Is the Delphi Diagnostic Machine Tool DS150 any good?

TigerTim

Hi All,

I saw a mechanic using one of these diagnostic tools recently. Anyone have one & know if they are any good. Not sure if the model he had was the DS150. Its used in conjunction with a laptop. Can reset codes, capture live data etc.. Here's a link below to similar device. Money not too bad.



http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Diagnostic-Machine-Tool-Delphi-2014-2-Car-Truck-DS150-/281744745709?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41994ba4ed

Thanks,

T.

CreepingDeath

€70 or so ?

There's plenty of bluetooth OBD (on-board diagnostics) devices.
The likes of DealExtreme (cheap chinese gadget website) have tonnes of them from around $10.

Then if you've an Android phone you can download the "Torque" Android app to connect to it, and view engine codes etc.

I've this setup just for checking the cars, I'm not relying on it though.
More of a nerdy gadget than a serious piece of kit.
But you can record the cars telemetry and other data during a journey, map your journey on a map (via phones GPS), etc.

I think there was a long thread about bluetooth OBD devices here once, or maybe in bargain alerts.

Pov06

The DS150 is A LOT better than any cheap tool you will find on DealExtreme etc.

Prime example is when I was trying to read diagnostic codes on a 2001 Citroen Xsara 2.0 HDi.

It didn't support OBD2 because diesels only implement OBD2 from 2004 onwards.

If you plug in the DS150 it will work though!

The software is also very good, especially if you use WOW instead of the Delphi software because it provides detailed info about cars similar to AutoData.

rex-x

A 2001 Citroen Xsara Hdi is fully OBDII compliant

Pov06

rex-x wrote: »

A 2001 Citroen Xsara Hdi is fully OBDII compliant

No it is not.

HDi engines are not OBD2 compliant until 2004. I can tell you this from first hand experience. If you still don't agree have a read on the Citroen Xsara Owners Club forum.

TigerTim

Thanks for all the replies. Not really interested in cheap Chinese stuff. Thought it looked pretty good for the money. Didn't realize you could use different software, like WOW, with it. Does this box just provide an interface from laptop to car. If you had dealer software, like Citroen's Lexia, on a laptop could you use this box with it.

Thanks,

T.

Row

TigerTim wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Not really interested in cheap Chinese stuff. Thought it looked pretty good for the money. Didn't realize you could use different software, like WOW, with it. Does this box just provide an interface from laptop to car. If you had dealer software, like Citroen's Lexia, on a laptop could you use this box with it.

Thanks,

T.

If you want to run lexia then you the need lexia 3 interface.
I run peugeot/citroen diagbox (with lexia 3 interface) and Delphi ds150 on the same laptop without any problems...:)
Tbh Delphi ds150 is as good as you get out there for the money...;)

George Dalton

TigerTim wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Not really interested in cheap Chinese stuff. Thought it looked pretty good for the money.

That's a cheap Chinese cloned unit, technically speaking it is illegal.

The genuine Autocom CDP/Delphi DS150 unit is close on €2000.

http://www.autocraftequipment.co.uk/products/delphi-ds150e-vci/279/

http://www.hickleys-international.com/delphi-ds150.html

rex-x

Pov06 wrote: »

No it is not.

HDi engines are not OBD2 compliant until 2004. I can tell you this from first hand experience. If you still don't agree have a read on the Citroen Xsara Owners Club forum.

I work for the Peugeot owners club and trained as a Peugeot specialist, they are compliant but use a slightly older protocol, kwp2000 instead of the iso so some readers won't read them

jimgoose

rex-x wrote: »

I work for the Peugeot owners club and trained as a Peugeot specialist, they are compliant but use a slightly older protocol, kwp2000 instead of the iso so some readers won't read them

I have a cheap little handheld that cycles through about six protocols including KWP2K, CAN and PWM until it hits one that seems to be talking "sense". It's often worth a funt, even on old-ish European stuff. A lot of manufacturers fitted OBD-II to the petrol and diesel models from 2001 as they were at it, cheaper in the longer run I'd imagine.

George Dalton

The problem with OBD2 scanners is that they don't read all fault codes. They only read a certain set of generic codes and won't read any manufacturer specific codes. So in some cases the fact that they don't tell the whole story can actually be misleading rather than helpful when trying to diagnose a running issue.

Tony Beetroot

George Dalton wrote: »

That's a cheap Chinese cloned unit, technically speaking it is illegal.

The fun police have rolled into town.

George Dalton

Tony Beetroot wrote: »

The fun police have rolled into town.

The OP seemed unaware, just alerting them to the facts. I'm not getting involved in the rights and wrongs of the matter.

dieselbug

George Dalton wrote: »

That's a cheap Chinese cloned unit, technically speaking it is illegal.

The genuine Autocom CDP/Delphi DS150 unit is close on €2000.

http://www.autocraftequipment.co.uk/products/delphi-ds150e-vci/279/

http://www.hickleys-international.com/delphi-ds150.html

This is correct, the units you see on auction sites are mostly illegal copies.

Delphi, Autocom, Wurth Wow and Opus are all more or less the same software and to answer the op,s question one of the better aftermarket scanners on the market, certainly miles ahead of any obd only unit.

Autocom and Delphi seem to suffer more than most from the pirates and this in itself would should be an indicator of it,s popuularity as a good scanner.

Pov06

George Dalton wrote: »

The problem with OBD2 scanners is that they don't read all fault codes. They only read a certain set of generic codes and won't read any manufacturer specific codes. So in some cases the fact that they don't tell the whole story can actually be misleading rather than helpful when trying to diagnose a running issue.

The DS150 seems to read a lot of codes. Powertrain, Braking system, Air bags etc.

rex-x wrote: »

I work for the Peugeot owners club and trained as a Peugeot specialist, they are compliant but use a slightly older protocol, kwp2000 instead of the iso so some readers won't read them

Maybe you're right. I was using an ELM327 and I suspect the lads on the Xsara Owners Club may have been using the clones too so that's why it wasn't supported. It was working good with the DS150 though!

George Dalton

Pov06 wrote: »

The DS150 seems to read a lot of codes. Powertrain, Braking system, Air bags etc.

The DS150 isn't an OBD2 scanner. It has full diagnostic capabilities.

We use the Autocom version and find it excellent.