With so many electrical components in today's vehicles, many shops are purchasing diagnostic equipment to help troubleshoot their trucks and trailers and avoid paying the fees that many dealerships charge in order to use their equipment. There are a variety of heavy duty scanners on the market including Noregon's JPRO Heavy Duty Software Fleets 11201-11206, Nexiq's Pro-Link IQ 188001 and OTC's Genisys with Heavy Duty Standard OTC3871HD. All three of these scanners offer users the ability to read and clear fault codes, set parameters, view running live and stored data, and troubleshoot their trucks.
It is easy to read trouble codes from a heavy duty vehicle with the help of any of the aforementioned diagnostic equipment. With so many different tools and brands being available, it is important to do your research and find the tool that best suits your needs. Applications are available like the Caterpillar ACERT 880024, Detroit Diesel DDEC VI 889015 and the International 880010 software for the Nexiq Pro-Link IQ. Noregon's JPRO system offers everything from Cummins Insite 31125 to the Volvo Mack 31114 factory software that is exactly what your local dealerships are using!
Once you have a scanner, you will locate the diagnostic link connect in your truck and locate the correct 6 or 9 pin adapters that come with the scanners. Heavy Duty trucks are connected through these links which are similar to the OBDII or CAN systems used in todays passenger cars and trucks. When you connect the truck with the scanning unit, it will transmit the information to the unit and allow you to view system information, inactive and active fault codes, and live data. When you purchase the OEM specific software or applications, this allows you to view and set paramters and adjust factory settings on the truck or trailer such as designating a standard cruise control rate. With the ability to diagnose your own truck or trailer with DLA or PLC adapters, you will be one up on the mechanics who may need to be called in to work on your equipment and you can prevent being overcharged for electrical issues that you can now take care of on your own with the help of your heavy duty truck scanner.
Owning a heavy duty scanner can save the average shop thousands of dollars every year and is well worth the initial purchase price of the unit. Most of the manufacturers offer one year warranties and have great techincal support hotlines. We also offer Nexiq's Heavy Duty Fault Code Guide 906008 which helps give you definitions and probable causes for the codes that your diagnostic scanner is picking up.
