Just thought I’d write a quick overview of the iCarsoft i930. Before I bought it, I couldn’t find any detailed info on it, only some videos on YouTube which didn’t help much and posts from guys who were happy with it. I already have a Hawkeye for my D2 V8 but needed something for my wife’s Freelander 1 TD4. I could have bought an additional vehicle license for the Hawkeye but I didn’t want to spend £200. I ordered it from UK Pro Diagnostics
http://www.ukprodiagnostics.co.uk for £90 post free.
The unit is well made and comes with a bag and USB cable for updating it. When plugged into the diagnostic socket it starts with a bootup screen then a splash screen with the iCarsoft logo and the Land Rover Green Oval and finally the Main Menu. It has 5 options: - Diagnose, OBDII Diagnose, DTC Library, Tool Setup and Help. Selecting Diagnose give you 2 options, Jaguar or Land Rover. BTW the tool also covers Jaguar XJ, XF, XK, F, S and X Types. Selecting Land Rover lets you choose the model from Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque, Discovery, Freelander or Defender.
Select Freelander and you have model years to choose from 1997-2006, 2007-2010, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Selecting 1997-2006 gives you a list of 6 engines. Choose TD4 and you are offered Automatic or Manual. Automatic tries to connect to the possible ECUs for the model/engine combination then the lists them to allow you to access them. Manual just lists all possible ECUs. If you select ABS, you get 4 menu options, Version Information, Read DTCs, Clear DTCs and Data streams. Version Information just reads any info available from the ECU, serial number software level, vehicle VIN, etc. Read DTCs displays the code plus, hopefully, an explanation of its meaning. Without generating DTCs it’s difficult to test this, but that’s what iCarsoft claim. Clear DTCs, hopefully clears any DTCs. Data streams provides you with a list of live data from the ECU. You select which data you want to view.
I’ve looked at the live data available for the ABS ECU (TEVES Mk25) and it seems to cover all the INPUTS/OUTPUTS from it. As a quick test, I set up all 4 ABS hub sensors on screen. It showed the road speed in MPH from each sensor.
The 4 menu options:- Version Information, Read DTCs, Clear DTCs and Data Streams is how most ECU access is displayed dependant on the ECU, sometimes one or two options are missing.
Back to the main menu, the next option, OBDII Diagnose, looks like a generic OBDII code reader with Read and Erase DTCs, Freezeframe, Datastream, O2 Sensor Test, etc. The next option is DTC Library which covers P, C, E, and U codes. When you enter a manufacturer specific code, it asks you to select the manufacturer from a list. I tried out a few Land Rover specific codes and it seemed to work.
The next option, Tool Setup, is for language and beep settings. The last option, Help, gives 2 menu options, About Datastream and Tool Information. About Datastream provides descriptions of generic OBDII Datastreams and Tool Information gives software levels and serial numbers of the tool.
The iCarsoft tool is not a replacement for Hawkeye. It reads and clears DTCs and can display live data. Hawkeye is able to do more, actuators, a bit of programming and maintenance functions i.e. resetting fuel trim adaptations. It also has support and updates from Bearmach/Omitec.
If you want try the iCarsoft tool on your LR before buying one, send me a PM.
BTW, I live in Ayrshire.
Dougie
