level of quality and customer support from the cheaper(super cheap) version.

I am not asking OP to reset the code at auto zone, at least read the code to see what caused it.

I was giving OP a choice since everyone else seemed to give their choices. I bought BMW scanner 1.4 from a US seller paying more than $32($48 to be exact) because I needed it immediately to code my retrofitted xenons. However, the chance of people receiving the broken item from China or Taiwan is same as getting one from US seller. It is the same product with higher mark up price because it is being sold from a seller in the US. I have compared the one from US seller(mine) and the one ordered recently through xcar360(another forum member here). Both are same, even the sticker is attached in the same position(covering the indicator lights).

DIS, INPA, carsoft, etc available over ebay are also cheaper pirated versions. They use vag-com cables modified to work with the stated programs.The Vag-com cables you see for $10 are also the replicas from China, and you have the same chance of getting a bad one.
Plus you can do a lot of damage to the car if you dont know how to use them. I have all those softwares and prefer BMW scanner to read and code simple things on my car. If I have to do something that BMW scanner can't do, then only I resort to INPA.
That is the reason I advised OP on getting a BMW scanner.

So the bmw scanner can help clear my SES light easy right?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Bimmer App

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokensmile209 (Post 15070304)

So the bmw scanner can help clear my SES light easy right?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Bimmer App

Yes, it will clear the code, as long as you have fixed the problem which made that code appear at the first place.
If something needs to be fixed and you just clear the code, you will get the code back immediately.

Just go to a local auto parts store and get the code read for now. And you can fix it at least. See if any fellow members here in your area can check it out for you. Go to the regional forums and see if someone near you can have a look at it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trj (Post 15070451)

Yes I will call and ask around town, will have to place a order on the bmw scanner asap, at the hospital at the moment, I really appreciated your help thank you

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Bimmer App

I have BMW scanner 1.4 and it works great. Had it for about a month. Cleared codes and changed some coding as well.

I was thinking about getting a scanner also. Has anyone tried the Creader VI+ ? Only found 1 old thread on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zardoz33 (Post 15071499)

I was thinking about getting a scanner also. Has anyone tried the Creader VI+ ? Only found 1 old thread on it.

haven't heard of that before but will look into it, look promising on some of the youtube video :)