# Scan Tool Recommendations?



## itguy08 (Jan 11, 2011)

What kind of cellphone do you have? Do you have a laptop with Bluetooth?

I picked up a generic Bluetooth OBD2 adapter from Ebay for about $35 or so. It connects to my Droid X and I use an app called Torque. It will do basic code reads, show you what your car is doing, and will log stuff. Works pretty good with both the wife's 2003 Ford and my 2010 Ford.

You can also get programs for your Mac or PC that will interface with the reader as well that will do the same things. That may be an option as well.

As for the 2008 Cobalt - I don't think that car has a MAP senor. MAP Sensors are only used for Speed Density style Fuel injection systems. Most cars use MAF (Mass Air Flow) sensors and those do tend to go bad. I checked Rockauto.com and they show a MAF for your car.

Hope this helps!


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## brokenknee (Dec 13, 2008)

Just called the dealer, there is a MAP sensor on the car. Not sure why O'Rielly and Napa don't list one. 

I have a Black Berry Storm for a phone, my laptop I am not sure if it has blue tooth or not. Not sure at this point I would want to haul it to the shed to work on the car. 

Does the program you have show live data? This is a feature I would like since the trouble shooting process I found requires the voltage at the sensor and live data will show this for you.


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

I've seen in action a nice scanning tool from "Scantool", www.scantool.net, which interfaces with either/both a laptop or Android phones via USB cables. At one shop, where I know the owner, he uses his Android phone and a cable link to diagnose auto's more than his very expensive unit. I like the laptop version as it shows a simulated gauge cluster which is easy to understand. These are in the $85-$150 range. NO, I don't work for them, just looked it up on the net.


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## itguy08 (Jan 11, 2011)

Sorry for not getting back sooner. The app I have for my Droid does show live data - it has a configurable "gauge cluster" that you can set to show a bunch of different parameters. I've got one set to show RPM, O2 sensor voltage, MAF rate, etc. You can also log the results and it saves it to a CSV file so you can import into Excel to analyze the data. If you know the PID you are looking for, you can set it up to log and report on that as well.

There is a more capable program for my laptop (but it's $89) that can do even more.

Hope that helps.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

This one gets high marks and seems reasonably priced. You can download the manual and read up on what functions it has in detail.

http://www.harborfreight.com/can-obd-ii-code-reader-eobd-scanner-98614.html


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