Actron or Equus code scanner?

[PowderKeg]

Had the engine light come on in my '05 F150 last week (but truck was still running fine) so I finally dropped by Auto Zone to get the code read - upstream O2 sensor failure (turns out the wires dropped down and were shredded by rubbing on the front driveshaft, gonna try to splice them back tomorrow). So now I'm pondering picking up a code scanner myself, and have about whittled the choice down to possibly either an Actron 9580 ($150 Amazon) or an Equus Innova 3130 ($128 Amazon). Anyone have experience with either (or both)?

I'm not at all looking for one with all the bells and whistles and makes coffee on the side (for the cost of some of the supercalifragilistic ones they oughta make the donuts too), but want more than the lowly little basic reader-only models. Live real time data, record and playback, freeze frame, read-erase, update-able, maybe pc interface are some of what I'd like to have in one. I haven't done an indepth side-by-side comparison of the two above models yet, but scanning the descriptions of each they appear fairly similar in capabilities. the Actron claims some limited ABS ability and has CodeConnect, which sounds like a database of possible causes to assist with diagnosis/repair.

Any thoughts on the 9580 vs the 3130, or any other scanners out there in the $150ish range worth contemplating? Not expecting caviar on a candy bar budget, just a scanner I can use to get some ideas on what's happening under the hood and whether it might be a job I can tackle or one for a shop - in which case one that could give me enough info to hopefully see through a con job by a less-than-stellar shop.

Man how I miss the old days of carbs and distributors, floats and points, timing lights and feeler gauges, engine bays devoid of little plastic **** and plugs and spaghetti looms of wiring that you could almost sit in to do some tweakin', no cats, just headers and cherry bombs....

 

[ImportTuner]

Both are pretty good; I have the Actron 9145 and the Equus 3150 ..

 

[jrherald420]

I bought an Autel 310, its a scan tool with live PID's and supports freeze frame data + alot more. I picked mine up on Ebay from a US seller for 59.00 shipped.

heres the info

http://www.auteltech.com/ms310.htm

 

[mech.reclined]

What the hell are points????

 

[MattT]

I've got an Actron 9180. Seems to work well with displaying domestic OEM codes but only has generic PIDs AKA live data. I was initially pissed about the lack of OEM PIDs until I priced units that had some OEM capability.

What the hell are points????

They're normally something you get for being mean to trolls and exaggerators. They can also be handed out for trying to be helpful.

 

[tool_enthusiast]

I have the Equus 3130 and have been pretty happy with it. I just compared the features on the CP9580 and it seems the CP9580 might not be able to print screen data to a PC so all your analysis is probably done on the tool. It does say it can graph the data though which sounds good enough. On the Equus 3130, it includes software called OBD-PCLink where you can dump the data to your computer and do some graphing analysis. I don't think the software is that great, but it is still helpful enough if I want to try and find a trend in the live data I captured.

But the one thing CP9580 has over the 3130 is the ability to get the domestic ABS codes. My 3130 can do it but I need to pay a good chunk of money to get this upgrade. The CP9580 also has this CodeConnect button which is supposed to help give you solutions, but google works fine for me.

Otherwise both tools can get freeze frame data and live data capture which are some of the most useful things I have used. Since the CP9580 has the ABS feature already installed, being both tools are around the same price, it would seem the CP9580 is better.

 

[PowderKeg]

I keep swinging back and forth between the two - the ABS feature, CodeConnect, and USB port connection of the Actron pull me that way, then the numerous reviews I've read quoting many many problems with Actron's upgrade software and the relative uncertainty of whether any particular vehicle is really covered for ABS - sounds like you don't really know until you try and pull codes, despite what models Actron says are covered - pushes me back towards the Innova. Then I read about software glitches, the need for a serial-to-USB converter plug, and additional charges for something that sounds similar to CodeConnect but available online from Equus, and I start swinging back to Actron. Thanks for the 3130 input, it keeps me looking a little harder at the Equus, despite the extra ABS option (with possibly questionable coverage issues) on the Actron.

It may come down to a coin flip, since I've been seeing/reading/getting positive comments for both.

 

[tool_enthusiast]

I keep swinging back and forth between the two - the ABS feature, CodeConnect, and USB port connection of the Actron pull me that way, then the numerous reviews I've read quoting many many problems with Actron's upgrade software and the relative uncertainty of whether any particular vehicle is really covered for ABS - sounds like you don't really know until you try and pull codes, despite what models Actron says are covered - pushes me back towards the Innova. Then I read about software glitches, the need for a serial-to-USB converter plug, and additional charges for something that sounds similar to CodeConnect but available online from Equus, and I start swinging back to Actron. Thanks for the 3130 input, it keeps me looking a little harder at the Equus, despite the extra ABS option (with possibly questionable coverage issues) on the Actron.

It may come down to a coin flip, since I've been seeing/reading/getting positive comments for both.

I would not worry about this CodeConnect as it seems once you pull a code, you can simply google to get more info. I never had a problem with that using my 3130.

The cable that Equus comes with is a DB9 serial so if your laptop or desktop does not have a serial port, then you would need some kind of usb-based serial adapter. That's not a big deal either.

I have done one software upgrade on my Equus. The next time I got prompted, my option was to get some extensive upgrade at the trade-off of losing the other languages, or just do a standard upgrade. For now I chose not to do the extensive upgrade unless I ran into something where I really needed it. The upgrade for me went smooth, but I could see there's only limited memory on the tool, otherwise it should be able to get the extensive upgrade and still keep the multiple languages. Keep in mind that there should be an abs upgrade available for the 3130 should you ever want to purchase the add-on.

I can tell you this, so far my Equus has not let me down and short of the not-so-great software (but still useful), I've been pretty happy with it.