OBD2 Scanner for Mechanics

Read Engine Error Codes with ARI monitor car’s parameters live. Diagnose issues and delete errors

Follow this guide to connect ARI to your vehicle and diagnose problems

How to Diagnose an Issue Using OBD2 Scanner

How does this work

The benefits of using an OBD scanner

Each vehicle built after 1995 comes with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). You can look at it as the “brain” behind your car. Among many functions, the ECU also stores error codes when something goes wrong. As a result, the car will display an engine light on the dashboard, but if you want more info, you need to read those error codes. This is where an OND2 scanner comes in handy.

These devices are small Bluetooth-powered dongles that connect to the car’s OBD2 port and they can read error codes, delete errors, monitor various car parameters, and more. One of the most common types of such device is the ELM327.

Purchase an ELM327 Dongle

Needed for connecting your ARI to the vehicle’s control unit

You can purchase an ELM327 dongle from any store or online. They are usually quite cheap and can be found in many different options. Although they may have some differences, most of them follow the same principle of working (OBD2) and use the same chip (ELM327)

ARI can connect to any OBD dongle that uses the EML327 chip. However, common sense dictates that more expensive devices have a longer lifetime and they turn out to be quite a good investment for any mechanic and auto repair shop.

Connect Dongle to ARI

Requires Bluetooth turned ON

All ELM327 dongles use Bluetooth for communicating with the device, so you need to make sure your device supports Bluetooth and also that the Bluetooth is turned ON.

Here’s how to connect ARI to your OBD2 dongle:

log into ARI
go to OBD Scanner
follow the instructions and then click Scan for Bluetooth devices
select the dongle name

If connection is successful, then you will be redirected to a new page where you can select the type of monitoring you’d like to perform.

Select Car Metric

Real-time data & error codes management

Once your OBD2 dongle is connected to ARI, it is time to select the type of data you want to fetch. There are currently 4 categories you can choose from, depending on your car diagnostic needs.

Real-Time Metrics

This allows you to monitor in real-time the data from your vehicle’s central unit. You can check RPM levels, fuel injection parameters, engine fuel rate, torque, and much more.

Requests DTC

This function fetches all the existing DTCs (Diagnostic Trouble Codes) stored in your car’s board computer. Once connected, ARI will request all the active DTCs and display them on your screen. You can then add those to your diagnose.

Clear DTC

This option allows you to delete all active error codes stored on your car’s computer. Very useful when you want to reset the check engine light. Sometimes, deleting an error can fix the issue, however, in most cases, the mechanic needs to fix the underlying problem first before deleting the error codes.

Reset Car’s Engine Light

Delete Diagnostic Trouble Codes

We’re all familiar with the engine light on the car’s dashboard. When it goes on, it means the car needs to be taken to a professional auto repair service. The mechanics would then diagnose the issue and provide a fix. Once that’s done, the check engine light needs to be reset so that it goes away.

ARI (Auto Repair Software) comes with the option of resetting the check engine light as well as deleting old DTCs stored on the car’s computer. This means that, with ARI on your side, you can handle any repair job from diagnostic to completion like a true mechanic.

Read Live Metrics

All PIDs available

Diagnosing a car issue requires plenty of data in order to ensure a successful repair. Some of this data can be easily measured physically by the technician, while other may need to be accessed via an OBD2 dongle from the car’s computer.

ARI allows you to monitor various PID parameters live right from the vehicle’s onboard computer.

ARI supports all PID metrics delivered via the OBD2 dongle. However, depending on the car make and model, some metrics may be unavailable

Most common metrics you can monitor

PID02: DTC that caused required freeze frame data storage
PID03: Fuel system 1 and 2 status
PID05: Engine Coolant Temperature
PID06: Short Term Fuel Trim – Bank 1,3
PID0A: Fuel Pressure
PID0B: Intake Manifold Absolute Pressure
PID0B: Engine RPM
PID0C: Vehicle Speed Sensor
PID0D: Ignition Timing Advance for #1 Cylinder
PID0F: Intake Air Temperature
PID1F: Fuel Rail Pressure relative to manifold vacuum
PID47: Absolute Throttle Position B
… and much more