{"id":31220,"date":"2022-02-10T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T15:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=31220"},"modified":"2022-02-09T16:12:58","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T23:12:58","slug":"obd-ii-diagnostic-scan-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/obd-ii-diagnostic-scan-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"OBD II Diagnostic Scan Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most mechanic shops charge half-an-hour to an hour of labor for the honor of scanning your &#8220;check engine&#8221; light. Do yourself a huge favor and buy a simple <a href=\"https:\/\/geni.us\/car-scanner\">OBD II diagnostic scanner<\/a>. OBD II has been standard in all vehicles since 1996. A handheld scanner will let you read the diagnostic codes*, which you can then look up on the Internet. More often than not, the fix is exceedingly straightforward e.g. replace spark plugs.<\/p>\n<p>At the very minimum, you\u2019ll have an idea of what\u2019s going on so can decide if a trip to the mechanic is worth it. You can also clear codes for trivial issues, e.g. air in the fuel system because you forgot to replace your fuel cap.<\/p>\n<p>There have been some similar wireless products featured here on Cool Tools, but I recommend a no-frills corded model. No struggling with Bluetooth pairing, Wi-Fi reception, Apple\/Android compatibility, etc. Power is provided by the OBD II port itself so you don\u2019t have to worry about batteries either. I\u2019ve linked a model similar to the one I own, but as far as I can tell they\u2019re all made by a few OEMs so any brand will do. Over 11 years I\u2019ve probably saved myself hundreds of dollars for an upfront cost of about $25. Completely worth it.<\/p>\n<p>*To be clear, an OBD II scanner will let you read standardized diagnostic codes as mandated by federal law. You will not be able to read proprietary manufacturer-specific codes or perform advanced functions like reprogramming the ECU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn why the idiot light went on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[41],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31220"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39746,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31220\/revisions\/39746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}