Which Scan Tool Should I Buy?

Time to buy a scan tool. Most of my vehicles are newer than 1996, but I do have my 94 Caprice wagon patiently waiting for me to get to her, and yes, the service engine soon light was on when I bought it last January.
For no good reason I've been looking at a Craftsman model online for about $120. What are your recommendations for a tool that will read codes both for now and into the future?
Thanks in advance,
Eric Pederson
Fort Ransom, ND

ANY OBDII scan tool will do what you want. It's the "toys" that changes the price. I got one from Wal*Mart for $60 some time ago and it works fine, I can even clear the codes.... I just need to Google the code to find what the problem is. The more expensive readers would tell me, but Google is free.

And so is Autozone.

All of the parts stores will read (and clear in most states) the codes for you for free.

Well for your 94 which is OBD I, I would suggest googling DATAMASTER aand download the eval copy (20 runs). You will need either

1. and old computer with a DB9 Serial connector.
2. a new computer with a USB serial and then you have to find a DB9 to 9 pin serial adapter that will work with Datamaster. I spent about a month finding one and then it took me a few days fiddling with it to get it to work. Not to scare you off, but I do have a Computer Science degree, hence why I would suggest #1.

you can search on the ISSF forum for alot more detail.

I suggest datamaster or freescan because they double as actual scantools. Don't let Sprocket's bad experience scare you off if you don't have a serial port.

If not, there are code readers that are combination OBD1/2.

I was just saying that if you could get an old laptop it'd be better.

It is certainly doable to get it to work right, just takes a little more fiddling.

I thought they made plug and play USB cables for those of us with new laptops?

For OBD1 the Snap On BRICK is a great tool.

yes, they make a straight USB kit.
If you have the older cable with a serial plug, just know some brands of serial-to-USB are NOT compatible with datamaster.

I have an autoxray 3000 that I bought many years ago that does just about every OBDI American car and anything with OBD II. It has a nice capture mode and monitor mode to see what the sensors are reading in real time which comes in handy. I never used datamaster but have heard good things about it.

jasonlachapelle wrote:

yes, they make a straight USB kit.
If you have the older cable with a serial plug, just know some brands of serial-to-USB are NOT compatible with datamaster.

I bought mine during the time they hadn't started making the usb cables but PCs were all USB. Sorry, I forgot that technology caught up.

I'm just a dinosaur....

I had an AutoXray 5000 scanner for a long time and it was great for '94 and '95 B-cars.