Budget scan tools - my blog

Desmond6004 wrote: I work at an auto electrical shop that does a large variety of vehicles - in New Zealand we also have "AU Ford and Holden" and Japanese imports that use the "JOBD" protocol so scan tools are tested to their limits of 'weirdness'

I'd actually love to hear more about the various protocols you run into, and how it impacts scan tool usage. Here in the US we're used to things being, more or less, standardized. Especially when CAN was mandated in 2008.

Stop fiddling!!! :pinch:

No! :lol:

Ended up putting the AL539 through its paces today, and it didn't disappoint.

Heard a slow crank while I was driving one of the Escapes today, so I go straight to the battery tester:



Welp, time for a battery! But before I head to the parts store, I decide to try out the ammeter function for a parasitic drain test. I don't suspect a drain, but we're here, so why not? :silly:

The results were somewhat disappointing. On the 20A setting, the meter doesn't have very good resolution, only showing values out to one decimal place. So, when everything on the car timed out, the result looked like this:



Tough to tell if I'm less than 100mA, or there's no connection. :silly: So, use the 200mA scale, right? That was even more confusing:



It appears that the 200mA scale literally maxes out at 200mA - I suspect that because when the meter is connected across battery negative, no arc occurs when the connection is completed. Makes me wonder if the current is being intentionally limited in this mode. :huh: I don't have any other meter with me, so I can't verify this. Maybe another time.

Despite this, it's still an excellent tool for the price. Would happily recommend to anyone.

I used mine on the weekend to check voltage drop of a 7A/H security battery powering up a 600W sine-wave inverter driving my 300W studio strobe The AC meter showed it dropping when it charged up and "10.5v" popped up on the lower display to show me what it had dropped to.

Autel offer great values for money on handheld units the AL539B is a a good unit for daily use in a the shop or semi-pro use one issue I have always had with Autel is I find there product naming system utterly confusing, Launch model numbering is equally confusing.

I've decided Autel is like a Windows PC - good value for money but constant issues with updates.

I never risk update on a any tool unless doing a job that really needs the latest software. If it is working I leave well alone a bricked tool means no work done.

Andy.MacFadyen wrote: I never risk update on a any tool unless doing a job that really needs the latest software. If it is working I leave well alone a bricked tool means no work done.

It's sad that in this day and age of technology they can't get things like that right.
I like to do updates as soon as the tool arrives so that if the tool is 'bricked' by doing what is supposed to be done I can get a refund right away.

I just ordered an Autel AL529HD, because it has J1939 capability, and I don’t do cars enough to justify paying for a pro scanner. I should receive it any day now and will post my impressions.
I prefer ordering locally at my parts suppliers etc. Couldn’t find the Nexas anywhere aside from Amazon, and Autel is well supported here.

Scannerfanner wrote: I just ordered an Autel AL529HD, because it has J1939 capability, and I don’t do cars enough to justify paying for a pro scanner. I should receive it any day now and will post my impressions.
I prefer ordering locally at my parts suppliers etc. Couldn’t find the Nexas anywhere aside from Amazon, and Autel is well supported here.

Let us know how you get on

I bought an Autel ML529HD and am pretty happy with it. Heavy duty scanner . It does 12 and 24v and has gotten into quite a few of the Isuzu trucks we work on.
It's much better than the V500 [also listed on my blog] which only does 12v vehicles, the V500 has a horribly tight fitting as well.
Since I've found that it is pretty easy to sell off the scantools I get cheap on Aliexpress, at a slight profit mind you, I have 9 more different models on the way

updated with Topdon obdcan elite and Konnwei md850