Diy Diagnostic

S

sumotan

Member
HI Gents,
It's me again. As Im living in no mans land & I have to learn to maintain my car.
Looking for a diagnostic tool which will allow me to read, reset & clear whatever codes that may appear. Seen a fair
bit of generic types on the internet but am unsure if will inetrface with our cars without issues.
Would appreciate if you could recommend me tool for this. Steep learning curve for me guess it's no pain no gain.

As always thank you all Gents
 
most recommend a generic lead and software from the net..I prefer the plug and play option so ordered this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08DG22XHF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
As well as diagnostics it will let you reset your service lights, airbags etc and battery registration, handy bit of kit :thumbsup:
 
Carly seems to be well regarded, I recently got one and its helped with the various errors that came up and clearing them. I',m sure there are plenty of others but I don't have any experience with them. Regards, David
 
mr.tourette said:
most recommend a generic lead and software from the net..I prefer the plug and play option so ordered this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08DG22XHF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
As well as diagnostics it will let you reset your service lights, airbags etc and battery registration, handy bit of kit :thumbsup:
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I followed this recommendation and so far it has served me well.
 
if you wanted to apply specific service functions as well, for e.g. putting the parking brake into service position and such, you might want go for getting standard bmw software and k+dcan cable
 
tintoverano said:
if you wanted to apply specific service functions as well, for e.g. putting the parking brake into service position and such, you might want go for getting standard bmw software and k+dcan cable
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To be clear, the Autophix 5900 does have the function to move the parking brake to replace brake pads. It can also register batteries and clear adaptations.
It will not allow any coding though, so it rather depends exactly what you want to achieve.
 
Thanks Gents
Wow looks like there's that many varieties of scanners ya. In the US seems like many are using the Autel scanner again that's for US not sure if it works for EU cars like ours. Yes I wouldn't mind spending like $400 for a scanner that can do it all even if it is specific to E89 only.

Many thanks again Gents for your valuable input, pls keep it coming & guide me towards what to purchase
 
It depends how much DIY you are going to be doing. The handheld devices are OK for simple tasks like code reading but if you are going to be doing a lot of DIY on the car ISTA/D is much more useful.

If you do decide to go that route make sure to get a proper Bimmergeeks cable. Other cables may work but you run the risk of bricking modules and they operate at half speed.

There's no big differences between the EU and US vehicles when it comes to diagnostic, any device that works on a US car will work fine on an EU one.
 
Thanks R.E92 Basically my needs I think are to scan, read,diagnose, reset, clear codes etc just to keep the car in good shape. Mechanically I'll get the workshop to assist.
Was reading up on this ISTA/D thingy wow it looks complicated to me for now. lol

Many thanks again
 
Sumotan, it might be worth having a look at Carista. Much the same as Carly in that it has a bluetooth adaptor connected to your phone, can do some code reading and apply a few tweaks. You can also pay for only 10 days of access with the adaptor so if you use it only once a year it stays fairly cheap. Suits me perfectly as someone who just wants to clear the odd code and read up on any faults before approaching a garage.

For anything more involved I'd start looking at ISTA/D and a k+dcan cable.
 
I have A Foxwell NT510 which I use on my Z4MC, Z3MC and 2 Minis and it connects to them all, albeit the Z3MC is a bit tricky until you discover the specific procedure for that vehicle.

It has correctly identified all the problems I've had and saved me a fortune and allowed me to sort out any problems myself. :thumbsup:
 
The C310+ from Amazon is the other one that typically gets recommended on here. Bit cheaper than the others mentioned although I don’t think it can do data streaming.
 
I use a generic Bluetooth adapter originally with "Torque" to identify and clear "normal" codes (it doesn't deal with specific BMW ones but it was around a quid to buy.

I also got the bimmercode app as well (they recommend OBD adapters) I bought one made by Veepeak which works very well.

Bit freaked out by insta that everyone talks about - with my computer ability it'd probably summon a demon or something by mistake
 
Many thanks again Gents, to be honest computer stuff is kind of a black hole for me as never had such lessons in school, I'm already 60 & still trying to learn. Lol. Back in mid 80s-90s we always muck around with cars but then complications was just Ecu mapping for engines mostly but now everything is intergrated & coded too Sigh.

Once again many thanks for your valuable advice.
 
sumotan said:
Many thanks again Gents, to be honest computer stuff is kind of a black hole for me as never had such lessons in school, I'm already 60 & still trying to learn. Lol. Back in mid 80s-90s we always muck around with cars but then complications was just Ecu mapping for engines mostly but now everything is intergrated & coded too Sigh.

Once again many thanks for your valuable advice.
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I think your best compromise solution might be BimmerGeeks ProTool. It can do most of the COMMON functions that one would want from insta/d without any of the complexity of it. It can do far more than Carly and related tools can, but runs as straightforward as they do. Its a nice middleground.
 
BadgerDog said:
sumotan said:
Many thanks again Gents, to be honest computer stuff is kind of a black hole for me as never had such lessons in school, I'm already 60 & still trying to learn. Lol. Back in mid 80s-90s we always muck around with cars but then complications was just Ecu mapping for engines mostly but now everything is intergrated & coded too Sigh.

Once again many thanks for your valuable advice.
Click to expand...

I think your best compromise solution might be BimmerGeeks ProTool. It can do most of the COMMON functions that one would want from insta/d without any of the complexity of it. It can do far more than Carly and related tools can, but runs as straightforward as they do. Its a nice middleground.
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That’s my vote as someone who has has Carly/Foxwelll/INPA/Protool..
 
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