Lab scope accessories

I just purchased my first scope, a older snap on verus wireless. Its treated me well so far but I need to buy some accessories for it. If you've followed any of my other posts you know I was torn between the autel scope and a verus.
- with the verus do I need a high amp probe? ( in the settings on the verus it has no option for such)
- what attenuators do you reccomend for the verus? Or do I even need any.
- what other accessories do I need for general diagnostics as in Paul's book?
(I will include pictures of my cart with AESwave.com.


It seems a little dumb but I thought about just buying the maxiscope as well since it comes with a good many accessories I could use and I could just add a low amp probe and cop probe.

Also the accessories I have in my cart would anyone recommend these? Or if not what do you reccomend

You can get that same low amp probe from the ScannerDanner Amazon tools page for $73 right now. It's the same one I bought and use with my Verus Edge.
www.amazon.com/shop/scannerdanner
You won't need an attenuator with that scope.

Why wont I need an attenuator? I thought you needed one to probe primary ignition?

Snap-On scopes have it built in, ready to go for primary and injection control.

So I just need a high and low amp probe

Really it all depends on what kind of work you're doing and what kind of tests you want to perform.

The low amp probe will be good for current ramping fuel pumps, injectors, ignition coils etc. That kind of versatility makes it a valuable tool in my eyes.
The high amp clamp will really only be useful for relative compression testing. On some cars with small enough battery cables, the low amp probe will be sufficient. Really it's just the opening of the jaws that limits it as far as relative compression testing. You can also perform this test with just a lead on the the battery, AC coupled and inverted. So a high amp clamp is not such a priority for me.

Secondary probes are cool. Some techs are very talented and gather a great deal of information from a secondary pattern. I don't really do a ton of secondary testing with my scope so I made one instead of buying one. www.scannerdanner.com/forum/diagnostic-t...secondary-probe.html
I haven't had a secondary ignition problem that I couldn't nail down with just an adjustable spark tester, a test light and a visual inspection of the plug, so the value of that tool is limited in my eyes. Again, just my opinion.
There's multiple threads here on the forum about home built ones www.scannerdanner.com/forum/lab-scope-di...need-to-buy-one.html but nothing wrong with buying a quality unit.

The back probes are a must, let me know if you go for the AES Wave ones in your cart, I've been eye balling them

Piercing probes are a must, but not all are created equal....
I've wasted some money on junk ones. The 5 pack AES wave ones were quite disappointing. The power probe ones are great but have a male end and require (but usually include) an adapter. Phil's Probe looks good and has Scanner Danner's endorsement but is a little lofty price wise for my cheap heart.

Why do you say piercing probes are a must? I'm new to the electrical and scope diag and trying to get more familiar with it. I changed my cart up a bit and decided to go with the paddle and clamp kit instead. Am I wasting my money with the "primary ignition lead for snap on". What's so special about it if the snap ons are already attenuated?

Thrashnasty13 wrote: Why do you say piercing probes are a must? I'm new to the electrical and scope diag and trying to get more familiar with it. I changed my cart up a bit and decided to go with the paddle and clamp kit instead. Am I wasting my money with the "primary ignition lead for snap on". What's so special about it if the snap ons are already attenuated?

Don't know about primary ignition lead. I've never seen anyone use it. Maybe some one who has can chime in?

The piercing probes are a matter of preference. There's a large portion of the automotive repair industry that are opposed to piercing wires, and that's perfectly acceptable and they have a compelling argument against it.
They are a must in MY routine, which may differ from someone else's.

I do like the looks of that paddle probe. For the trouble of making one, I thinking l think the cost of that one is justifiable. I haven't it used it though so I can't speak to it's quality. Maybe someone can share their experience with it.

I don't think you would be wasting your money on any thing that you actually use to work on the car, or use to further your understanding.

Awesome thanks for all your help. Il let you know how the back probe pins do

The Universal secondary test kit will serve you well. I bought that very same kit in 2016. I've used it on a Snap on Vantage Pro and Picoscope. Paddle is used for modern Coil Over Plug ignition coils. The separate little clamp attachment is used for spark plug wires on older vehicles. Paul uses this same attachment on a uScope in a misfire video. For starters, get the Low Range Current Probe. You may be able to find one on Amazon at a lower price. Search under 60 Amp Current Clamp. Some call them Current Clamps/Probes. It's the same thing. Yes, buy the AES acupuncture backprobe kit. You should probably also look into getting a Fuse Buddy kit or something similar (or make your own kit). This gives you the option to use a current clamp to check fuel pump, ignition coils, and injector current waveforms from a fuse panel. Search it on aeswave if you're not sure what they look like. You'll be able to do quite a bit of scope testing with those accessories alone.

awesome i will look into the fuse buddy. I bought everything in my cart yesterday and cant wait for it all to come in so i can get to using them and putting my new found knowledge to work.

Noah wrote: Don't know about primary ignition lead. I've never seen anyone use it. Maybe some one who has can chime in?

I'd never seen one of these, either. :silly: Looks like a simple attenuator for viewing primary ignition spikes over 200V.

Kinda tough to justify the price. I rarely do primary ignition testing, and if I am, I'm zoomed in on the burn line.

Is there much of a difference when using a wyze probe compared to a paddle probe?

I couldn't say having never used either.

CPayton wrote: Is there much of a difference when using a wyze probe compared to a paddle probe?

It's a matter of access. I use the AES paddle. It's flexible at the end and needs to be because sometimes I have to jam it in beside or behind a coil to get a good reading. I prefer it over the Wyze simply because it has that bit more ability to be positioned. The Wyze is fixed and so is little more limited in being able to get at those coils way up under the cowl, wiring, heater hoses, etc. There's probably coils where the Wyze reads better and easier, I don't do enough of that style of diagnostics to really exercise my tools like that. Safe answer would be to buy both.

The Wyze probe is rigid and the little tip sometimes does not pick up a signal on top of certain coils.
I could not get at one of the coils at the rear on a 6 cylinder Nissan. Something flexible might have likely.
Also I did not like the Wyze probe with my Vantage pro because the signal was too low and i had to switch over to a voltage mode to view. But just my personal preference and BTW I do like it with the PC based scopes.
The Paddle because it is flexible and has some surface area to it may work better on certain vehicles or certain coils.
I have found some of the home made ignition probes or leads work just as well or better. I wound not spend too much money on one.
Yes to the OP a low amp probe some back probe pins and a couple of piercing probes for if you cannot do it differently just put crazy glue on the pinhole when done. But never do it on ABS sensors or where the salt or water will get at it.
I found the Hantek accessories from Amazon or Ebay to work well and for low cost. You typically need a BNC to banana adapter with your snap on stuff.
Anything from AES Wave usually functions well and is durable.