Hi Guys,

For the past few years I have been using an inexpensive Alcatel scanner for reading the code on my 2006 XK8.

When I was at the mechanic this past year he plugged a tablet into the OBD port and the next thing I know he is looking at stats on 100's of different things on my car. The detail of each system was amazing.

The mechanic told me his tablet system was about $10k and they charge $5k a year for updates.

A second mechanic used a Snap-On tablet and it appeared to also have a huge number of systems to test.

Since the codes for the cars are really just a data table, I have to think that this database is available on a less costly scanning unit for home mechanics.

I have bought a few off of Amazon - And while some of them bring some more 'options' none of them have all the systems and individual items.

Does anyone know of a reasonably priced scanner that will let me really check everything that my 06 car is keeping track of.

Thanks

Dave B

 

Dave - it's not so much about "Data Tables" - more about which of those data tables the vehicle manufacturer is prepared to give you access to. It's fairly complex and, I think, regulations vary from country to country, but basic "generic" codes - mostly relating to certain safety and emissions standards are accessible with very inexpensive "code readers" but there are many more 'manufacturer specific' Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) which require more sophisticated kit.

There's a very amusing and helpful thread here :

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...d-truth-32683/

Jaguar / Land Rover supply their dealerships and approved agents with this sort of technology but you won't get it from China for a few dollars.
There are ways of getting pretty close - just search SDD/WDS or look on any well-known auction site.

I have always assumed that the "in-between" kit that will give you most of the DTCs and their definitions are more expensive simply because the manufacturer has had to purchase the data from JLR (or Honda or Toyota or whoever)

I think you should define "reasonably priced" - for a fairly old laptop running Windows XP Pro and some software available here if you search carefully, then I think $150.00 should get you what you are looking for.

 

To add to the good advice . . . JaguarForums are awash with threads on this very topic, not only here, but look also for similar threads, especially among the Stickies, of related contemporary forums here . . . eg S-Type, XJ etc. There is nothing unique to OBDII on the XK8 that is not also shared by these other Jags, so learn to use the forum's search tools.

You will quickly learn the pros and cons of a wide range of tools from ELM327, to various branded models that offer little to more, SDD/IDS tools like Mongoose, thru to virtual WDS platforms. Inevitably, you will need to make choices, FWIW, my decisions have rested with a bunch of ELM327s (1 on each car) Bluetoothed to an Android smartphone, backed by a workshop located, formerly laptop but now Win tablet based Mongoose.

Best wishes,

Ken

 

IDS/SDD - if thinking of using it read the doc (PDF files) to see if you can cope

It's intended for people who've been on specific training courses and then understand the doc. Can be tough when you've not paid the $$$ for the courses.

 

Here is my high level understanding.

In order not to be accused of hoarding technical data for the purpose of keeping car maintenance exclusively within their dealer networks, car manufacturers "share" the technical data with the "willing". The idea is that the "willing" can now come up with whatever diagnostic tool in whatever format (handheld, laptop, or a full cart) and sell them to independent shops so they are, at some level, on equal footing with the dealers. Some manufacturers "share" the data directly, others go through the Equipment and Tool Institute. All of this "sharing" of course comes at a cost, and involves NDA. This is typically out of reach for individuals (think $2,000 a year).

All of that, reputedly, comes in raw, original format from the original manufacturer (whomever made whatever module for Jaguar and others), possibly not just in English I suppose. This is not a nice searchable database in an easy to work with XML format, or anything like that.

So, basically, creating software tools boils down to somehow "compiling" untold amount of raw data in the form of messages and responses, with codes, and payloads and bit mappings, etc., ie. it's a full time job for someone typically engaged is a form of for-profit employment. In other words, that knowledge has to be codified in a usable format by computer software. It is expensive to get it done, so it tends to not be freely published.

Surprisingly enough, the hardware and basic standard protocols involved in car diagnostics are cheap (think cheap ELM327 on eBay). The expensive/hard part is the codified knowledge of the proprietary components.

So, for an individual owner, there are 3 options:

• Cheap ELM327 and a phone app (for standard OBDII only)
• Hand-held scanner with Jaguar/Land Rover specifics
• IDS/SDD with matching (clone) data cable

The ELM327 is probably not even an "option", it's a must have. Cost is too cheap to even think of not getting it. Really. At the first sign of trouble (or because it is Tuesday), you plug the thing in, start up the phone app, and let it collect data as you drive. Great for fuel trims, pending codes, etc.

The hand-held devices are good. Expect to pay some ($150?). These devices have a lot of claims across a wide range of models, but specifics for a given car are hard to come by. Although there is no hardware reasons to not fix problems, support from these manufacturers is spotty. There are claims of software updates, but although there is nothing new on our cars for at least 10 years, bug fixes seem hard to come by. Can't beat the convenience of being in the garage, plugging a device in and getting results, though. Expect "major" features to just not be supported, e.g reset of transmission adaptations, key transponders, etc. Also expect weirdly specific issues to also be problematic (like the funky airbag module diagnostic wiring on the early cars). Personally, I do not own such a device.

The end-all and be-all option is the IDS/SDD software. It basically encapsulates all there is to do with our cars, basically the same as a dealer tech would have access to, e.g. module software updates, transmission adaptations, key transponders, dealer options, and on and on. It runs on Windows XP, so typically requires a laptop. There are a couple of options to have the software "see" the car. The more popular is the mongoose cable. There is probably a long discussion here about subscriptions fees, online access, updates, TSBs, firmware versions, etc. but the bottom line realistic option for an individual is to somehow procure a cable and SDD in a working setting from an online vendor for a one-time fee. When you think about it, everything software related for our cars was likely frozen over 10 years ago, so a working setup that worked once will likely work going forward.

I hope this write-up somehow helps you find what is going to work for you.

 

When the age of automotive electronics and government mandated minimum standards dawned in the early 70's the manufacturers not only had to develop means to meet these increasingly tough standards but they had to equip their dealers with the tools to diagnose any problems and fix them. This led to the first rudimentary onboard systems with a port usually located in the engine compartment that the tech could plug a data 'reader' into and then check that data against a written description of what it meant.

From there it grew into the government mandated systems known as OBD II (onboard diagnostic ii) in 1996 that covered all cars sold in the United States, although California has mandated a basic OBD ability as early as 1991.

OBD II must, by way of legislation, be capable of monitoring all those emissions and safety functions that have been legislated into existence by Congress but does not require that manufacturers divulge their individual and proprietary trouble shooting codes that might be used to dig deeper into a problem area. There are literally hundreds of those additional codes and they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and are often patented and copyrighted so that in order to get them someone is going to need a boatload of money.

Money to buy the machines to read those codes and a fee (either monthly or annually) to continue to get updates to new systems, bug fixes, and new data functions as they are applied in the field or on future models. Much the same model is used in many garages to give their technicians access to the latest service manuals in digital form instead of the old, expensive, and cumbersome printed manuals that used to line the shelves of dealerships and garages for most of the 20th century.

So, as others have posted you have several choices at pretty much escalating price points from beer money to the average annual income of a U.S family. When I was a Chrysler Corp dealer back in the early 80's (I'd been in sales since the late 60's) our first in-house "diagnostic system" connected by two way satellite cost $40,000 and wasn't much better than a digitized library of all the service manuals updated nightly.

There are cheap OBDII readers on eBay from probably $20 up and you can get an older version of Jaguar's IDS/SDD software with a knock off Mongoose cable that can read the data for $150-200 that can be combined with a laptop running Windows XP in a virtual computer under Windows 7 (by now maybe even under Windows 10), or if you have big bucks you can buy something from Bosch for several thousand with a monthly update fee and do ALMOST everything a Jag dealer can do....EXCEPT wipe and reprogram and ECU (at least not legally)

If you have an older Jag, say up to probably a 2010, the IDS/SDD software is an affordable path that while being a bit of a slog getting it figured out gives you a lot more info deeper into any problem than an OBD II can do.

Since my 2 Jags are a '99 and an '04 (at least at this writing) I haven't really kept tabs on the latest 'pirated' releases of the IDS/SDD software.