Budget ODB2 Tester to Display O2 Waveforms

[ShadeTreeMech]

Saw an episode of "Two Guys Garage" where they showcased an Otto tester that displayed the pre-Cat O2 sensors on a '04 Corvette with about 60K miles. One of the guys looked at the waveform and said: "That's too slow" and replaced both sensors. Later in the program he showed the new O2 sensor outputs and the response times were indeed about 3 times faster. He claimed this would improve performance.

The price of the Otto tester (without Tablet) is about $2,800. Anyone know of some other ODB2 device I can display the O2 sensor waveforms that is more in line with a DIY budget? Don't mind supplying a laptop to connect to the device. Thanks in advance.

 

[shanneba]

I use AutoEnginuity, runs about $250 for ODBII access, they have other modules that cost additional that will access the manufacturer specific sensor and code data. It will also access the other systems in the car with the brand specific module.

http://www.autoenginuity.com

 

[Vikas]

Depends upon the vehicle in question. On later models, you can get a good waveform but if you have an early 2000 era vehicle, the refresh rate would be slow.

Look in to Alex Pepper's OBD leads which are priced reasonably and his software has lots of features.

ELM27 based tester are also quite popular but I am not sure if they have high enough refresh rate even on late model cars. The USB ones are available as low as $15!

As far DIY budget it concerned, you will be limited to the generic data, although Alex Pepper does have few decoding rings for some of manufacturers. Just do not expect factory scanner or Snap On level functionality or performance unless you are willing to spend thousands on purchase and annual contracts.