What are the diagnostic scan tools you can use for Australian cars? What do you need and how does it all work? The article below will cover the OBD2 tools that can work with your Australian car, what features they offer, and how to tell if your car has OBD2.
Let’s get this out of the way first. If your Australian car is a 2006 model or newer, then it is OBD2-compliant. Australia was behind that eight-ball here, as all 1996 models and onwards from the USA are fully OBD2-compliant already. Basically, if your car is 2006 or newer, you are in luck as you can use any of our OBD2 scan tools. The difference between the tools, by the way, are the data they can display and how they display them.
Basic OBD2 Scan Tool Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
These devices allow you to check any engine fault codes coming from your vehicle. The codes are what make the engine check light turn on your dashboard. These diagnostic scan tools for Australian cars are quite cheap, to be frank. And they are easy to use as well.
You just plug them into your car’s OBD2 port (Which will be within 50 cm of the steering wheel, and they are normally just under the steering wheel somewhere. It looks like the bottom half of a triangle and has 16 pins). Once you plug the device in, you can leave it plugged in and connect your phone or tablet to this device. Make sure you download an app to view live engine data and view/clear engine fault codes.
They are great tools, as they allow you to work out what is wrong with your car without having to take it to a mechanic just to tell you something basic. So, it will save you the dollars, for sure!
Hand Held OBD2 Scanners Basic
These are handheld tools that will do everything the basic scan tools will do. The difference though is that they have their own screen and interface so all you need to do is plug it into your OBD2 port, and you are away.
Full System Handheld OBD2 Scan tools
These tools will allow you to check any faults from your car and this can include engine, airbags, abs etc. These are basically professional level tools. They just plug into your OBD2 port and have their own screen and interface that will show you all the data that you want to see.
For example, when a fault is recorded on your car, it will take a freeze-frame of when it happened. You can then see a number of values that will help your work-out why it happened. It will also give you the fault code and description of this as well. This code could be your airflow sensor for example.
Now that was the easier part, as these cars are all 2006 or newer. What happens if your car is older? If your car is between 2001 and 2006, it has a chance to be fully OBD2 compliant as well. We have a list for this here and are also working to improve it. But sometimes the only way to find out is to send us a message.
The next lot of cars are the OBD1 or manufacturer-specific OBD cars. These are most likely between 1995 and 2006. We are currently building a list of options for these cars and we will have some new products coming soon. But basically, these cars will need a OBD tools that connect to your computer (Windows) then you install the software on your computer and you can see a number of options and fault codes.
Hopefully, this has helped you out. If not, feel free to get in contact with us! Or view our range of tools here