Advice on diagnostic equipment Advice on diagnostic-test & general auto-electrical repair equipment Page updated 01-08-17 Fault code reading can be very mis-leading. Even with the latest and most expensive kit or main dealer equipment, communication between diagnostic reader & the EEPROM chip, where the info is stored, is not always possible. Even when possible, faultcode reading may point to sensor failure, when in fact the sensor is reading correctly, the problem is something else. Faultcode reading must only be seen as a diagnostic method 'to point the finger in the right direction'. To trust faultcode reading or live serial data as your only means of diagnostics, will mean allot of wasted time & money buying un-wanted sensors. Delph DS150E or an Autocom Pro copy from China connected to a secondhand BT Panasonic CF 29 toughbook.

Is the best coverage system to date for the money! Delphi DS150E Panasonic Toughbook (my new toy)! SP Diagnsotics equipment is as good as anything for the money, if you buy secondhand. SPi with one SD card and a collection of leads, is the only relevant model sold.

The older Sykes Pickavent ACR4 MAP pod is very good for older cars. (07-02-11) Sykes Pickavant and SP diagnostics are now two differing companies.

SP diagnostics is led by Winston Lee, who worked for Sykes since the early 1990's. He has survived many changes of Sykes ownership over the years. So he must be a man who knows his trade! SP diagnostics have taken over all the design, manufacture and customer support of the former Sykes diagnostic products. Sykes Pickavent SPe service tool, just being released looks very usefull, I have the application list!

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It looks good. The base tool is a rebranded Socio Pokayoke 540 product from Italy. This tool i s aimed in mainland Europe, at the fast fit trade (07-02-11). Price is £1695 + VAT it looks very good value for money. One of the big motor factor chains has offered me one at £1450 + VAT (22-02-11). (07-02-11) SP diagnostics have launched the Service Scan which is a product that is comparable in operation to the SPe but is £995 + VAT.

(31-10-11) We bought in August of this year a secondhand SPi unit. We are really pleased with the SP Diagnostics SPi we have bought, the multiplexed all in one 16pin lead has really speeded up the job. Ford diagnostics much improved, comes with a bit of Dealer spec IDS type graphing. All in one lead must save me about 30 mins a day on average.

EOBD applications are very good, with some really impressive graphing functions. We now have the latest Software update for the SPi downloaded from the SP website. SPi Wasp The SP diagnostics WASP unit, looked too much like overkill to me at £200 ish. I have had the opportunity to try one a few times and I am beginning to find uses for it. If you own a SP Wasp, you need a good supply of cable ties, I today have diagnosed an intermitant ABS fault on an Audi RS6. When test driving, I was unable thru live serial data to see the loss of a rear wheel speed sensor signal. I could not use a scope connected to the vehicle wiring and drive at 40mph, but I could use the Wasp and see the sensor output graphed thru the SPi handset.

Real success, defined results. I see a future for this type of tool. (24-12-11) Bosch KTS 651 We have owned a Bosch KTS 651-750 which cost us thousands, plus you need to enter into a contract for monthly updates.

We would not invest £7k+ in the Bosch KTS system again, as most applications can be covered by separate handheld kit purchased from the internet. If you have a separate scope & OBD2 EOBD CAN-2A enacted faultcode reader & a bit of know-how, you can get round most engine related problems. Even if you have to pay the main dealer an odd hours labour to programe things up, its not too much of a loss. No one bit of kit however expensive it is, will do all applications. Another comprehensive bit of kit is VIXEN as used by the AA, it's loaded onto a Panasonic Toughbook. We've used this to some success, getting hold of a copy of this may prove very difficult thou.

Forget Snap-on scanners & Crypton code readers. Software & updates just not up to the expensive price tag. Launch systems are easy to use, but daily updates over the internet seems a bit excessive. We have used most systems, none are as good as the marketing literature & salesman say they are! Basically if you have a laptop, go on eBay & you are very handy with a PC, all serial data extraction software is available, at very low cost.

Hold this thought. 'I reckon there is more money selling diagnostic equipment than buying it and billing the service out'.

So be very careful how you spend your money! Over the years. We have borrowed or bought into many d eal er spec systems like: Ford IDS, Jaguar/Land Rover IDS, BMW GT1-OPS-SSS-DIS, Merc Das Star, Tech2 (Vauxhall, Saab, Suzuki and Isuzu), Fiat Examiner, Peugeot Planet-Diag2000, Renault Clip, Citreon Proxia-Lexia3, Rover and Land Rover Testbook, Volvo Vida-Dice, Honda Him-Hds, Nissan Consult2, Toyota Mastertech, Mitsubishi MUT2, VAG-VAS5051, Kia GDS Global and Hyundai Carmen Scan. All were very expensive. The question you need to ask yourself is: Will you ever earn enough money out of them to cover the purchase price and updates. The truthful answer is: Very very unlikely. The MercStar 06 Compact-3, we paid a fortune for it from Europe.

Yes it works well, but it has its limitations & we will never earn enough from it to cover the purchase price and because we are not in the Mercedes MUX network, SCN cluster programming is limited up to 2006 & non existent beyond, thus we have not bought an upgrade. We are slowly selling off most of our dealer spec equipment. The return never justifys the outlay. Land Rover Disco 2, Defender and Range Rover diagnostics. Forget IDS or Testbook. Nanocom at £300 from Cyprus Does everything you need including programming keys. I have one for my 2004 TD5 Discovery 2.

(2 0- 04-1 4) I have just purchased a secondhand Carman-scan for Japanese cars. Nextech Carman-scan-lite with Version 980 software onwards and the optional blue multigateway cable which performs single wire can-bus, is the model to buy! Price is about £1900 new. Our Nextech Carman Scan Lite (sold now) We have just replaced our Carman scan lite with an ADL G Scan 2 TAB with a tablet which is OEM dealer spec coverage for Kia and Hyundai for £895 + VAT ( 23- 07-1 7). G Scan 2, this tool at £1795 + VAT (23 - 07-17 ). Buy your own tablet and save £900 + VAT, simple.

I have also bought a Bosch KTS200 for £1674 inc VAT. This was a non time out software model ex Hickleys Diagnostics, Taunton, Somerset ( 12- 09-1 6). Mac Tools (USA) sell the ET50 EOBD CANII compliant mini code reader-eraser for $69.99 US, which is about £36ish plus P+P (25-01-08). I've bought one direct from the USA. It's a super little pocket sized tool, it works very well, never needs batteries & is going to save me lugging about my laptop when rechecking & erasing codes after a repair has been enacted. Its the only mini code-reader I've seen, that does not look like its going to fall apart the first time you use it. Time will tell.?

Mac ET50 super tool for the money. It will erase some codes my Sykes SPi & ACR4 will not. Only downside is the auto scroll HMI function is a bit frustrating till you become familiar with the tool. These are now available as copies from China from eBay for less than £20 (21-08-11) Mac ET50 Another useful Can2 compliant code reader is the OTC 3109. Very-very robust tool.

We have one in our recovery truck. Cost is about £105 (better value than comparable Sealey or Autel tools). Plus the OTC tool is upgradeable, free from there website! Sykes Pickavant are now selling a range of low spec OTC diagnostic tools (07-01-12).

OTC 3109 CAN code reader. Sykes SPe ACR4 MAP kit If you buy any faultcode reading kit, it must be Can compliant and be able to read the new type 29 bit identifiers (Can 2.0B) as well as the old 11 bit identifiers (Can 2.0A). Even if you don't understand this, it is a question you need to ask when buying diagnostic equipment. Don't dabble with programming, we caught a cold with Siemens software for BMW.

It kept crashing, simple additions (nodes) to can-bus systems for PDC enacted by BMW main dealers, ended up with cars being driven into the workshop for the job and then subsequently being towed away. The simple reason being the software did not work. You have been warned. Any re-programming is best undertaken by the main dealer.

Simple reason is, if it goes wrong its down to them! Paying a main dealer for one or two hour's labour, is nothing compared to the risks involved. Any 'run of the mill' programming to position of diesel injectors and the like, can be overcome by searching the internet and buying pre-programmed parts from pattern part manufacturers. Key programming & auto locksmithing is a discipline on its own. If you have the Sykes Map kit, for £375-400 they do an additional pod (iKeys) that covers most common applications. Any job that this kit does not cover, we call in a mobile auto locksmith.

We do not get enough key programming work to justify £5-7k on more comprehensive kit, Advance Diagnostics being the market leader in chip cloning kit. Avoid EDC15-16 flashing, lots of expensive damage can be done to diesel control systems using poor quality equipment & software.

If you think you can improve on the balance of performance, fuel economy and reliability. Which is programmed in by the big car manufacturers with billion pound development budgets.

You are kidding yourself! (0 8-0 2-1 4). Re-mapping equipment has its uses, these are as follows. DPF delete, dropping EGR valves, Imo defeat. Keeping cars out of limp mode by changing diagnostic parameters.

Our e xpensive heap of dealer spec scanners! Serial data output (sensor graphing) via the old style K+L-line, or the newer superior Can hi-low terminals of any diagnostic socket, K-line outputs have a data rate of 10400bps where Can2.0A is 500.000bps and Can2.0B is 1.000.000bps. Output that is supplied by the ECU & displayed by, Bosch KTS, later Snap-on & main dealer spec diagnostic equipment including Merc Star.

It's all unreliable & misleading. Apart from adding cabling and test equipment to the circuit in question thus increasing the margin of error. It does not exclude the host vehicle cabling, where over 50% of the faults are situated. Any volt drop or resistance in the host cabling will alter the results, giving the impression a perfectly functioning sensor is at fault. Plus with Can-Lin networks, any data transfer glitch will show as complete network failure. When in fact the definitive but time consuming method is to backprobe both ends of all of the network links between the multiplexers (nodes) with a dual channel oscilloscope, comparing the stored waveforms, subsequently they need to be identical for the system to work.

I do view serial data on dialy basis for dignosis, but I always test at the point of connection before parting with my money on parts. (0 8-0 2-1 4) CAN-LIN BUS As a matter of info, most people fear Can-Lin bus systems, but in fact they are very simple & reliable.

All network inputs/outputs are testable & most faults are caused by glitches which can be traced back to electrical interference (noise) from high output coils, ignition, central locking solenoids etc. Some early systems lacked shielding and had little or no thought put into where the can-bus cables were routed.

Higher or lower frequency interference (noise) will be very evident when comparing waveforms recorded on to an oscilloscope. Mildly damp connections cause problems, they don't need to be wet or corroded, just damp! Forget WD40 or duck oil, use compressed air from an airline fitted with water trap to dry connectors. (0 8-0 2-1 4) Can-bus wiring fault (twisted pair) Whole loom out for testing!

Oscilloscopes are the definitive method of sensor testing. The use of an oscilloscope will prove if the sensor in question is malfunctioning or if the host supply wiring or power supply is at fault. We own a 20mhz Picoscope, a colour screen 200mhz non automotive Fluke Scopemeter and an automotive Bosch 50mhz PMS100 with a full set of twelve secondary ignition leads, split thru a 12 way to 2 channel switch-able breakout box.

But a more cost effective alternative for your first outing with a scope, is a Velleman HPS10 Personal Scope. The Velleman HPS10 scope costs about £ 80.00 at the date of writing (we paid £ 70.00 in a sale) plus £15.00 for a case (well worth the money in workshop environment) £7.50 for five Ni-Mh 2000mh rechargeable batteries and £ 5. 00 for a 12v 500mh regulated power supply (or 9v 300mh unregulated, the scope has an internal charging circuit). Total: £1 07.50ish (22-05-06).

Its a bit cheap and plastic but very portable, the probe is flimsy (replacement £15ish). The case resembles a cheap mobile phone case, but protects the LCD screen from scratches. But with a 10mhz analogue bandwidth you will be able to backprobe and prove most sensors, making up some breakout adapters from old male/female multiplugs plugs will ease connection.

It is possible to prove AC ABS wheel sensors, but not some high speed GM crank/cam motion sensors. The tiny non back light LCD display takes some getting used to, I've had to resort to a AA maglite in my mouth before to illuminate it. But never the less it shows you the information you need, voltage from the sensor, over time. With this scope and a bit of ingenuity making up connections, you will be able to prove, MAF, temp, pressure, piezo, motion, position, voltage, Can-Lin bus and hall effect sensors. The HPS10 has auto setting mode, so press one button and it will make all the adjustments for time div, volt div, trigger. It also has manual settings & storage for when you have read the instructions! If you think 10mhz analogue bandwidth does not sound allot, look at the spec sheet for a Pico or Snap-on automotive oscilloscope, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the spec of the Velleman scope.

Velleman also list a HPS40 scope, which is four times faster and has a back light display, but it is well over four times the price. I would not pay the extra for the speed, that is not necessary for automotive diagnostic work. Velleman HPS10 £80 ish CZ Sincro DSO200 £230 ish PDF file in Italian containing illustrations of Velleman scope, be patient file takes a long while to load.

Re-badged by CZ Sincro with a range of automotive connectors. Most of which can be made up, using standard BNS connectors, shielded coax (sky cable) and male-female auto' multiplugs sourced ex scrapyards or new. Solder these all together to make breakout adapters, to leave sensor in circuit while taking reliable readings ( 18-0 3-0 7 I should have marketed it myself & made some money, I've been telling everybody for over a year how good the scope is, now a mainstream test equipment company is selling it, at an inflated price with expensive attachments).

Expensive inductive scope adapters make it easier to make a connection. Large back light screens are nice, dual or quadruple channels are good for comparisons. Triple channels are needed for proving three phase motorcycle generators, which no-one dares load up to much to test. Power/amps scopes have their uses. PC connections and optical outputs with large memories all come in handy. Faster mhz scopes are indispensable for high speed cam sensors on very late model cars (GM). But for simple proof that an automotive sensor is working, volts over time, from 5secs div and faster is all you need.

Considering the fact we own, two £2000-4000 oscilloscopes, you would be surprised how much we use the little Velleman scope, its not much bigger than a large graphing multimeter. UNI-T UT81B scopemeter Another very useful hand held mini scope is the UNI-T UT81B. It's available via eBay from china for about £100 including postage from China. The functions are very similar to the Velleman HS10. But the case, control switches & interface look far more robust, plus it has a USB output for connection to a laptop. My friend owns one & I've used it many times in his workshop. Should I ever need to replace my Velleman.

This would be the tool of choice! Its been two years since I purchased the Velleman HS10.

But even after two years and costing an extra £30, the UT81B scope has a slightly lower bandwidth (speed) of 8MHz compared to 10MHz for the HS10. Just shows what a super value tool the Velleman HS10 scope was in 2006.

( 22-0 8-0 8) S cope adapters for connection to laptops. Pico is the market leader. We own a non automotive 200/20 Pico. Don't discount Pico non automotive scopes.

The only advantage offered by Pico automotive scopes over non automotive scopes is the software has pre-set probe settings for automotive use. These settings are easily installed in Pico non automotive software. I have used several automotive Pico two and four channel automotive scopes in the past and on no single occasion have I ever used more than two channels at once. Even when ignition testing V12 Aston Martin engines, I always use a 12 way to 2 channel switch-able breakout box. Don't get talked into a four channel scopes from Pico or the Bosch FSA450, they are just a waste of money!

If you are comparing allot of waveforms, use the storage/playback functions. Pico Beta version software is excellent & can't be bettered for recording & storing waveforms, plus its available as a free download.

PicoLog software will not work with Pico Automotive scopes, which is a shame, because its excellent. Send for the Pico catalogue, it has loads of ideas for connections & adapters, their demo CD has plenty of info of auto waveforms. Pico also sell the a excellent coil in cap probe for ignition waveforms for £117.50 delivered ( 28-0 4-0 7) its the best adapter of its kind available anywhere.

Laptops are not good for auto repair. They are just to o fragile for resting on top of a car wing or front seat.

Unless you find a Panasonic Toughbook laptop going cheap, they are indestructible but expensive. Any normal laptop used for diagnostic work, must be viewed a sacrificial. If you do use a laptop for Kv ignition testing, remember to remove the battery & connect it to a mains extension lead which has a good earth, unless you want an unexpected shock sooner or later!

Earthed coax leads to the vehicle battery are another good idea, to save stray EMF spikes from ignition systems killing your laptop. I've had some vile momentary static discharge electric shocks from oscilloscopes over the years, mostly from CDI-DIS-Coil ignition systems. All thou it has to be said, most modern equipment is fail safe. Its the accessories and 'home made leads' you have to be careful of. Remember to earth them, placing the earth connection nearer the probe than the test instrument. I like Pico scopes, software & accessories, they are a good reliable company offering an excellent product, downside is the price tag is high.

Similar or higher specification scope adapters, manufactured in China can be purchased at a fraction of the price. Plus with a bit of thought most adapters can be made up, at a fraction of the cost! If you fancy experimenting with a laptop oscilloscope adapter, Maplin sell a low spec single channel scope adapter for £99.

Downside is the software included is very low spec, upside it does have a bandwidth of 12Mhz. But £99 is not allot of money to have a play & self learn a new skill. Bosch FSA 450 Fluke Scopemeter If you d on' t feel like wasting your money on purpose made automotive oscilloscopes from Snap-on (Sun), Sykes Pickavant, Mac, Pico, OTC, Bosch FSA450, Vetronix, Crypton or the discontinued Fluke 98-2 or Bosch PMS100. They are just 'badged-up' over priced scopes, with auto waveforms programmed into their memories.

The only specifically made automotive oscilloscopes I would recommend for the beginner, who is unsure of the settings on a non-automotive scope is the Summit SMD740A, its a good simple tool, with a fair sized LCD screen for about £550ish ( 28-0 4-0 7) downside is it only has an analogue bandwidth of 500khz. But it has a pre-programmed memory and it is a third of the price of 'big named scopes'. Also if you can find a good secondhand example from the USA, the discontinued UEI ADL-710 was simple and was very good value at about £400 when sold new. If you can't or won't run to the price of an expensive colour Fluke Scopemeter and to be honest, I would not again!

Mine was once new, it now looks like its been to war! Other useful non automotive portable battery powered LCD oscilloscope s which can be purchased secondhand ex eBay for about £100-£200 include the Tektronix THS720 -TDS220, Hitachi VC5460 & the tiny mains powered high spec Philips PM3308. Any large cathode ray oscilloscope made by Gould, Philips, Tektronix, Hameg, HP, Rigol, Telequipment, Iwatsu, Thurlby, Sefram, Goldstar & Farnell from the last two decades, designed for TV/Video repair can be used for automotive use. As long as you understand how to set one up, every local library has a book on the subject. They are available from eBay for about £50ish plus postage ( 12-0 4-0 7). Upside is they all have dual channels, most have high frequency settings & storage. Downside is they need a 240V supply and with short leads they are awkward to use under a car bonnet with the engine running!

Most only work up to 5v>div so you need 10x probe with BNS tip adapter or a 20x ish attenuator to make up your own leads up with. Another cheap automotive two channel lab scope adapter is the AES CJ-Max connected to a PDA (Palm pocket computer). I have never used one, but the spec looks good. Pocket computers are by nature highly portable have excellent back-lit colour screens. They are cheap secondhand & will run from 12v supply with readily available adapters, if you have an old PDA with a duff rechargeable battery. Some even have expandable memories.

All are connectable to your main desktop PC. AES also sell an OBD-2 scanner kit called the CJ-2, thou it is very expensive for what it is, considering it is not CAN enabled and a bit dated now.

Neutronics & Robinair in the USA offer air conditioning diagnostic kits for connection to PDA's. Tubemate Tamil Video Songs Free Download. Any serious auto electrician owns and understands how to use a scope nowadays. Lots of main dealer franchises, are not equipped with one. I think they just prefer to bill customers for loads of parts they don't need. Instead of testing the component is question. Please please don't ignore the oscilloscope, or be frightened off one, believing they are complex to use. If I had to make the choice between owning an oscilloscope or faultcode reading equipment, I would choose a scope every time!

PicoBeta software is excellent for recording & storing waveforms (it can't be bettered). See ignition pattern above from BMW M3 (E36) AES program for Fluke 97-98 series & Bosch PMS100 scopes. Fuel pump Can + and -signals from a Ford Fiesta 1.4 diesel TDCI 2005 Wiring Diagrams - Information CD's. Are hard to source for late model cars, main franchised dealers tend to be un-helpful on the subject. Trade AutoData books are handy, but expensive for a whole set.

AutoData CD-3 version, is very good at £795 ish a year, but even at that price it does not cover everything and it contains errors. Vivid Workshop Data CD1-3 is limited, but is only available as part of a diagnostic equipment package now, but it contains IME repair times which are a bit more realistic than AutoData repair times. Bosch ESi, contains loads of irrelevant information, is very expensive & not worth the money. Most WIS-TIS type CD's advertised on eBay tend also to be a disappointing waste of money. AutoData have in 2007 supported by the Trading Standards, started prosecuting garages in the county of Norfolk for using pirate copies of their product. AutoData 2008 Version 3.24 came with USB encrypted dongle, which did not end their decade old problem of pirate copying.

Copies are available via bit torrent over the internet, if you are willing to break the law. Personally I think AutoData CD-3 is a bit over priced, but in their defense, its a very expensive and time consuming process collating and buying the information from motor manufacturers. Maybe if more people bought AutoData's products instead of using pirate copies, they would lower the asking price? Maybe-Maybe not.? (31-10-11) Autodata are now, marketing lower spec ranges of there CD packages, less info for less money! Good idea to me, saves you buying something you don't need. Other usefull automotive programs include, Vivid and Tollerance which are more aimed at the Euro market than the UK.

Peter Coombes Mototek books at £40 each are very good! Three titles now availiable are, Service Light Reset, which I own and is very handy!

Plus Code Breaker, which I borrowed from a friend and was worth a read and have subsequently bought. The third book called Socket Location which I use everyday, I got from eBay for £25 inc P&P (28-11-10) Don't discount Haynes Techbooks.

I have purchased, Engine Management and Fuel Injection Systems Pin Tables and Wiring Diagrams TechBooks Volume 1 Alfa Romeo to Mazda & Volume 2 Mercedes to Volvo, at £25 each and have been very-very pleased with the content. Haynes Automotive Service Summaries TechBook (New Edition) is not worth buying, as it only cover 80 models of cars up to 1999. Link to Google diagnostics. I Google everything I am not sure of on the internet.

Last week I did BMW door lock, I was struggling. After looking on the internet, I found a YouTube video explaining how do it! The art of looking thru the internet is to take 'probable cause' suggestions on forums with a pinch of salt. Only take notice of fix postings with pictures. (23-03-14) Inductive amp-meters are very useful for testing charging circuits, alternator output, battery drain, glowplug and starter motor diagnostics.

These very handy hall effect, clamp type attachments which connect and work on the milli -volt range on your multimeter and are dropping in price all the while. Only the type that will detect DC voltage and thus current in two ranges >60amps and >600amps with manual zero adjustment, will be any use. We have two, one is a Heme 60/600A DC/AC clamp type multimeter, accuracy is about 2-5% or worse. The other is a clamp attachment for the mi lli-volt range of a normal multimeter or connection to an oscilloscope. Th is attachment type clamp meter for a mulitmeter/oscilloscope has proven better for cranking amp readings, as you can attach the clamp to the battery leads, position the meter against the windscreen, thus reading the test results while turning the ignition key yourself, needing no assistant, it 's an expensive Swiss instrument, so is very accurate but costs the earth, but is excellent for relative compression tests in straight four or six cylinder engines (ie.

Starter motor current waveform amplitude for each cylinder, less current used = the less compression it has). Inductive meter attachments sensitive enough to perform readings on ABS wheel sensors are available for connection to the most expensive scopes, but for use you get from them, they are not cost effective.

Picoscopes have now started selling a DC 20>Ma to 60amp DC inductive clamp for £80 + vat/p&p with 4mm connectors or £100 + vat/p&p with a BNC connector, sensitive enough for injectors coils, primary ignition circuits ( 15-0 4-0 7). Inductive Amp Clamp Service Light reset. You will need these for VAG, BMW, Volvo & Mercedes. VAG-COM will reset all VAG service lights. Draper tools supply the cheapest handheld kits £33ish. Draper kits will enact light reset on both new square and old round diagnostic plugs.

Most modern professional diagnostic equipment will reset service lights thou. All manual reset instructions are listed in AutoData. Are history, use a scope or a multimeter set to frequency or even duty cycle. A better option to a noid light is a 'logic probe' if the amber light comes on you have a pulse! Maplins sell these for pennys. Electro-hydraulic brake reset.

Laser Tools do a handheld electronic tools for Mercedes and VAG at £125 & £150 retrospectively. Part numbers: Merc- 4311 VAG-4310. Latest version of VAG-COM will enact parking brake reset on VW Passat & Audi A6-A8 models ( 18-12-07). Sensor simulators.

Forget the expensive offerings from Sykes Pickavant, Snap-on & Mac. Make or find a decade box, for resistance ranges. I own two, a really old Cambridge Audio 0 ohm - 11 kohms with four decades, sourced of eBay for £10. The other is a Ford Granada Scorpio instrument rheostat fitted into a grey plastic IP55 electrical enclosure, with a length of two core cable passed thru a skin top gland. Some expensive purpose made sensor simulators only have fixed resistance ranges.

What you are looking for is variable resistance & the ability to adjust the resistance in situ. The Cambridge Audio decade box has fixed steps, thus the need to make a variable load out of a rheostat. Simple tools to make airbag load comparisons against airbag self diagnostics. Most airbag loads are 3.3ohm. My Decade Box Kal tools make a three channel frequency sensor simulator, called the KM2994. It's for sale from the USA for £35 plus £12 postage.

My friend has one and its a useful tool. But if you own a scope and have a bit of confidence, you won't need it! Just test the motion sensor input-output. The KM2994 will drive the ECU with an inaccurate signal, which does not ramp-up with engine speed. But it may get the engine to start, so thus proving a point! Pick one with a back-light bargraph display, bumpcase, continuity bleeper >40ohm or lower, diode test, fused amps to 10amps DC, autoranging volts AC/DC & ohms, frequency (% duty is handy to), capacitance, polarity indication, hold function with high/low and low battery warning light.

Buying a meter with K-type temperature input will save you buying another meter/attachment. Avoid automotive multimeters with dwell angles/percentage and tachometer functions, you just won't use them nowadays, unless you own a classic.

Forget moving coil type multimeters, they just draw too much current to be safe to use on modern solid state electronics. Modern automotive multimeters from Summit, Snap-on (Sun), Robin, Sykes Pickavant, Fluke, Mac, OTC, Vetronix & Crypton are very over priced, they offer no advantage, over a non automotive meter, except some offer the addition of pulse-width settings, but if you have a scope you won't need this function. The Robin AR4012 being the best value with this function, at £150 ish. Graphing and storage meters are nice, but really not needed if you own a scope! My favorite meter for working on cars is my C hauvin Arnoux 5220, they do make a higher spec models numbered 5230-5240, but the 5220 has all the functions I need, no less-no more! The design (5220) was bought up by Facom and the current model number: 711, is in the Facom catalogue at £130. But the same meter is available, cheaper from France direct from Chauvin Arnoux's website with a three year guarantee, for £80.

Only difference comparred to Facom red one is the £50 less asking price, is the colour and the three times longer guarantee! Facom 711 meter £130 M y C hauvin Arnoux 5220 £80 I also use a very old tiny Fluke 7-600 auto electrical tester with some really long 3m leads/alligator clips as an audible continuity meter, to save keep changing leads on my other meter, the 7-600 automatically detects AC-DC voltages, above 4.5vac & 1.5vdc when set to continuity, so highlighting any stray or unexpected voltages. On the bench I use a Fluke 23-111. But to be fair, all named meters are very good nowadays, as with most things you only get what you pay for, the meter is going to be the main-stay of all you auto electrical work, so it may pay to buy a little reliability. Wavetech MeterMan multimeters from the USA are a good cost effective alternative to Fluke, Wavetech is the sister company to Fluke. MeterMan meters are red & cheap, Fluke meters are yellow & expensive, but they have the same internal components!

Model number: 34XR at £84 ( 19-0 4-0 7) would be the one I would choose. It has all the functions you need, temp, freq, duty cycle, plus true RMS, they are well designed & come with a smart magnetic hanging adapter built into the bumpcase, downside is, it's only auto-ranging on DC/AC volts, ohms ranges and not the current ranges. Continuity is set at 35ohms, lower than the normal 40ohm setting of Fluke meters, which is a good thing & they have the best back light display I have ever seen on any multimeter, whatever the purchase cost. MeterMan model number 38XR is £120 has all the same functions but is auto-ranging on amps & capacitance as well & it does have a RS232 output for measurement recording using a PC, I would not pay an extra £36 for the privilege, because I would not use it.

If money is no object and you want the best, the Fluke 867B graphical multimeter costing £750 ish is the one to buy, it's very accurate 0.025% Vdc & has every function you imagine. One can only dream!

If its cheap accuracy you are after, old 240v powered bench top multimeters from Keithly, Philips, HP etc. Are available from eBay for a pittance. True RMS meters below 0.5% are expensive, and the accuracy is wasted unless you are delving into the internals of ECU's. Learn and understand Ohms Law, grasp the concept of quickly estimating volt -drop from load in circuits. It will save you hours in probing, connecting leads and making adapters. MeterMan 34XR £80 Expensive Fluke 88 meter with pulsewidth function Breakout adapters - test leads.

Any meter is only as good as its leads, crocodile clip adapters are cheap & free your hands up. A really long set of leads are indispensable for connecting to fuse boxes in a cars bonnet area and positioning the meter facing the windscreen, so you can view the meter screen while operating controls on and around the dashboard. Piercing cable is one of my pet hates, but can't be avoided sometimes.

Sharp sewing needles with leads soldered on are far cheaper than purpose made piercing probes. Back probing multi-plugs with auto acupuncture probes is an unreliable method. Making breakout adapters form old multi-plugs (sourced from dead cars), cable, solder & heatshrink tubing, cheaper and a far better idea. If you can't be bothered to make up breakout adapters. Bosch & Sykes Pickavant sell them, Sykes Pickavant part number 300800oo being the cheapest and better made of the two commercially made sets available, set number 30080000 contains two, three, four and five way mini adapters.

New male-female multiplugs to make your own leads up can be purchased from Fuel Parts. Most of my breakout adapters are made from piggyback plugs from old-redundant LPG conversion kits.

The only thing going for any of the average 14miles of wiring in a modern car is, you can just about estimate the voltages used on any of it. Manufacturers use the thinnest cable possible to save weight and cost, thus volt -drop shows! Most competent auto-electricians will make up a 3m long lead made up of shielded coax with BNC terminals, and a heavy bit of multi-core cable (grey 2.5mm three/four core domestic cable) terminated with 4mm plugs-sockets & cable tied together, to loop from engine bay to main ECU to exclude vehicle wiring when testing sensors in situ for function. Magnetic compass. Is a very-very usefull tool for auto electrical diagnostics. The simple facts are: electricity causes a magnetic field when traveling thru metals.

Most automotive sensors use magnetic fields. All motors use magnets. All solenoids use magnets. All 'hall effect sensors' have magnets in them. All standard relays, will deflect a compass when switching. So you can test several types of automotive sensors operation without the need to disconnect the sensor. Silva 28 A little home study course for you: Place a silva type compass on the positive cable on your battery, when you activate your starter you will see the compass needle deflect one way, when the starter stops pulling current and the alternator starts putting current back into the battery the compass needle will deflect 180 degrees, as the current flows in the other direction.

Also you can use a compass for finding ABS type wheel sensor magnets in hub bearing assemblies. The best tool for find out problems with ABS magnet wheel bearing assemblies, is a discarded childs Etch-A-Sketch toy.

Lay your brand new or used wheel bearing on the screen of the Etch-A-Sketch and see the pattern displayed. With this method you can determine if the bearing is missing any magnetic pickups and they are equally spaced. SKF sell a mini credit card type detector tool for the job.

I have a tiny Silva 28 compass £4.95 it measures 50mm x 30mm (ish) and it is connected to my multimeter leads with a short length of cord. It annoys me, watching people spend £thousands on diagnostic equipment and the most useful tool you can have, is a button compass out of a Christmas cracker. Power Probes. No I really hate them! B ut they seem to be advertised well by the big automotive tool manufacturers.

But in reality who wants to introduce current/voltage into circuits you are unsure of. Anybody who does allot of auto electrical work, will tell you half the time they don't have a wiring diagram and are tracing unknown wiring blind. Plus if you want to see something work, what is wrong with a length of cable two alligator clips and a fuse connected to the battery?

Sykes Pickavant sell a probe style mini multimeter called the Terminator, its priced about £80 ish. Its a nice compact thing, but offers no advantage over a multimeter. I do own a really low spec power proble type tool, which changes the polarity from plus to minus. Which I only use for bench diagnostics on electric window regulators and central door locking assemblies. 12V Test Lights.

Mine is twenty plus years old. Its a Sykes Pickavant model. I have replaced the high wattage tungsten filament bulb with a very low 60mA 12V LED.

Simple soldering job. By reducing the amount of current required to illuminate the test light. It is now safe to use on modern solid state electronics. Memory Savers. Forget the cigarette lighter type.

Buy a Sealey one that goes into the DL16 plus, saves loads of time having to re-programming modules. If you want to make your own memory saver, pin 16 is postive and pins 4 and 5 are negative in DL16 diagnostic plugs. The only reason I made my own, because they were not commercially available at the time I wanted one (could have made a fortune making and selling them maybe). Short circuit detectors. I own one, £15 from eBay, the current Sealey model at £25ish is identical, both are 42V safe and made in China ( 24-03-0 8).

Mac tools sell one for £45+ which looks exactly the same in the catalogue. They are useful if dealing with large ply-lined vans, minibuses & coaches, to save labour. But for isolating a problem within a harness containing the standard DIN 144 cable-ing, they have very little or no use!

They also eat 9v batteries at an alarming rate. Terminal extraction tools. Most cars are fitted with Pack-Con or Weather-Pack multiplugs with the exception of VAG group cars. Forget Durite multi-type extraction tool.

Best type come in sets of twelve or fifteen, Mac tools sell them. My set came from Laser Tools & cost £55ish & I'm very pleased with them ( 05-09-0 7).

The Laser set even has the new long type in it for the new VAG type multiplugs. I am the only person I know who owns extraction tools & I use them most days. They save allot of money buying & replacing connectors. I also have a set from a local Hyundia main dealers that went bankrupt. These seem to fit all Asian import cars that I can't find tools to fit. Smoke leak testers.

Thinking about making myself one, have used my friends. Its makes orange smoke! Simple as that! Works slightly better than the roll-ups I make (thinking about giving up smoking). While vacuum testing with vacuum testers like a Mityvac or my own homemade, compressed air powered venturi vacuum generator proves leaks against a Hg vacuum gauge.

They don't indicate exactly where the leak is like using smoke generator. Still thinking about giving up smoking over a year later ( 24-03-0 8). Still smoking, even bought an old Nimrod Commander petrol lighter which is far better than a Zippo (12-03-11). Still smoking (16-10-13).

Still smoking () Have today ( 16-06-0 8) taken a apart and examined the inner working of a £550 smoke generator which connects to vacuum systems and fills them with smoke to test for leaks. This expensive bit of test equipment works by heating medicinal medical oil (baby oil) with a 12V heating element (diesel glowplug). The smoke generated from this oil was discharged at only 1 PSI (accurate air regulator from a dead spray gun) at a flow of 2-6 LPM litres a minute (tig welding flowmeter). (11-10-09) I have built a smoke testing machine from a glow plug and baby oil, it works very well. Another £550 saved (more beer for me).

If you want photos of it, please email me. (31-10-11) Have today gone backwards with technology for smoke testing. I got a metal bodied Draper 500ml gearbox oil syringe, attached an inline filter on the output pipe, ignitied a plumbers flue smoke pellet, placed it inside.

Removed the main vacumn brake pipe on a petrol car. Then I gently pumped the 1/2 litre of dense smoke into the vacumn system and observed the leak. Worked a treat. Smoke pellets are about £1.00 each. Limitations of this method is you only get 500ml of smoke, but that exceeds the volume of most vacumn systems on vehicles. Method worked a treat, I got dense white smoke at low pressure.

Now also hunting for a sturdy metal container which has three threaded holes in it, two small for the air in and out, one large to drop the pellet in. So I can pressurize it with a smoke pellet in it. Hopefully I will get more smoke under low pressure with an airline and regulator using this method. Could always use two pellets!

I refuse to spend £550 plus on a smoke generator. Also contemplating drilling and fitting a one way type valve on the front of the oil syringe pump so I can get more than 500ml of smoke per pellet, downside will be, while the one way valve is cycling, I would loose positive pressure on the system being tested. If anybody makes a DIY smoke tester, email me some photos. Stimulate my thought process a bit. (16-10-13) Have today gone forwards with technology for smoke testing. I am there now, £29.95 disco smoke machine ex ebay, 1x 20mm push fit airline adapter with another adapter down to 4mm.

Works a treat! Gas Analysers. Expensive but necessary tool. We have a Ten Innova 2000, which reads HC, CO, CO2, O2 and also calculates lamda (air fuel readings). We have never owned or needed a unit that reads NOX.

It also does diesel smoke testing But we never use this function and nor have I bothered to calibrate it up for diesel testing. The big issues with gas analysers is purchase cost and calibration. Our Ten Innova 2000 has a retail price of £5200 + Vat (ouch). We bought it secondhand as a non runner, as we have all our previous gas analysers. But you need to know where to get the spares and how to calibrate any analyser you buy.

All MOT spec gas analysers with UKAS calibration 'lock out' on the due callibration date. So you either have to enter into an expensive calibration contract with the machine suppliers, which will cost about £700 a year, or do it yourself.

Most suppliers will come out for a single cash trip to 'un-lock' your machine, for about £150. Heroes Salman Khan Movies. Then you need to get a bottle of gas from Linde (BOC) which contains CO, CO2, O2 and propane in measured amounts. If you Google calibration gas, there is a company in Cambridge which sells 5lt disposable bottles without incurring any bottle rental.

As with any instrument, if you need to trust the readings, it needs to be calibrated correctly. Gas analysers eat pump diaphragms, heated gas bench elements, block filters and the O2 sensors degrade in time. So be prepared to do some spending on a 3-5 year old unit. If I was going to buy a new one, which I am not due to the cost. I would opt for the Boston AGS688 at £1945 from the main retailers at Rainham, Essex.

Extra to the purchase, I would buy the optional stand they sell to fit it and some spares, filters, O2 sensor and a pump diaphragm. Bosch sell a model similar to the Boston one, but its silly money. The best secondhand analysers are Sun MGA 1200, but finding a good one, maybe hard work now, as production ended over 15 years ago. Hand held gas analysers like Snap-on Scangas and the offerings from Sykes Pickavant and Kane are just useless toys. One drop of condensation from the warm exhaust gas, into the cold test unit and the readings are all over the place.

I hate the cost and aggravation that owning a gas analyser causes me. Even the brand new £7000+ units installed in our local MOT testing bay plays up on a regular basis. If I could get away without owning one I would, but simply put. I need one to diagnose modern engine faults.

If anybody local to us (PE301PH) has any issues with calibration, I'm abit of a self taught expert on the subject of gas chromatography. Its saved me fortune over the years. Ring me for a chat. Our Ten Innova 2000 Sun MGA 1200 IR-RF key fob testers. Red Sealey type tests the newer 800mhz range, I paid £17 + postage from eBay. Some Draper & Sykes Pickavant testers will not handle the new range used in later BMW-VW-Audi-Merc passenger cars ( 18-0 7-0 7).

Forget methods based around aiming remote control at mobile phones & digital cameras. Margin of error and subsequent un-needed multiple purchases of batteries and remote control keyfobs is not worth the price of a tester. Always confirm 9V battery inside the tester is up to voltage with your multimeter before using tester.

Some testers will show the ready to test-OK light but in fact will not work properly with low internal battery voltage. Battery load testers. The simplest load tester for checking cell voltage under load is all you want. Most battery testing can be done with a multimeter and using the cars starter motor for a load, to see the Volt drop under load. Or for bench testing, a battery load tester can be made up from a brass bar drilled to accept some diesel engine glowplugs of known value (1 20amp 4 x 30amp glowplugs) and attach your multimeter set to volt range.

For definitive battery performance, an expensive carbon pile load tester rated to 20-180Ah batteries is required. Ours is a 600CCA Bosch T12 200E, it will give an indication of charge state, percentage cold start performance and cell condition.

But Sealy at Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk sell a good value 500CCA model, which shows amps load and open circuit voltage at a given load, which is adjustable. The Sealy model could be used to load test alternators in situ with care. I have just purchased a Midtronics battery tester, as issued to the AA, it was expensive but it is small and light. I'll let you know if its any good? I did not run to the expense of a mini printer to go with it, thought it would be a waste of money.

( 16-01-11) Had it three months now, its very good, worth every penny! Have now sold the Bosch T12 200E and purchased another lightweight battery tester made by Johnson Technologies (06-05-12). See charts below: For misleading CCA ratings for differing standards.

Most manufactures will quote SAE (EN) rating, making the battery look more powerful in comparison. Most auto battery load testers are calibrated with DIN ratings. Conversion is mathematically near impossible.

So choose an auto load tester that has Ah ratings on its scale as well, most battery's have this printed on them. Some battery's are rated by reserve capacity RC not Ampere Hour Ah. See conversion below.