Best OBDII Scanner for CRD?

[Christine_S]

Our '05 CRD that my father bought new in '05 had the Check Engine light lit when we got it from him. My dad tells me that a mechanic told him a couple of years ago that "those are always lit on the diesels, just ignore it" and so he did. He says it never ran badly or exhibited any symptoms of anything. Of course, I know the story about the light supposed to be lit on a diesel is B.S. and so I checked the code with my OBDII reader and it's the P0402 message (Excessive Flow) for the EGR valve. Every time I reset it, it trips again within ~50 miles of driving. The engine seems to be running fine for what it is (no black smoke, runs smoothly), so I think we aren't going to mess with it until there are actual symptoms, lest we make things worse somehow. However, it does seem to get crappy MPG compared to what many of you here report, though (~17.5 mostly city).

Anyway, I would like to get a scanner dedicated for this car because my kid will eventually be taking it to college. So, if we have to keep resetting the code we want to make sure it isn't throwing a new code and we're ignoring it.

Is there a scanner that is particularly well suited for the CRD, like that might give us additional information than the generic stuff that you get from all OBD scanners? I have an OBDLink MX+ that doesn't list Chrysler/Jeep as one of its "enhanced info" manufacturers. Is there a scanner for less than $100 that any of you recommend for KJ CRD? I'm leaning towards the Blue Driver Pro currently on sale at Amazon for $99 but I would love some advice if anyone has some experience to share. Thanks!

Christine in Philly
'05 CRD

 

[turblediesel]

A common method of disabling the EGR on the CRD is to disconnect the connector on top of the airbox which will cause a light.

Offhand I don't have any recommendations for a scanner. Don't bother with a Scangauge. That's where my money went and I only use it to read and clear codes. For some odd reason the CRD erases all the basic information about the vehicle every time it's turned off.

 

[Christine_S]

Turblediesel,

Thanks! So, it sounds like maybe someone might have disabled the EGR at some point in the past? I hadn't considered that possibility, but my father might have agreed to something like that at some point if it were suggested. I'll try to figure out if that was done.

Christine

 

[Michael Wolfe]

I use a Bluetooth adaptor I bought on Amazon, and for general diagnostics use Torque Pro app on my phone. If I really want to dig in, I hook up my laptop. EGR Valve is probably stuck.

 

[cindysjeep]

My Foxwell scanner shows very little data and is basically worthless.
My Ancel FX3000 shows a lot more info and allows cycling of the abs module to bleed the brakes, but still doesn't do everything.

 

[GottaCRDKJ]

Our '05 CRD that my father bought new in '05 had the Check Engine light lit when we got it from him. My dad tells me that a mechanic told him a couple of years ago that "those are always lit on the diesels, just ignore it" and so he did. He says it never ran badly or exhibited any symptoms of anything. Of course, I know the story about the light supposed to be lit on a diesel is B.S. and so I checked the code with my OBDII reader and it's the P0402 message (Excessive Flow) for the EGR valve. Every time I reset it, it trips again within ~50 miles of driving. The engine seems to be running fine for what it is (no black smoke, runs smoothly), so I think we aren't going to mess with it until there are actual symptoms, lest we make things worse somehow. However, it does seem to get crappy MPG compared to what many of you here report, though (~17.5 mostly city).

Anyway, I would like to get a scanner dedicated for this car because my kid will eventually be taking it to college. So, if we have to keep resetting the code we want to make sure it isn't throwing a new code and we're ignoring it.

Is there a scanner that is particularly well suited for the CRD, like that might give us additional information than the generic stuff that you get from all OBD scanners? I have an OBDLink MX+ that doesn't list Chrysler/Jeep as one of its "enhanced info" manufacturers. Is there a scanner for less than $100 that any of you recommend for KJ CRD? I'm leaning towards the Blue Driver Pro currently on sale at Amazon for $99 but I would love some advice if anyone has some experience to share. Thanks!

Christine in Philly
'05 CRD

Thats a better than my 06 CRD mileage, theyre not that great on fuel but will out pull a hemi of the same vintage. I'd suggest finding a shop that has a snap on scantool or a drb3 oem scantool. The aftermarket tools are a waste of money

 

[kiwi_outdoors]

I use a BlueDriver scan tool/app on my gasoline engine, its worked ok for me so far, including while on a vacation.

 

[GottaCRDKJ]

I use a BlueDriver scan tool/app on my gasoline engine, its worked ok for me so far, including while on a vacation.

The CRD is a different animal and if you want to look at any other vehicle systems, it takes an OEm level scantool to do it.