Scan Tool

I have a thread going on here, and on a local board, even talking to a dealer mech it seems what I need is a Scan Tool.
My local store has 2 on sale, and one at the same price as the others on sale. All ring in at $250 but I can't tell what the difference is between them
Not sure if the link works properly but here is the link to all the Scan Tools, and the top 3 are the ones I am looking at. I want to get the best one for what I need, but after reading, and re-reading I am not sure which one to go for.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/subcategory_landing.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672441&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443293138&bmUID=1195967355509&deptid=1408474396672395&ctgrid=1408474396672399&subctgrid=1408474396672441
Thats for all 3, if someone can tell the difference between them and help me out it would be greatly appreciated as I am going tomorrow to get one.Hopefully it will help me get my elec problem fixed.

I would love to help you but your link just goes to the Cadian tire main website. Edit with a different link and i'll try to help you out.

That, and it would be a huge help to know what year your rig is...

RENIX (1987-1990, needs DRB-II or Snap-On MT2500)
OBD-I (1991-1995, hobbyist scanners will work)
OBD-II (1996-up, hobbyist scanners will work.)

ok, was worried the link may not work, as you have to enter a postal code when entering the site (mine is k0j1j0) The readers are found under Auto - Auto Tools - Auto Code Readers and then first three there.
I'll try and find a working site
This is one
http://www.levineautoparts.com/equus3120.html
This is the other
http://www.levineautoparts.com/equus3130.html
Dang those sites are selling for much less than my place, even on sale.

As for my year, 97 (same as sig below)

beakie said:

ok, was worried the link may not work, as you have to enter a postal code when entering the site (mine is k0j1j0) The readers are found under Auto - Auto Tools - Auto Code Readers and then first three there.
I'll try and find a working site
This is one
http://www.levineautoparts.com/equus3120.html
This is the other
http://www.levineautoparts.com/equus3130.html
Dang those sites are selling for much less than my place, even on sale.

As for my year, 97 (same as sig below)

Click to expand...

Then any OBD-II reader should work.

Checking your sig is of limited utility - there are quite a few of us (our wives would say "far too many") who have more than a couple of rigs, so it's just a good habit to give with the year and such when you ask a question. Saves time, you know...

But yeah, find an OBD-II reader you're comfortable with, and get that. They're cheap enough, if you look about (and you can probably find PC-based and PalmOS-device-based readers as well...) Spend more money? Get more capabilities.

You can find a listing of OBD-II DTCs culled from FSMs on my website, in the Tech section. I'll be adding a listing of the SAE standard DTCs for OBD-II as well, once I get it coded into HTML. They're listed in numerical order by the SAE format - Pxxxx. But, they can also be put across in decimal notation (usually two digits) and hexadecimal (two digits - 0-9/A-F) as well. Most readers should give you SAE format first.

do you have a princess auto near you? there is 10 store's in ontario
if so they had obd2 scanners on sale for $50 (reg 79)they are just basic ones but it should do the trick
here's a link to there catalogue http://downloads.princessauto.com/?Lid=E
click on the specialty tools section, once it's open it's just past halfway down the page
may be a little too far of a drive, ottawa looks to be the nearest location to you http://www.princessauto.com/PAcountry.cfm?CTRY=CAN&INF=loc&SPC=1

Well than, if I understand this correctly, I have no need to go with the more expensive readers at all?

I figured the more expensive ones did a more in depth job of reading codes. Instead of just giving me numbers, they worked more like a Mechanics computer to give diagnostics and such. If thats the case, why are there the cheap $50 ones, and the expensive $500 ones?

I know 3 people working at Princess Auto's, but ya they are atleast 2 1/2 hours away from here.

As much as I hate spending money on useless items, would I see any benefit, (I try and help buddies fix there vehicles when I can) either now or in the future buying a $250 reader compared to the $50 one?

Hence forth I'll give all required info when asking for help. I do appreciate all the help I get on here, so I hate wasting peoples time when I do go looking for help.

Thanks again.

The cheap ones are probably just code readers and not actual scanners which will give you live data like sensor voltage and such which can be your friend diag a problem also they are able to clear trouble codes..

I'm pretty sure the cheap ones will clear the codes
some of the more expensive will give you live sensor readings and smog readiness indicators(If you clear the codes you have to drive for a while before the computer will give the green light for a smog test)
the more you pay the more features you get (also paying for the brand name sometimes)

if you use the scanner to clear codes you can smog it anytime the only time you will have to wait awhile is if you disconnect the battery then you will have to wait awhile for readiness test complete usually a couple of days..

I got a reader, probably spent way too much and now contemplating returning it for a cheaper one.
while I was waiting for the reader to do its thing, I fixed my 'elec problem' read 'blown fuze I'm stupid' problem.
the reader I got was a kit, books, multiple plug ins, pc hook up and such. I think I will bring it back tomorrow and get a lower priced one that doesn't have all the bells n whistles I don't need.

Thanks for all the help on the matter.

I got a Program for my Laptop for trips, I Love it so far, I can Datalog and more, also it looks like they've come out with a hand help unit aswell.
http://www.auterraweb.com/ I got the Standard OBD2 version with the COM port and just bought a USB Adapter at FRY's. You won't need the CAN Data BUS version unless you plan on messing with cars 03 or above.