Changed my mind about those cheap code readers after one saved my bacon

I dropped about $40 on a basic OBD2 scanner from Harbor Freight, thinking it was junk. It found a weird transmission code on a Ford Escape last week that my fancy tool missed. Anyone else have a go-to cheap tool that actually works?

2 comments

2 Comments

mason_murray21h ago

Saw a buddy's cheap multimeter find a short his expensive one completely missed.

angela19114h ago

But that's just one case. A single lucky find with a cheap tool doesn't mean it's better. Expensive meters have better safety ratings and more stable readings over time, which matters for real work. Your buddy's expensive meter might have had a low battery or needed recalibration, @mason_murray. Relying on a cheap meter is a gamble. You might trust it one day and get a false reading the next, which could be dangerous or just waste a lot of time.