Are these worth it? Are there any codes they wont pull on my 4th gen?

Reason I ask is my SES light just came on. I know most auto parts places will scan it for you but it was be less hassle if I could just plug something in and check myself - especially since they are so cheap...

 

Yes, both the blue tooth and cable versions work fine. I think I have a few screen captures of the free software that comes with the connector. Nice part about the connectors is that many of the higher end software can use it also.

https://camaroforums.com/forum/tools...omputer-68104/

 

Be very careful which BT OBD2 adapter you buy now. Most of the cheap ones from China will probably not work on any car older than about 2008. They advertise that they work for all OBD2 cars... but they have left out the necessary parts for the earlier years (1996-2007). The only two that I know work are the ones from BAFX (about $25) or the more expensive one from Scantool.net ($70). The older BT ones from China worked fine in the first few years, but they have recently cut costs on them by removing all parts that are not for CAN format. Don't believe their ads. I ordered 4 different types recently from 4 different vendors in China, and none of them worked for a 4th Gen.

http://www.bafxpro.com/obdreader/

( above one works for pc. "For Android" only just means it wont work for iPhone)

https://www.scantool.net/scan-tools/...bdlink-lx.html

 

I have the bafx adapter for android from amazon. I've been using it in my 01 and it works great. I have it paired with a nexus 7 tablet with the torque pro app. I also got dash command but I'm not using until I get done designing my custom gauge layout.

 

Just a fyi, the thread I linked to my shop computer shows the $11 ebay Elm cable shipped from China, it took 2 weeks to get here. Back then my research showed many great review, most of the people that had issues didn't even have lights. The screen shot shows my 96 on the screen, I have also done a 96 Tahoe a 2001 Kia, 2004 GMC and several other cars. None them was as new as a 2007. With ScanXL pro I could NOT get ABS or Air bag information from my 1996 but on my 2004 5.3 I can see everything. From what I read only the 2000- 2002 had an output the elm cable supported for ABS in a Camaro. I have a hard cable I assume since blue tooth is just a standard protocol for the ELM unit it would work the same as the cable.

 

Thanks guys. I've found a cheapish CAN Bluetooth adaptor. Is it likely that it won't pull abs or airbag codes on my 97? I've read a few threads of people saying this. .cheers

 

In 2012, the cheap Chinese-made cables worked fine, except for the ones that were dead. I bought at least 3 of them and they all worked on my 98 TA and several other brands. By 2014, everything had changed and many parts for non-CAN protocols were missing. There are many complaints about non-communication for the older cars (pre-2008). I have investigated this thoroughly and identified the missing parts to be for the non-CAN protocols, 3 for: GM (VPW), Ford (PWM), and Chrysler/Japanese/European (K-line/ISO). In the 4 cases I mentioned above, I was able to install the missing parts for the GM/VPW protocol and get the adapters to work on the 98. Have they reverted back to working adapters? I don't know, but I would not trust them. I did also later buy an adapter from BAFX just to check compatibility. When I disassembled it, I found all the parts to be installed.

As for the airbags and ABS coverage, very few software packages will support that, certainly none of the free or cheap ones.

 

That is bad even for China, I think changing the parts is going to be too much for most people. I did some quick searches, it looks like you want the a Elm 327 pre-V1.5. I saw a couple reviews saying the V1.4b works great. By all means do your own research. I wish I would have bought a spare. I think it is the most used $10 tool I ever bought.

Thanks Gary, I would have never guessed they would have gutted their own product. Most of the people that are looking for cheap fixes are not working 2010's.


Edit: Make sure you research your car, I found several vendors say their Elm 327 V1.4 "MAY NOT WORK WITH 96-2003 Fords" No mention of Chevy.

 

An explanation about the chip revision: The last legit version released by ELM Electronics is 1.4a. Anything labeled as version 1.5 or higher is a clone. But that does not mean it won't work. Any fake one labeled 1.5 is actually version 1.0, which is slower than the newer ones and does not have a few advanced features. Ones with the version 1.4a or earlier chip are more likely to be using a genuine ELM327 chip and, so, are more likely to have not skimped on parts.

The real problem is the missing components, not the chip version. Many older adapters with cloned version "1.5" worked just fine. Some may be missing all three of the older protocols and some may be missing only one or two. The only way to tell is by inspection or testing.

 

Here's a bit of information on a few of them that re available
http://gas2.org/2014/02/26/turn-car-smart-car-bluetooth-obd-ii-adapter/