OBD I & II Which one to buy

[Filko76]

Hallo

I'm from Slovenia-Europe. I have couple of american cars and I like fixing cars, american cars of course. Does anyone have any experiance with obd I & II. I looked on ebay for scanners like "AutoXRay 6000 OBD I & II Sensor & Code Scanner Ez Scan"
Do you know maybe for some good software for PC, and that I buy only cables for each car (ford, gm, ...) and where to buy this?
For european cars we have for example VAC COM, that's freeware for PC and to run it you need only cable from PC to the car.
What are your experience, is it better to buy scanner like this from Autoxray, or is it better to get some program and put it on PC and buy some cables for each car manufacturer.
Of course this is not my business, it's all hoby so that you'll understand that I need good machine for small amount of money

I would need it mostly for C4 corvette and all jeeps from 90 till now and after a while hopefully for other cars also.

Thank you

[DRW1000]

Your need for OBD1 vs OBD11 depends on what system your car(s) uses. All cars sold in North America from 1996 onward (95 in California) are OBD11 prior to that most are their own protocol of OBD1.

Most OBD1 have a way of reading the codes using the CEL, a voltmeter... You just need to find out how. A google search for the vehicle in question would probably give you a million hits.

There is a lot of DIY OBD11 scanners/software. I find them without even looking by typing OBD11 into google. I found one that actually gives the circuits and the software or will seel you the parts or the kits. They even have the schematics and board layouts. I will post if I cas find it. You can also by an off the shelf reader from many sources.

[Filko76]

Hallo

As I said before I would need both, OBD I for corvette around year 94, wrangler 93 and for newer jeeps like wrangler 98, grand cherokee 2000 I will need OBD II, thats why I would like to buy a complete sistem (AutoXRay or something similar) that cover both systems or some software for PC that also covers both systems along with some cables for all type of cars (Gm, Ford, Chrysler,...)

Becouse I don't have any experience with scanners for american vehicles, I would like opinion from someone that knows what is best value for money.
Maybe there is some freeware on the net, but I didn't find it yet.

[DRW1000]

For the OBD1 most have a way of having the PCM output the codes without a scanner. Go to the specific froum of this site and post the year of each vehicle and ask how to output the codes. I have an OBD Ford and I have to short 2 pins together under the hood and read the sweeps of an analogue voltmeter that I hook up. Another manufacturer has you short two pins and read the flashing CEL. You can buy manufacturer specific devices relatively inexpensively for OBD1 but you do not really need it.

As for an OBD11 there are several. Try:
www.codereader.com (I have this one)
www.obd-2.com (A friend uses this one)
www.scantool.net (This one provides free instructions on how to build one, and the software or you can buy it from them)

Software alone will not help. You need something to convert the output from the DLC to RS232.

I still think you are better off simply researching on the net. That's all most of us do here in North America so you can get the same info we can.