Car Accessories Reviews

1. 

   J
   June 27th, 2010 - 01:20

   Review by J for Equus 3140 Innova Diagnostic Code Scanner for OBDI and OBDII Vehicles
   Rating:
   I’ve been working on cars a while now and I’ve used a few of these type of code readers/scanners (Snap-on and Mac) and I’ve found that this one does almost everything you would expect a pro model to do and a price that can’t be beat. Shows everything you really need to know, the screen is very large and easy to read, the button layout is good, but can be confusing at first, there should have been an extra button or two as some of the controls do double or triple duty, you have to read the manual and have it on hand until you get used to the controls. I’ve used it right away to diagnose a problem in my late model truck and have plugged it in to a number of makes and models with great success. It’s results are almost as detailed as say the Snap-on, but it costs 1/10 the price! The included software is nice, but not as full featured as it should be in saving data results. I highly recommend doing a firmware update to the unit, mine shipped with firmware 1.0 and the new firmware v2 adds some extra diagnostic functions, such as advanced DTC codes for some makes and updates the DTC code library in the unit, the unit seemed to read live data faster as well. Being able to read OBD I codes is a plus, but there are many limitations on the makes and models, a glaring omission is the lack of Nissan OBD I (Just because I own a older Nissan!). I do all my own repairs and would highly recommend this unit. The unit comes with two nylon cases, one for the unit, OBD II cable, manual and the other for pc serial cable and OBD I adapters and the cases zip together for easy transport. I do have one big complaint, this is 2007, who uses serial connectors anymore? my laptop does not even have one, I have to go out and buy a serial to USB2.0 adapter, it works well and the unit synced fine with my laptop with the adapter, but you would figure that they would have put the serial connector to rest by now.
2. 

   joe palmquist
   June 27th, 2010 - 02:10

   Review by joe palmquist for Equus 3140 Innova Diagnostic Code Scanner for OBDI and OBDII Vehicles
   Rating:
   i recently purchased a 3140 scanner and have found it works really well on obd2 vehicles but on obd1 it has some short falls i own a 93 dodge truck and it will flash out 4 codes through the check engine light but the scanner only retrieves 2 of them i also tried it on a 92 chevy astro van with a egr code the scanner did not retrieve that code either i emailed the companys tech support a couple weeks ago about it and still have got no reply figured this might help some people considering their purchase p.s.it does not work on a 95 grand am with a 3100
3. 

   Player 1
   June 27th, 2010 - 02:44

   Review by Player 1 for Equus 3140 Innova Diagnostic Code Scanner for OBDI and OBDII Vehicles
   Rating:
   My 3140 arrived with PC_SOFTWARE 1.32, and FIRMWARE 1.01
   
   To update:
   
   Install the software from the CD onto your computer, connect the tool to the PC, and turn on the tool. A “USB Serial Adapter” such as Keyspan High Speed USB Serial Adapter ( USA-19HS ) makes this much easier.
   
   Select “Update” from the PC software menu — and it will say a PC_SOFTWARE update is available, but your hardware is “up to date”.
   
   Download the new PC software (17 mb file), install, and run it.
   
   Hit “Update” again now, and it will say that a FIRMWARE update is available. Download the new ‘BIN’ file (2 mb), and install it in the tool as outlined in the directions.
   
   Currently I have PC_SOFTWARE 1.33, and FIRMWARE 1.02
4. 

   Sean D. Eaton
   June 27th, 2010 - 03:43

   Review by Sean D. Eaton for Equus 3140 Innova Diagnostic Code Scanner for OBDI and OBDII Vehicles
   Rating:
   I bought this for use with several cars: 1994 Lincoln Mark VIII, 2002 Chevy Astro Van, 2007 Honda Civic, 1988 Ford Mustang, 2003 Toyota Avalon, and a 1997 Mitsubishi Montero. That represents a good mix of OBD I and OBD II cars.

   I found the OBD I functions to be a VAST improvement over the single-make only units I had before. Since I stink at counting beeps and flashes, a lot of user error is eliminated. It is also nice that the OBD I adapters use a long cord, since some of my cars have the connector mounted under the hood, which makes some tests and troubleshooting difficult.

   OBD II functions are just as cool as you would expect, but I have yet to use the recording function, but I imagine its cool. I know my buddy has an Actron that locks up from time to time, this one has not locked up on me yet. The all-at-once screen and backlighing features are fantastic.

   The software is very nice. It is simple and easy to use. I use an old Gateway Pentium III laptop running Windows 98SE with 288Megs of RAM, and it works like a champ. I did not see any information at all on what the minimum requirements are, but most of you will be running something newer/more powerful than my machine. The laptop is so old that it has a real serial port on the back of it, so no USB adapter was needed. Those who need a USB-to-Serial cable might want to consider getting an old used laptop instead, since the one I use was less than $30 on an auction site.

   Others are having problems upgrading their software and firmware, but I had no such issues. Once I had the software installed I was able to update the software to version 1.33, restart, then update the firmware to 1.02. The software install took a few minutes, but the firmware update took over 15 minutes.

   I am also impressed with the packaging of the unit. It comes in a cardboard box with a built-in handle and colorful slipcover, and inside the box are two nylon zippered carry cases, both of which can be zippered together so you keep all the parts together. The build quality of all of the parts is top notch, and the MASSIVE (tri-lingual) manual is easy to read. I am disappointed that no paper manual is included for the software.

   Overall I am very happy with this unit, and am looking forward to using all of the extra features that I haven’t gotten to yet.
5. 

   Steven Gardner
   June 27th, 2010 - 04:35

   Review by Steven Gardner for Equus 3140 Innova Diagnostic Code Scanner for OBDI and OBDII Vehicles
   Rating:
   I rarely give the top (or bottom) rating for a product, but the Equus 3140 Innova Diagnostic Code Scanner earned top honors. It is exactly what I had hoped it would be after a great deal of research. I checked out several manufacturers and discounted most of them immediately, but went into greater depth on a few. First, I really liked Equus’ chart that showed the capabilities of each model allowing me to easily chose the one I needed to get. No other manufacturer offered that. Second, I received exactly what was described. It read the data from the 91 Dodge and told me I installed the wrong thermostat a year ago (my interpretation) as the engine was consistently running colder than expected (who knew)? It read the data from a 2003 Mazda and told me that I had installed the new engine correctly as I had no reported problems and the ‘live data’ came up almost immediately, when requested and looked good. Last, I found the quality to be better than expected. The scanner was very well made, but the plugs and cables (which are most likely to take some knocks) were far more robust than I expected. They can take additional abuse that the lesser manufacturer’s accessories would not.

   The capabilities of this model are exceptional. I wasn’t able to find any other manufacturer that claimed all of the same capabilities as this model and some of those were twice the price. It not only scans many older vehicles (’83-’95 – OBDl), but also includes Transmission codes which were not mentioned by any other manufacturer I researched, and I was looking. I have already found it extremely helpful and expect it to pay for itself many times over.

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