Does a OBD II car reader for Fords read only codes that cause the Check engine light to come on?

Question

Or will it provide other information to help keep the car running good? Will it tell me why something like my A/C isn't working? Also I see some for $30 and some for $100, whats the difference?

Answer 1

A "code reader" reads just the codes and may be able to reset them. A "code scanner" shows what many of the sensors are reporting to the computer and things like long and short term fuel trim and other generic live stream OBD-II data. Only a manufacturer specific scanner such as those used by your dealer shows most everything they can monitor in the factory. Actron, Auto Xray and Sunpro are all owned by the same company now. So go to http://www.actron.com to see what you can afford. You should be able to get a full generic OBD-II scanner for $275. Some scanners (some AutoXray models) allow you to connect them to your PC computer to view the data collected in graphic form and store a snap shot of your car's computer parameters to compare to when future problems occur.

Answer 2

No, it will not tell you why your ac isnt working. It will tell you codes involved with the power train and such.... $30 tells you the code number, $100 gets you a little more, maybe a deffinition or it'll read abs codes as well or something along those lines.....

Answer 3

these are usually only code readers that will give you the P code and a short description of the code. they also have a code clearing function. no data stream.

Answer 4

if a brand new car then there is a lemon law. problem is you must have the the car in the shop more than several times to consider it a lemon. not just once. look into the lemon law statue in your state it will spell out what the state and manufacturer consider a lemon