andyw00 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I have a 1999 Subaru LOB Wagon, VIN 4S3BG6853X7621967, 2.5L, that is OBD-II compliant and the check enging light just came on recently. Car is running fine, but the wife is concerned and it "bugs" me that it's on. The connector for pulling codes with a scanner/retriever tool is 16-pin has active pins on 1,4,5,9,10,12,13. Anyone had any experience with a particular reader that can pull codes from this vehicle using a scan tool? I was leaning towards getting an Actron CP9125, but I'm not sure if it'll work. Any info on what has worked for others would be greatly appreciated. I can be emailed direct at andyw00@yahoo.com. Thanks. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subiefan Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I don't really know anything about scanners/readers, but if that check engine light is bothering you, take it to AutoZone and they will pull the codes for free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyw00 Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 I don't really know anything about scanners/readers, but if that check engine light is bothering you, take it to AutoZone and they will pull the codes for free. No Autozone here in Rapid City, SD. Called several other parts stores and none have this service. I'll have to resort to DIY with a reader. Thanks. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 As far as I know, any OBDII scanner should work with a '95 or newer Subaru. On the advice of a mechanic friend I bought an Actron 9135 and have been quite pleased. Actron has a respected name. Got mine off ebay at a great price. But search around the board--there are a lot of good opinions and suggestions here. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyw00 Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 As far as I know, any OBDII scanner should work with a '95 or newer Subaru. On the advice of a mechanic friend I bought an Actron 9135 and have been quite pleased. Actron has a respected name. Got mine off ebay at a great price. But search around the board--there are a lot of good opinions and suggestions here. Good luck! Thanks for the info. Do you know if your mechanic friend has any experience with the 9125 model? Not looking to spend as much as what a 9135 runs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 Thanks for the info. Do you know if your mechanic friend has any experience with the 9125 model? Not looking to spend as much as what a 9135 runs. No, I don't think he'd have ever used the 9125. But I'm sure it's a fine unit--as I said, Actron has a good reputation. I believe Cookie got one and liked it. (Hey, Cookie, you out there somewhere?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrand Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 I looked at the Actron units but ended up buying an Innova (Equus?) 3100 a couple years ago. All units of this type were 150-160, and the 3100 went on sale for 120 so "Santa" bought it for me. I know prices have come down in general. Has been very good for my 3 OBD2 vehicles, 96 pontiac sunfire, 97 nissan KC 4x4 truck and 99 Buick Lesabre. More than paid for itself esp. knowing if car is ready for inspection, Texas smog counties use OBD2 for exclusive emission test on OBD2 vehicles. Have also used on Ford Winstar and Chevy S-10. (my Legacy is 1991 so is not OBD2). Keep in mind a code reader is just that-will read the codes, and status of monitors, and can use to clear codes. To read indivdiual parameters, freeze frame data, program flash etc. esp in real time you need a real scantool-or an adapter/software for your laptop/palm pilot-can start at 400 and go as high as 5000. All depends on what you want to do and are willing to pay for. A very good resource for OBD information is http://www.obdii.com/ let us know what you find out and the codes on your vehicle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commuter Posted July 24, 2005 Share Posted July 24, 2005 I have the Innova 3100 as well. Bought on sale as well (like 40% off). I haven't figured out all that it can do. I simply learned how to read the code and clear it. It's been perfectly fine for my purposes. Reviews of the model are typically very favorable. I was trying to read a co-workers 2004 Mazda 3 the other day and found out that some cars are using a CAN protocol that this reader doesn't understand. A newer model Innova 3110 takes care of that. (There were no Subarus listed as using this protocol, but a bunch of Fords, Mazda, some GMs and other vehicles were on the list, 2003 and newer.) Commuter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patbar111 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 I have a 1999 Subaru LOB Wagon, VIN 4S3BG6853X7621967, 2.5L, that is OBD-II compliant and the check enging light just came on recently. Car is running fine, but the wife is concerned and it "bugs" me that it's on. The connector for pulling codes with a scanner/retriever tool is 16-pin has active pins on 1,4,5,9,10,12,13. Anyone had any experience with a particular reader that can pull codes from this vehicle using a scan tool? I was leaning towards getting an Actron CP9125, but I'm not sure if it'll work. Any info on what has worked for others would be greatly appreciated. I can be emailed direct at andyw00@yahoo.com. Thanks. Andy I am not sure if this is the right method of replying, but there is an inexpensive method if you already have a PDA. It can be either Palm OS of Windows CE. A company called Automotive Electronics sells the adapters and software for about $300. That is the cheapest tool available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 The Actron 9125 will work fine on any OBD-2 system. I have been looking at some scantools myself. The Actron CP9150 kit seems nice if you are looking for a kit to also cover various makes and models before '96 and is selling for around $289 dollars. The CP9145 is the model included in the kit. The Equus 3110 is a very nice unit and is selling for about $200 dollars. I like the display on these models better than the Actrons. I think I will settle on this one. The 3100 is nice and is selling for $120 dollars. You need to look up the code definition on this model and dosen't do the CAN protocol, as was mentioned. For a full featured PC based scantool here is a link to check it out. It will also work with Palms. http://www.autotap.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMattyD Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 I have the Equus 3100 and it works great for pulling codes and resetting the computer. it also tells you which internal monitors have run, so you will be ready for your emissions test. It would be nice to have a more full-featured tool, that reads freeze frame data and is capable of reading sensor voltages, etc, but for a basic code reader it is great. matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurfmiata93 Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 I recently purchased an Equus 3110 to read codes on my MPV. In researching code readers I found that the OBDII standard is changing and by 2008 all vehicles must use the new CAN (controller area network) protocol. Some manufacturers have already switched over. I got the 3110 because it can read the CAN protocol and thought if I was buying a code reader I might as well get one that I can use for years to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 If you already have a laptop or a Palm, I think this gives the more bang for the money. http://www.obdscan.net/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 at AutoZone no less. It was pretty cheap and I think I've only used it once. It sure worked fine to read and clear the code I got last winter, but I am sure it could not do anything very sophisticated. Luckily most of the time that will be all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stokie7 Posted April 2, 2016 Share Posted April 2, 2016 (edited) I bought a cheap Autel MaxiScan MS309 on T-Mart.com for about $25 NZD incl free worldwide shipping to New Zealand (that's about $17 USD I think) and it gives "Linking Error" on both my 1998 Subaru Legacy and my 1998 Toyota Prius, both with OBDII ports and supposedly compatible. I tried it on my 2004 Mercedes Vito and it actually worked. It gives lots of info, not just codes, and I'd be very pleased if it actually worked for the cars I need it for. So, not all readers work on all cars. Edited April 2, 2016 by stokie7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whynot162 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 Anyone tried the torque app on your phone, and an adapter for the port. It is what I have been using on my american cars. The app is like $5 and the adapter can be had from 10-150. The $10 have a lot of issues as I found out later, Just bought a nice one for bluetooth, and it works great. I am out a total of about $80. have not tried it on the Subaru I just got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wombat3 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 From what I've read the problem with the cheap bluetooth adapters is even though they list all the different OBD connection types they only include the chips for a few, so you have no idea which cars they will work on when you order one. I figure it's worth $5-10 to try one with a chance that it will actually work right, then if not have to get a real one rather than a chinese knockoff. Scantool.net looks very reputable, and Autozone sells them as well. I work at an Autozone in Virginia, I can't vouch for all of them but if you get a scanner that won't connect to your car they should return the scanner. At my store I think it's $99 for a bluetooth Innova brand scanner, or $59 for a very simple code reader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt167 Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I have an OBD Link SX II USB adapter and use the provided license OBDWiZ software on an old Dell Latitude D610 laptop... The adapter/ software is very powerful and is $30 if you have a laptop with at least USB 2, it will run correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregB Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 I have VCDS from Ross-Tech. Bought it for my VW's. Loaded it on an old laptop. It has a generic OBDII reader, readiness check, and can also access things like O2 sensor voltages etc. Worked for me on the 97 GT wagon I used to have. I bought the cable thru Ross-Tech and licensed it from them. They do offer a shareware software download, and import cables can be had up on E-bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gravitate Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) I use the Torque Pro app that cost 5 bucks and its unbelievable. Way better than any auto parts store scanner I've tried in my opinion and it has much more info you can pull. It has a ton of real time info like speed, temperature, sensor voltage, 0 to 60 time, g force, and of course codes and a lot more. It's very accurate too. I had my speedometer stop working and I was able to get a gps speed dial in the app. For the price you just cant beat it. Plus you can just throw the dongle in any car you use and not have to worry about a big device with wires. There are cheap Bluetooth dongles out there but they dont work well with it. If I had the money I would go with a 100 dollar or more dongle but if you are cheap like me just get the BAFX ELM 327 for 22 bux on amazon. Mine sometimes takes a bit to connect or I have to read the codes twice to get it to work but it always works eventually. Mine is a few years old though so I think the newer model may work better. It's the BAFX 34t5 and has better reviews Edited April 3, 2016 by gravitate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirtokesalot Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 i have used both the good ones and cheapo ones with my 95 legacy and both read just fine however i do recommend getting one that will tell you what the code means on screen vs the ones that just give you a number witch u then have to look up in a book provided with the scanner. my book is gone now it went missing a long time ago but u can still check the code meaning on google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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