I have a cheapo ELM327 clone from China. Works great for genric codes and some live data but not much else.
The Scangauge is still just an OBDII device with some programmability for reading extra stuff. I already have Torque on my phone for reading and clearing ECU codes, checking readiness etc.
The clone HDS units as linked to in the first post appear to provide the same capabilities as the real HDS used by dealers, and for a lot less money. I was hoping to hear from someone who actually has used one on a CRZ with a first-hand evaluation.
Indeed you will.Well if I end up going for this I guess I'll be the one giving the report.
Hi, I have been looking all over for a scan tool for HCH2 to read IMA related codes & battery module voltages. Do you have a link for the one you purchased? Does it work with a HCH2. Thanks in advance.I'm back with an update, and happily it's positive. I now have a working HDS for $100 US.
It took me a while to get it going because for some reason the USB-serial adapter I was using was only allowing partial communication between the HIM and my laptop. I could program the HIM and see it respond, and it even passed a self-test with the loopback plugs they give you. But it wouldn't connect the HDS to the vehicle. After numerous tries I decided to swap out the adapter for another one and it connected right away. I had to mess around a bit to make the HDS accept a fake repair order # and then I was in. Did some poking around and even cleared some (presumably old) DTCs that were lurking in areas where an OBDII scanner would never see them. I'll check again at a later time to see if any come back.
I might have played around for longer but it's rather cold outside here today so I called it quits for now.
TLR- Buy this. If your laptop doesn't have a hardware 9-pin serial port you'll need a USB-serial adapter, they do offer one as an option with the unit or you can get one from Amazon, computer store etc. Just make sure you can return it if it doesn't work.
I actually have that same hardware--got it 3-4 years ago and couldn't get the software working on my computer. Thanks for posting about it, as I might get it back out of the parts bin and see if I can set it up with my (relatively) new computer.Here is the link to the one I purchased-
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