OBDII/EOBD/Other diagnostics

[Fergy]

With the increase in electronic diagnostics on LR vehicles it would be useful to  have a discussion on the use of these tools: what diagnostic package you use (testbook/std OBDII/homebrew) what it can do, and diagnostic code and what they mean. It could be a great little resource!

[Ricky]

Good idea. do you want to start?

[gimpy]

Looked into buying one of the systems.
Blakbox used to do a rovacom which you could add units to but this has been replaced with the Faultmate SV system which is VIN specific and only used on one car. The Faultmate MV can be used on any number and has a price tag to match but if you have a spare £8k spare why not treat yourself to an Autologic system which is what most independent garages use.
You need to work out how long you are going to keep the vehicle to the number of times the electrics go bely up.
I have a 2002 ES which is fully loaded and lifted 4" steel bumpers and sills winch etc, full prep and the abuse it has had off road I have had no problem with electrical systems at all.

Best thing is to find someone local to you that has a system you can plug into.

[Jimbo]

Have a look at the hot topic in The Bar - 'Relatively cheap Td5 diagnostic tool'. It's about a new little unit called Nanocom, only works on Td5 Defenders, and at the mo only certain parts of the Td5 Disco (the SLABS software is apparently still under development) - for a little over £200 it would seem to be the best OBD tool on the market (as long as you have a Td5   )