Finding the right scan tool

Scan tools are some of the most important pieces of equipment in today’s automotive repair shop. It’s impossible to think of a good shop not having a scan tool, or a variety of scan tools as readily available as a good pair of wrenches or screw drivers. Today’s engines and automobiles are complex, computer controlled technologies that produce a wealth of complex data from an ever widening array of controllers and sensors. But the question facing any shop and its technicians is what kind of scan tool should one have on hand, and how should one go about picking the right tool to do the job right.

Know your customers to find the right scan tool

Manufactures of scan tools pretty much agree that before anyone decides to purchase a tool the first step should be understanding what make and age range of vehicles are entering the shop’s bays.

Patrick Dubois, national sales manager with Vetronix Corp. in Montreal said many shops often have several scan tools, ranging from general purpose tools that can diagnose a variety of engine and automotive problems across a wide range of vehicles, but also more specialized scan tools that can accurately pull OE-specific information from an automobile.

“All (scan) tools have holes in the coverage,” Dubois added. “It is inherent in the production process. So what you are now seeing are guys migrating to tools that can fill in some of those gaps.”

Vetronix offers technicians both a general purpose and more OE-specific scan tool. For example, the MTS 3100 Mastertech Multi-Function Tester comes with an OBD II interface, ScanTest functionality and bi-directional controls, and a built-in automotive oscilloscope and digital meter. But Vetronix’s Tech 2 is made to be the same kind of tester a GM technician uses to diagnose GM vehicles. The Vetronix Tech 2 comes with authentic GM software and provides support for on-board diagnostics on all GM systems 1992 through to the current year.

“We offer similar coverage for the Lexus and the Acura in our Mastertech product,” he continued. “That is a real trend right now. This whole ‘Right to Repair’ has a lot of underlying stuff in the background and in the aftermarket there are a growing number of shops fighting for business. We are trying to get maintenance business away from the dealers, hence the need for dealer-like (scan) tools.”

Jeff Elder, marketing manger at Blue Streak Electronics Inc. in Toronto said the company’s BDM Pro offers technicians powertrain diagnostics for GM, Ford and Chrysler from 1981 through 1995, OE powertrain diagnostics for GM, Ford and Chrysler 1996 and newer models, and OBD II coverage for all imports, Asian and European automobiles from 1996.

“What is important for a technician to ask about any scan tool is what is it that a company means by ‘enhanced,’” Elder continued. “There are tools that are using generic OBD II coverage and calling it import coverage. We have always had generic OBD II coverage for all makes and models, but when we release an ‘enhanced’ coverage, it mirrors that of an OE tool; not just in the amount of data, but in the coverage, presentation and language.”

Mike Turner, Canadian sales manager with SPX/OTC Service Solutions in Toronto said the Genisys scan tool comfortably covers 85 per cent of the systems on some 85 per cent of the vehicles found in Canada. With its InfoTech 2005 software, it covers Asian and European automobiles and provides information on component wiring, circuit descriptions, component and control module locations, and provides information on engine, transmission and ABS systems. It also has a gas analyzer module and includes coverage for the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocols, to be standard on all new North American vehicles starting in 2008.

“We’ve seen shops that now have five or six scan tools on hand,” Vetronix’s Dubois said “(Technicians) will grab one tool and when they hit a wall on coverage or need to go deeper into the systems, they will grab an OE-like tool.”

Making sure you can upgrade

Scan tools are a significant investment for any shop and technician. That is why many ask how easy it is to update the tools in order to keep up with the latest vehicles and diagnostic information. It does no good for the shop and its staff if every couple of years the scan tool must be replaced with a newer model just to get updated coverage.

Richard Fawcett, technical equipment specialist with Snap-on Diagnostics in Mississauga, Ont. said Snap-on has been working to simplify the updating of its scan tools for some time. With the company’s Solus diagnostic scanner, the updating of the software and its coverage range has been much improved.

Before, an update to the company’s scan tools involved replacing a chip in the diagnostic module. With the Solus, there are only two cartridges, a Vehicle Communications Cartridge and a Trouble Shooter Cartridge that can be updated by Snap-on technician when they make their weekly rounds of Snap-on customers. The technician simply asks what updates a shop needs and the technician then uses a computer to update the cartridges. The shop owner or technician does not have to do it themselves and can chose which updates are needed, thereby giving them lots of flexibility in the kind of coverage needed.

“This has become a huge issue in the area of scan tools,” Fawcett said. “There have been some tools out there that have to be totally replaced because they can’t be updated. Even the scan tool we have had since1988 can be updated.”

The internet has become another way for companies to update their scan tools, letting scan tool owners chose the updates they need and again simplifying the process. For example, Blue Streak customers can go to the company’s Web site and automatically update the scan tool. The company’s most recent update enhanced the Asian coverage of its BDM Pro to include 2005 vehicles and added OEM level diagnostics for Honda and Acura.

The future is wireless

Delphi Integrated Service Solutions’ DS800 comes with Wi-Fi connectivity allowing integration into a shop’s business management system.

Greg Caron, regional sales manager for Canada for Delphi in Ottawa said the wireless feature allows a technician use the diagnostic information to query the shop’s parts database to see whether the necessary parts are in stock or whether to order a new part from a jobber or WD. The idea behind wireless, which many of the other scan tool providers are either going to be incorporating in their products or are considering, is to streamline how a shop operates and for a technician to get the information they need faster so as to effect a repair in a more timely fashion with the information that the scan tool is providing them.