# REVIEW: Autoxray 4000, and Code Reader for sale!



## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

This is a bit long, but will be of interest to fellow gearheads/DIYers that work on their cars themselves. Hope it's helpful to someone!

In the quest to diagnose what was causing my SES (a.k.a. MIL) light to come on (discussed in this thread), I purchased an Innova 3100 OBD-II Code Reader Tool ($129 at Kragens) to extract the Diagnostic Trouble Codes from the ECU to find out what the problem was. I detailed some of my trouble-shooting steps in that other thread, and won't repeat them here.

However, in the course of this repair project, it became clear to me that a simple code reader was not sufficient for my general repair needs. Since my engine warranty is forfeit due to the supercharger, I do pretty much all the work on the motor myself, and lacking a DIS/MODIC test station ($11,000!! :wow: ), I'm at a rather big disadvantage when anything goes wrong that lights the MIL.

The code reader was sufficient to determine that I had a bad exhaust camshaft position sensor, so I got a replacement from Pacific BMW and replaced it. That fixed it. However, in the process of trouble-shooting this problem, one other DTC has shown up occasionally, and has even lit the MIL all on its own twice in the past several weeks -- P1193, a fuel trim issue. That one's not so straightforward to solve as the P0369 "intermittent camshaft sensor B" code.

So, I went the next step up in instrumentation and bought a an OBD-II Scan Tool, the Autoxray EZ-SCAN 4000 ($329 at Kragen), and the companion PC software for downloading and graphing/analyzing captured data, EZ-PC 500 ($89 @ Kragen).

To start, here are some photos of the instruments. First, the INNOVA 3100:



















Now the EZ-SCAN 4000... Comes with a nice, hard carrying case:



















The 4000 is software upgradable (i.e. the internal "firmware") over the internet, which is one of the first things I did after giving it a quick test run on the car. It was shipped with v2.24, and after upgrading the latest version is 2.40. I noticed some immediate improvements and enhancements to the UI that made the tool easier to use than the SW it was shipped with.

This is a FAR more capable and useful tool than the simple code reader! For the serious gearhead, that plans to do more than change belts and oil, this tool is a must-have. For a detailed listing of features, consult the links above. Some notable features I'll mention here:

8-line display
Provides english description of DTCs a long with the the OBD-II code number
Real-time monitoring of engine operating parameters -- several dozen, among them Load Value, Fuel System status (open/closed loop operation), Coolant Temp, Short and Long term fuel trim (two banks each), RPM, Vehicle Speed, Ignition Timing Advance, Intake Air Temp, Air Flow Rate, Oxygen Sensor Data (there are 4 on the M54 motor), OBD-II Readiness Monitors, and more.
Backlit display
Frame capture, with user adjustable interval (500-5000ms); captures a moving window of 29 frames of data, with the centerpoint triggered upon user input (i.e. pressing a button).
Capture of "freeze-frame" data saved when a fault occurs that lights the MIL.
OBD-II "Readiness Test" monitoring, and reporting of results.
A bunch of other stuff 
The display is easy to read, and has adjustable contrast. The backlight feature can be turned on and off, and is really nice in a shady garage. This was one of the minor annoyances with the INNOVA 3100 (no backlight).

Hook-up is real simple: Just plug the supplied OBD-II cable into the OBD-II connector under the driver's side dash as shown here:










The other end of the cable is an RJ45 telephony connecter that plugs in to the tool. Switch the car on (key position 2), turn on the tool, and press "scan" to connect to the ECU and download any stored DTCs, freeze-frame data, status of supported OBD-II monitors and the diagnostic results, etc.

Once connected, the other modes of the tool, like live monitoring of engine operating parameters, or frame capture, can be performed very easily. The UI is pretty straightforward, arranged in a hierachical tree structure. There is the minor annoyance that the UI forces you to "back your way out" from any deeper level you've navigated to before traversing down a different branch of the UI, but it doesn't run more than three levels deep anywhere, so it isn't that much of a pain. I plan to email Autoxray about this, and perhaps they'll make this point more flexible in a future SW release.

So, the tool itself is quite versatile, provides substantial capability and information for diagnosing the motor over a simple code reader, and the user interface and data presentation is simple and easy to interpret and understand. English descriptions are provided for all measurable parameters. The tool can be configured to use SAE (english) or Metric units of measurement.

I shot a little movie with my Pentax Optio S4 of the EZ-SCAN 4000 in action monitoring live operating parameters. It's only about a minute, but it's an 8MB raw AVI. Until I can figure out how to compress it to an mpeg, the only thing I've got is a WMV version compressed using Windows MovieMucker. Adobe Premiere Pro won't read it  , which is how I'd normally convert it to mpeg -- I'm taking that up with Adobe as we speak. The WMV does play quite normally in Windows Media Player, though, so give it a shot if you'd like: Movie

The EZ-PC 500 software is an essential companion accessory, as even though you can scroll through all 29 data frames from a capture run, there's no substitute for being able to look at various parameters graphically (like the fuel trim, airflow, and O2 sensor data in my case) to see how they are interrelating. While I haven't had the P1193 DTC again since I repaired the exhaust cam sensor, it's only been two days, and I didn't drive one of them. So, while there is a reasonable chance that fault is related to the cam sensor (I have a theory), and won't re-occur, if it does I'm ready to grab a lot more data and analyze what's going on.

If it does occur, I'll clear it, then hook up the 4000, turn it on each time I drive, start the capture mode, then go about my driving normally. When the MIL lights up, I'm ready to hit the "ENTER" button on the tool, which will then capture 15 more frames of data and stop, bracketing the point of failure with data that I can then analyze on my PC, along with the freeze-frame data from the actual fault that caused the DTC and the MIL to light.

Not bad for around $400. This is about what BMW told me it would cost to have them diagnose and repair the camshaft sensor.

Now, back to that sensor for a moment. Cost me $70, plus the price of the INNOVA 3100. So, the whole affair saved me $200. IOW, the code reader paid for itself and then some. However, I don't need it any more -- the EZ-SCAN 4000 does everything the INNOVA does, and more. Therefore, it's a paperweight.

EDIT: I took the 3100 back to Kragen and they accepted the return and gave me a full refund... obviously not selling it at this point. Sorry folks!


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

It's a real bummer that it appears Ross-Tech has discontinued development of BMW-COM. These generic readers are cool, but they're just that; generic. They will only show the data that is given to them, and for BMWs, that's basically the minimum the US Government requires.


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Kaz said:


> It's a real bummer that it appears Ross-Tech has discontinued development of BMW-COM. These generic readers are cool, but they're just that; generic. They will only show the data that is given to them, and for BMWs, that's basically the minimum the US Government requires.


I was just over on the yahoo discussion group for Ross-Tech yesterday, and there were messages this month that appear as if they are still working on it, but are not ready to announce anything.

Do you have some other info that leads you to believe they've stopped?

I agree regarding the generic comment... The chief disappointment I have with the 4000 is that it doesn't have specific programming for BMW. It does for pretty much all domestic and Japanese cars, plus VW. Alas, I have to configure the tool for "OBD-II Generic" for use with the bimmer.

Basically all I lose with this, however, is english descriptions of the manufacturer-specific DTCs, which isn't that big of a deal -- I still get the codes, of course, and can just look them up. I've written support at Autoxray to see whassup with getting BMW covered in a future S/W upgrade. :dunno:


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## Kaz (Dec 21, 2001)

The discontinuation of work on BMW-COM came from stuff a couple of guys quite familiar with VAG-COM told me several months ago (while I was drooling over what VAG-COM could do) Had something to do with not being able to gain access to some proprietary information. BMW DOES license at least some of it (Assenmacher makes a setup that does BMWs pretty completely, I'm told), so if they've subsequently been able to overcome that problem, that is fantastic.

I guess since the market for this in the BMW market is relatively small (it really sounds like what the true pros want is a real GT1), BMW DTCs aren't a huge priority. Even Vehicle Explorer didn't have BMW DTCs until quite recently.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Dave, the new toy does sound tempting, even for me. I have the OBD-II Vehicle Explorer as well and it's a pain to carry my laptop to the car and back. Worst if I need to drive around to gather some data. I know I could have bought a cig adapter...but still...


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Dave, the new toy does sound tempting, even for me. I have the OBD-II Vehicle Explorer as well and it's a pain to carry my laptop to the car and back. Worst if I need to drive around to gather some data. I know I could have bought a cig adapter...but still...


I'm quite pleased with the purchase, Vince :thumbup: It's been very useful already... Now that the cam sensor is fixed, I'm still getting the 1193 (fuel trim) DTC. Yesterday on a 50 mile drive, I got a triple-crown -- 1193, and P0171 & 174 (running lean on both 3-cylinder banks) for the first time since I initially pulled those codes almost 3 weeks ago with the INNOVA 3100.

However, this time, I was able to grab the freeze-frame data as well. Very helpful. To really analyze this problem, I'l need to capture a set of frames before and after the failure occurs... that's the next step. Guess I'll be driving around with the instrument hooked up and monitoring this week 

Out of sheer inexplicable laziness, I never sent the MAF back to Pacific, and now it's too late (they have a 15-day return policy). So, after I can capture a run bracketing the illumination of the MIL, depending on what's in the data, I'll probably be installing the new MAF soon. I'll keep you all updated...


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Dave dude...

still think that the lean problem isn't cause by the MAF. Cos otherwise you should have one of the P010X codes. The other thing I wanted to ask is if you have any gauges to monitor EGT and AFR (wideband). 

Anyway, when are you coming down again? Shoot me an email and we can exchange cell numbers.


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Dave dude...
> 
> still think that the lean problem isn't cause by the MAF. Cos otherwise you should have one of the P010X codes. The other thing I wanted to ask is if you have any gauges to monitor EGT and AFR (wideband).
> 
> Anyway, when are you coming down again? Shoot me an email and we can exchange cell numbers.


Next time you guys do a session at B&M. The TS that happened this weekend (?) wasn't at B&M, so I'm on my butt here in Scotts Valley 

Is there another B&M scheduled that I missed on the list? I scanned through it, and only saw reference to that other one.

I need to get the RKT up on a lift to install my new B&M SS, and lube up my sway bushings.

One more bit of data on the P1193 and the lean codes: When I just watch live operating data, the short term trim values and the O2 sensors seem to be hunting around. I don't know if this is normal or not, but I don't think is should be. I expect to see the post-cat sensors staying pretty lean most of the time, but they seem to be jumping around a bit too, although not as much as the pre-cat sensors.

This all occurs while at idle, or when out driving. Now that I've got instrumentation, I need some good theory/repair docs/manuals that explain what I should expect to see when everything running properly. I have some good ideas of what I should be seeing based on general understanding of how closed loop operating should be working, but I don't know how much fluctuation/variation is "normal".

Any suggestions for general books/manuals?


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Dave dude...
> 
> still think that the lean problem isn't cause by the MAF. Cos otherwise you should have one of the P010X codes.


Well, I'm not so sure of this. Codes 100-104 deal with a basically non-functional MAF, or one that is returning implausible data. Basically, gross errors/failure.

However, consider an MAF that was just slightly wrong in it's measurements? Suppose it was just off by a relatively constant 5% or something? Say it was indicating 5% less air than was actually going in the engine?

You'd wind up with a lean burn. This would be detected by the pre-cat O2 sensors, and the ECU would attempt to compensate with short term fuel trim (enriching the mixture). If the error in the MAF was relatively constant, across the entire range of throttle and RPM, then the ECU wouldn't see it as being implausible in its behavior. At least this is how I understand it.

This is how I would expect the MAF to "fail" if the thin-film got slightly contaminated/coated with oil. The response of the film to heating current would be different... it would take less to maintain temperature in the sensing element in the airpath, because the oil is an insulator. This would make it look like less air was flowing past the element than actually is, and create a condition where things are burning lean, like what I've got going on. Keep in mind that this is only with very slight contamination that is just throwing off the measurement by a few percent, not major contamination that would likely cause the MAF to fail basic component tests during drive-cycle diagnostics.

This is just a theory I've cooked up. May be complete BS. But, as viable theories go, it is consistent with observations (the DTCs I'm getting, the hunting behavior of the fuel trim algorithm and the pre-cat O2 sensors, and the observation of a little oil from the crankcase breather reroute to the blower intake finding its way all the way back to the flange on the MAF in the intake path). I'm guessing in this theory that the ECU will hunt around for so long, or within a certain range, outside of which the S/W says P1191 or P1193, and lights the MIL.

So, while I'm in no way certain this is the problem, I'm glad I kept the MAF so I can test this theory after gathering more data (a lot more!) with my nifty new tool. The spare MAF is a sunk cost at this point. As you may have read over in Off-Topic, I went out and soothed my conscience by getting a new high-end cordless Dremel tool yesterday 

So, while I'm not dissing your idea about codes 100-104, I can envision a way to have a bad MAF that messes up closed-loop operation, but doesn't trigger a failure when the component itself is being tested by diagnostic routines.

Whaddya think? :dunno:


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

And since I'm just blabbing up a storm, one more datapoint later this evening: Kurt Martin is coming over for some BBQ, bringing his M Coupe. We're going to do some data runs on his car with the EZ-SCAN to see what sort of fuel trim and O2 sensor behavior we have on his motor, which will give a reference point. I also have some friends at work with 330's, and plan to do the same with their cars (much more Apples to Apples comparison -- Kurt has an S54 motor).


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

And finally, while I'm at it, here's what the report looks likes from EZ-PC for the DTC and freeze-frame data I downloaded from the ECU yesterday after I got the fuel trim and lean burn DTCs again. It's attached as a PDF. I'm gonna run down to the garage and grab a 29-frame capture at idle of operating params, and I'll come back up in 15 minutes or so and edit this posting to attach a PDF of that data as well.

EDIT: PDF table of capture data from an idle run with the A/C on, then turned off at the trigger point (midpoint of the data set) attached. Note how the load value and airflow change when the A/C is switched off, and the variations in the RPM.


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## Mr Paddle.Shift (Dec 19, 2001)

Dave, check with Hack, we are having a B&M soon.

I am reading your data....

EDIT:

I got a feeling that your oxygen sensor 1 bank 1 is going bad. Even at idle, the voltage went from 0.78 to 0.12 then back up to 0.8 and then 0.07. Or maybe that's the way it is monitoring the exhaust flow. Sensor 2 seems a little more rational.

Air flow rate looks normal to me. But if you want to replace the MAF, by all means.

How come bank 2 sensors are not recorded? Also, anyway of logging a little longer when you drive?


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## RKT BMR (Sep 7, 2002)

Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> I got a feeling that your oxygen sensor 1 bank 1 is going bad. Even at idle, the voltage went from 0.78 to 0.12 then back up to 0.8 and then 0.07. Or maybe that's the way it is monitoring the exhaust flow. Sensor 2 seems a little more rational.


I was quite suspicious of those O2 sensors as well at first. All 4 sensors are available for monitoring with the tool... I might have not configured it to capture all of them for that data run that I posted.

What I think's going on with the O2 fluctuations is the lambda controller cycling to continuously test the O2 sensor response in closed-loop operation for fuel trim adjustments. Send me your email and I'll tell you more privately... I need to send you some PDF docs that I don't want to post in the open.


Mr Paddle.Shift said:


> Air flow rate looks normal to me. But if you want to replace the MAF, by all means.


Well, I've got a spare now -- Pacific won't take it back. As happy as I am with them generally, they're being quite sticky about their 15-day return policy. Haven't put it in yet as the car is basically running fine (in fact, noticably better after the cam sensor fix -- no more idle weirdness, no more sensation of power loss now and then, and, no more pinging -- I was getting some even with a 94 octane mix!).

I'm not going to introduce new MAF until I've completely exhausted my investigation/analysis. I have a friend at work with an '01 330i, and we're going to do some test runs to get a baseline on the scan tool for comparison. Not supercharged, so that may make the data useless, but heck -- some things should correlate, like airflow vs. load at same constant RPM and speed, etc.

It's turning in to quite an interesting "project" to chase this down and fix it. Since it doesn't seem a particularly bad problem, and also seems marginal (I can go for quite a while without the error condition occurring -- 60-70 miles), I'm not worried about getting to the bottom of it immediately.


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## bluebee (Mar 2, 2008)

For the record, it was suggested I check out the AutoXray tools over here:
- Making sense of ADS, EDIABAS, INPA, NCS, NFS, GT1/DIS, Progman, ISIS, WinKPT, Carsoft, etc.

Where, in the list below, would you properly categorized this AutoXray set of tools?



> *Combined tribal knowledge requested for these 'things' and 'actions'.*
> 
> Based on the diagnostic 'things' and 'actions' suggested here, there, and everywhere, let's try, working together, to meaningfully organize the following diagnostic-related 'things' and 'actions' for the entire tribe to benefit.
> -----
> ...


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## woodlandwood (Sep 16, 2012)

*P1193 code --service light on*

Any one know how to fix P1193?? Need HELP!!!!
I have service light on show P0102, I install a brand new OEM;VOD brand --MAF senor .
Now show a new code is P1193. I don't know why, every time I put a new parts in then old code was gone , and show another new code; never ending. I had been changed PVC and tubing; oxygen sensor; spark plug; ignition coil; fuel filter, air filer; cam sensor.


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