I'm looking to pick up a used OBD reader for my 2001 LS430. I've been borrowing the ones at the car places, but some of them cause my VSC to need to be reset. I figured if I had my own, that I knew wouldn't do that, I would be a happy man. Any suggestions for ones that you've tried?

 

I can get you Techstream full diagnostic cable for your laptop cheap.... PM me...
OBD2 is useless on LS430. It won't do jack shiznit

 

I was just thinking about buying an OBD2 USB cable for a laptop on e-bay.
They are really cheap ($13) including software, and I do have an old laptop that doesn't earn a living anymore. Does anyone have any experience with these or would you recommend a handheld unit instead?
Do they just plug into the LS430 connector by the steering wheel, or do I need an additional adapter cable?

Lynzoid, why are they useless? It seems that one might bea ble to read & reset codes, at least.

 

The last time I did any diagnostic stuff was in the mid '90's. Can someone give a quick summary of how to run a diagnostic on an '02 LS430? What do I need, just a cable and some software? No idea where to look....

 

Generic OBD2 cables are _almost_ useless on LS, as they only can read engine codes. LS have over 20 computers, each have it's own codes. To pull these you need J2534 cable and Techstream software. PM me if interested, i can provide it.
There's no 'handheld' units, apart from factory IT2/3 (toyota intelligent tester 2/3, costs 3500+) device.
Don't waste your money on OBD2 handhelds.

 

lynzoid, do you still have cable for LS430 to re-program my door locks

 

Hi there
I'm actually in the UK and see you're quite knowledgeable about this topic. I have a LS430 2002 and the engine light is on, on the dashboard. I know what the error codes are and they're not serious. A local garage checked. However I want to get rid of the engine warning light from the display. I know it may come back but want to get rid of it in the meantime. Can you suggest the best way to do this please? The local garage did connect an OBD scanner when they were determining the codes but after they did that, a different error appeared on my dashboard saying VSC OFF. Anyway he managed to get rid on the VSC error by using a paper clip being put in a couple of ports in the OBD car port.. However I want to avoid this happening again if I buy and connect my own OBD2 scanner.
Thank you
Raj

 

Remove the bulb, put black tape over the check engine light, or fix the issue causing the check engine light. Fix the issue(s) and clear the codes. You don't want to be without your check engine light.

Also, just plugging in an OBDII scan tool will not cause the VSC Off light to come on. Something else must have happened.

 

Fix the problem if there is clusters of CEL's then there are serious issues going on that need to be addressed, there is a reason the light keeps coming on.

Also the car will run in limp mode as long as you have CEL's on and you will have no traction control.

 

Hi Raj and welcome to the LS430 :-)
If you have a laptop and are even semi-IT capable, get a Techstream pack (miniVCI cable +Techstream software) and use that instead.
I also have an ODB2 scanner that allows me to reset the codes, but as soon as you drive it, the codes will reappear, as will the VSC OFF.

The only way to get rid of the VSC OFF is to fix the cause of the codes.
Most common causes are one (or more) of the four O2 (lambda) sensors need replacing.
There is a topic on here somewhere on how to use the paperclip to reset codes.

 

The very cheap OBD2 readers will most likely cause your VSC off light to come on if they are not capable to read the ABS for your car. I found this out years ago after buying a cheap Zurich from Harbor Freight. I found out that if the scanner is able to read ABS codes the problem with the VSC light can be avoided (although our cars can still trip the VSC light for various reasons when parts are replaced etc). I currently have been using an Actron CP9670 which has helped in reading a number of codes, which aided in correcting some issues. I can erase the codes, but as mentioned, if the problem is not corrected, the check engine light will reappear.