Scanner query

[gookah]

I currently have an old laptop that runs INPA, however it is a bit hit and miss with some modules, and some older cars, wont read abs ecu's on older cars,
Have removed formatted and re-installed and still seems to be the same even with a newer INPA version
I have also tried ISTA-D and P and cant get on with it, n or get it to work well.
Also the laptop battery is now not holding charge for very long.

So should I just scrap it and get a Foxwell NT530 instead?
or is that out of the frying pan etc etc.

Pro's and cons anyone?

can the foxwell for instance code a replacement ABS pump ecu easily, I have used NCS for that in the past.

there are so many program variants with the laptop
Inpa ncsexpert sssprogman, winkpf, ista dis etc etc
Some I have tried others not,

does a Foxwell get rid of the need to have so many different programs
Has anyone had experience of both methods and what is the preference.

 

[Synclare]

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[g8jka]

You've also bled the brake system through INPA, can the Foxwell one do this?

 

[gookah]

and is this a seller of genuine tools?

Foxwell NT530 Multi-System Scanner Works with Latest 2018/2019 Vehicles

Foxwell NT530 BMW scanner is a unique tool that delivers OE-level diagnosis for BMW vehicles and supports the most commonly required service and coding features.

www.foxwelltool.co.uk

.


they say they are, but why is theirs £121 and others want £199 for the same tool with one software loaded?

 

[t-tony]

and is this a seller of genuine tools?

Foxwell NT530 Multi-System Scanner Works with Latest 2018/2019 Vehicles

Foxwell NT530 BMW scanner is a unique tool that delivers OE-level diagnosis for BMW vehicles and supports the most commonly required service and coding features.

www.foxwelltool.co.uk

.


they say they are, but why is theirs £121 and others want £199 for the same tool with one software loaded?

Rightly, or wrongly, that is why I paid £199. Maybe I didn't need to but it updates easily every time I get an email telling me there are updates so I'm happy.

Tony.

 

[Synclare]

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[mrscalex]

Caution required here with discussion on coding and ABS. I would be surprised if the Foxwell or for that matter any non-BMW workshop tool (well maybe some very expensive professional ones) could code ABS and SRS modules. Potentially some tools could code options, eg sticky stop/start but that’s really only applicable to newer BMWs.

As best as I can tell the main advantages of the Foxwell (and I do recognise it as the best affordable handheld) are that it works on older Z3s and it’s not a complete pain in the rear end to install and keep running like INPA.

So it’s my belief a Foxwell could not replace NCS for coding. And INPA may also still be required for eg rolling code resets and quite possibly live data or at least some extended aspects of it.

@Murray Wall has recently done a good post on this subject. So may be able to confirm or correct my thoughts.

 

[mrscalex]

For reference for those that have not seen it already.

How To Guide - How to Scan Early Model Z3's (pre-build date 03/98)

Many people who own a pre 03/98 build date non M Z3's find it hard to scan any modules other than the engine computer (DME). This is because before 03/98, the Z3 has a mix of OBD1/ADS and OBD2 modules. 03/98 and later, the non M Z3's have all OBD2 modules. Seem that the USA S52 Z3M's had ADS...

zroadster.org

 

[NZ00Z3]

The Foxwell NT530 with BMW software will not code your modules when you change them. You need NCSExpert and Tools32 to do that.

For Z3's 03/98 and newer, a Laptop with a USB port, special cable and adapter cable running INPA and packaged tools is what you need.

If your Z3 is older than 03/98, then you need a very old laptop with a true serial port, an ADS adapter and INPA and packaged tools.

 

[gookah]

I already have a laptop with all of them on, but they are not the easiest to navigate and they are very glitchy. and the battery has given up the ghost so it needs to be plugged in to do any work.
I am sick of formatting the hard drive and reloading various packages to try and get them working properly,
The amount of cables too, BMCables, BCables, ISTA grey switched cable, #

I just want something easy like Carly, that I have for the 1 Series and the Z4.
Looks like the Foxwell will run the abs pump to bleed, but not code the module then?

 

[NZ00Z3]

Looks like the Foxwell will run the abs pump to bleed, but not code the module then?

Correct. That is why I have it. For the times when I'm working on an older Z3.

 

[mrscalex]

I tend to use BMW Scanner v1.4 software for straight-forward error code reads. I only use INPA if I want live data or something more involved. But like everything else except the Foxwell tool it won’t work on early cars.

BMW Scanner is a lot more stable than INPA and easier to install. It also produces a nice log file.

I’m not aware of anything that can replace BMW suite software like NCS for coding.

I’ve thought about a Foxwell. But at up to £200, as I don’t have an older car, it’s only going to give me convenience over what I’ve currently got.

 

[gookah]

well a little update,

I discovered on Saturday that my wife's E85 Z4 has started leaking oil from the rocker cover......smoke from off the exhaust manifold
On Sunday, when we went to Capesthorne, the engine light came on.
The new gasket set ordered Saturday (good old Amazon) had arrived and was fitted yesterday.
Then I went on to read the codes using Carly and my phone.
It came up with 14 errors!
9 of which were engine related....

So I cleared them all using the Carly software, but the engine light stayed on. Re-read the errors and I just had the 9 engine ones remaining. They would not clear, and at one stage the car started hunting until the next clear command.

So I got out the laptop and ran INPA. Plugged the mains in after the laptop battery went flat, (3 minutes!)
but managed to read the below codes:

hit the clear button and instantly engine light went off, all codes cleared and non have returned.

Not sure what went on, unless a large air leak was going past the old gasket, but the engine was running smooth both before and after with no sign of a misfire.


Looks like a new battery for the laptop then, and old faithful INPA etc, remains the default
much as I liked the idea of a new toy.