Hi,

I've recently had a CEL light come up and so have purchased a cheap scanner online ( ) that is CAN ODB2 compliant so that I can read the codes.

Thing is, I've followed the instructions and it can't communicate with my 2007 231 RX8 via the CAN protocol.

It could be the device I've bought, but I just wanted to check if anyone else has had this problem before? It says to plug in the tool, turn on the ignition and then press enter to let it scan for the right protocol for the car (as it also handles VPW, PWM, KWP2000 and ISO9141).

Alternatively does anyone in London have a scanner I could try?

Cheers, appreciate the help

 

I think our cars are OBDI

 

Lol, no our vehicles are most certainly OBD2.

FYI the amazon link isn't working.

 

Neither is his scanner, so it all fits.

Ken

 

Have you checked all your fuses? On the last car I owned if the horn fuse was blown you couldn't pull codes. Might be worth a look?

 

Thanks. The horn works so that fuse must be ok, but I'll check the rest today.

Not sure what's going on with the amazon link, it worked yesterday, but here it is:
Cheers

 

The forum is messing with the links somehow, here's another try:

http://amzn.to/KMRitA

Cheers

 

See if the scanner works on another car.

Ken

 

See if it works on another 2004 or later car.
I had this same problem:
I forget the names of the actual protocols, but the "old" format worked on all cars after 1996. They are advertized as "Works on all 1996 and newer cars!" but that is because they were made (and the packaging was printed!) before 2004. If you look carefully, they will usually state somewhere "does NOT work on cars made after 2004"

I bought the cheap one too, and that's what i got for not reading the small print....

 

oh, if you use an Android phone, look into the Torque app. It's AMAZING. the free/lite version is pretty much fully functional, and it will read/clear codes, plus do pretty much all data monitoring functions. And it's bluetooth/wireless.
Just buy one of the dongle adapters online for ~$20, and that's all you need. I bought the cheap dongle made in China and it works perfectly.

 

Update.. I have a friend with a 2005 so plugged it into his and it didn't work either. I then went to my local auto shop and paid £60 for a well-branded one with case and it returned the DTC straight away.

I have this: P0420 Catalyst system efficiency below threshold ON 2 Catalyst

Any thoughts if it's the front or back o2 sensor or the cat itself? Hard to diagnose with limited tools so looks like I'll have to take it in. My nearest Mazda repairer is a long way away unfortunately.

Cheers

 

Good news, I erased the CEL and have taken the for a 20 minute drive without it coming back. Maybe it was just a glitch; I'll have to see if it comes back.

Fingers crossed it goes away as I'm taking it to a track day in a couple of weeks!

Brands Hatch: http://tinyurl.com/cj4xvkx

 

looks like your cat might be going bad.