Review CAR Diagnostic READERS

AliExpress is one of the online sales sites with the greatest variety of products. You can find almost anything you can think of, and there are undoubtedly thousands of items out there that are worth a lot that you probably didn’t know could be found on AliExpress at an impressive price tag. One such product are diagnostic readers like the ELM 327 and the Vag Com. They are OBD2 type connectors that will allow us to perform a full diagnosis of the vehicle and view its fault log. Today we explain how they work and how to buy them at the best price.

What are OBD2 Diagnostic Readers used for?

All cars have a program called OBD (On Board Diagnostics – On Board Diagnostics) in the engine control units. This monitors the catalytic converter, the vehicle’s exhaust gas values ​​and all the sensors involved in the emissions and warns the driver with a warning light if something goes wrong. This system is required by European regulations in all cars (since 2000 for gasoline engines and since 2003 for diesel engines).

The interesting thing is that in addition to the little warning light, it also records the fault and some of its possible causes, which is why the diagnostic reader is a very handy device as we can see the code associated with the fault and solve it.

How to use an OBD2 diagnostic reader

It is very easy to use, we just need to find the OBD2 connector on our car, which is usually located in the driver’s feet area (under the steering wheel or in the fuse box), on the passenger seat or in the. located center console. Once we find it, we connect the diagnostic reader, turn on the contact and read the results by connecting the reader using one of the following connections:

  • Bluetooth connection: Ideal for computers and Android phones (not iOS). When we use our smartphone we can use applications like EOBD-Facile or Torque, although we can find more in the Play Store.
  • WiFi connection: It can be used with any device, although in this case it is ideal for Apple phones as the previous method cannot be used.
  • USB port: It is only used to connect the reader to a computer. It’s a simple and reliable method.
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There are also some readers that don’t need to be connected to a cell phone, computer or tablet, they just show the error on the screen. We will also show you some of these models.

Cheap diagnostic readers on AliExpress

There are many electronics products on AliExpress, and we found a wide variety of affordable diagnostic readers among them. In fact, they are products with very high reviews and their price is much cheaper than any store. It is important to emphasize that these devices do not cause any breakdowns in the vehicle, so they can be used in complete safety, the device can only read and erase errors. We are going to analyze the two most popular ones so that you can choose the one that suits you best, although you can find them all here on AliExpress.

ELM 327 – the most popular model

This is one of the best-selling readers, it is easy to use and very cheap, but it cannot be used in all cars: it may not work in some Peugeot or Fiat models, nor will it work in Vag group vehicles (Volkswagen , Audi, Skoda and Seat). It is best to ask the seller whether the reader is compatible with our car before buying.

On AliExpress it can be found in this search and, as you will see, can be purchased with a variety of connections (USB, Bluetooth or Wifi). In short, it’s a generic machine that usually works with most cars, plus it’s cheap and simple, so a good investment.

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Vag Com – the Reader for Cars from the Vag Group

If you have a Vag Group car, this is the best diagnostic reader to choose from. In addition, since it is an exclusive machine for cars of this brand and not a generic machine like the previous one, you can configure and analyze all the parameters. You can find it by clicking here.

Ancel – Professional Diagnostic Reader

If your business requires this tool, we recommend purchasing a good quality diagnostic reader. At AliExpress we found this Ancel brand device that, once connected to the car, allows you to see the codes and their meaning on the screen, as well as eliminating the need to look online for the codes to get them to correct. It is compatible with European Union vehicles manufactured from 2001, American from 1996 or Asian from 2005.

Vgate – Professional Diagnostic Reader for Volkswagen

If you are looking for a professional Vag car diagnostic tool, the Vgate brand might be a good option and you can find it here and like the previous machine, you don’t have to look for the codes on the internet to solve it.