what diagnostic machine to go for

[wrexhamv70t5]

hi ive got a v70 t5 2001 im looking at getting some diagnostic kit . not sure weather to get a hanheld or pc based software can anyone give me some pointers as what to get and where to get it ?

[Gareth83]

if it's basic engine info you require I use a basic Memoscan U380 on my T5. Can pick them up for £25 or so.

Depends whether you need airbag info etc etc. or just something basic?

[RobbieH]

You can pick up generic OBD hand held readers for well under £100. The same sort of pennies will also pick up an ELM327 based OBD to USB cable and various PC based software such as PMCScan.
However, both of these options are limited to reading generic OBD codes and won't give you access to Volvo specific codes and further detail or access to the rest of the car modules or CANBUS based diagnostics. For that you need a copy of Vadis or Vida (Volvo's diagnostics software) plus either a VCT2000 or DiCE to enable a PC running such to talk to the car. The software is "readily available" but the VCT or (Chinese copy) DiCE units are at least £200 or more (I paid £390 on a fleabay auction for my VCT unit early last year).

[Gazdok]

Chinese Dice talking to your car and reseting DTCs for £150 on Ebay.

[steptoe_69]

QUOTE=Gazdok;949460]Chinese Dice talking to your car and reseting DTCs for £150 on Ebay.[/QUOTE]

Has anyone on here ever bought a Chinese version of Dice and if so did it do what u expected...... I'm interested in buying a diagnostic machine.

[prionailurus]

I bought what I assume to be a "copy" DiCE unit, from ebay. Comes in a nice box, with a CD that's got Vida on it I think - not used it as I already had Vida & VADIS installed.
The unit works, simply put it works, there's 4 LEDs on it, 1 is solid and 2 others flash when doing things 'live', I assume the last light is bluetooth.

Plus point for these over a VCT box is that these are USB, so you'll not need to buy an old skool laptop with a serial connection, or mess about with special PCMCIA or USB-serial adapters that have RTS & CTS etc.

I paid £190 on a best offer. What I would suggest is have a good look at where the company is based, and where the unit will be shipped from, and how long it will take to arrive. I think my seller was called "columbiadream" and it came in a couple of days, based in Kent IIRC.

PS. I have no affiliation or interest in any ebay seller of DiCE or compatible software, I'm an end user

HTH