How to Choose the Best Car Diagnostic Tools?

by Avadhesh Sharma SEO Analyst

On-board diagnostic or OBD is a term concerned with the design, development and various other factors of motor vehicles. This mostly refers to vehicle reporting and self-diagnostic capability. The on-board diagnostic system provides the repair technician or vehicle owner access to the status of different sub-systems of the vehicle.

The amount of diagnostic data accessible from OBD has a wide variation since the introduction. Previously OBD would simply inform about a malfunctioning indicator light for example. But in recent years, it provides real-time data along with diagnostic trouble codes in a standardised series, which allows the user for a quick identification of the problem and the remedies to be opted for the same.

Car Diagnostic Tools

Maintaining a car comes with a lot of responsibilities. Nowadays identifying the trouble of the car from its pinpoint source is important. Several car diagnostic tools are available in the market that solves the technical issues of a car, for example, an OBD2 scanner or a digital multimeter. These tools when being used with the car repair manual provides the user with in-depth information about the vehicle's functioning. They also let the user diagnose the faults and confirm the repairs thereafter.

Selecting an OBD2 Scanner

Selecting and purchasing the right OBD2 scanner might be a challenging job until the user can specifically identify the needs. There are a number of varieties available for the OBD2 scanner with different price ranges. The car diagnostic tools suppliers in UAE offers multiple options of OBD2 scanners with different features.

An OBD2 scanner comes with different connectivity, like, either it can be stand-alone or require a Bluetooth adopter or cable adapter. The first variety doesn't require any other accessories, but a plug and socket. But the OBD2 scanners that come with wired or wireless connections, requires a laptop or a tablet, where a suitable software is downloaded. Then the laptop is connected to the car either using a cable or wirelessly.

The capabilities of the scanner are also an important factor. The scanners with basic design only read the diagnostic trouble codes. The user has to research the codes for opting for the diagnostic steps. The scanners with advanced designs and adapters can portray a code descriptive database, show vehicle data like oxygen sensor voltage, engine speed etc, and also can clear codes.

Professional Car Diagnostic Tools in UAE offers scanners with a number of capabilities such as graphing drive data, freezing frame data and many others.

Choosing a Digital Multimeter

Multimeters are available in the market ranging from basic analogue reading to engineering and digital grade. Multimeters with basic features measures resistance, voltage and current. Other varieties of multimeters measures capacitance, temperature, frequency and duty cycle. The digital multimeters might even test transistors and diodes.

Analogue multimeters are not applicable for modern cars which are controlled by computers. Whereas the high impedance digital multi metres are generally safer for use on present-day automotive circuits.

The digital multimeter measures the voltage drop of direct current in live circuits. It can also read the available voltage at components and battery open circuit voltage. And hence it can read the alternator output, parasitic draw or fuel pump draw.

The digital multimeter should also be capable of measuring current alternative current output signals. This feature leads to provide information like crankshaft position wheels and speed sensors.

Again the digital multimeters measure circuit resistance even in unpowered line or disconnected components. Therefore before buying the multi metre, the user must check these features.

The continuity in the digital multimeter sounds like an alarm when the circuit resistance is proximal to zero ohms. This condition helps check for any kind of short circuit. The temperature factor of the digital multimeter is useful especially while surveying the temperature of any hot elements, for example, the thermostat of an engine cooling system.

Conclusion

The most important fact about using a car diagnostic tool is that the user has to know its operations very minutely. The best category car diagnostic tools might prove worthless if their usage and operations are not known to the user. Therefore the user should be well aware of the operations of these tools and experienced as well.