Freelander Diagnostic Tools

Hi,

i have seen both the hawkeye and Lynx diagnostic tool on ebay and a mate in the know says there are others..... so here's my question which one is the best?

Cheers

T4 Testbook is probably the best, but you might need a training course to learn how to use it properly

T4 is the best but i own a Hawkeye and its done everything i have asked it to upto now

There are also:

Faultmate MSV-2 from Black Box Solutions


and

Autologic diagnostics ( not as pricey as T4, but up there)

Some off them are a bit pricy for something thats only going to be used (hopefully) now and again. What the best for the money?

i have the t-300 only as i got it for the mgf and it covers cars before 2001
it will not do everything on the freelander but so far has found faults i wanted to find i dont think it does the abs system
came in handy when i wanted extra fobs on the freelander and mgf
like many that cover a list of cars they will only cover 60-70% of faults the only way you will cover them all is to pay out for a t-4 or hawkeye
Ron

The t-4 .... Is that just software? What hardware do you need with it?

Dangermike said:

The t-4 .... Is that just software? What hardware do you need with it?

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It often comes with a laptop, connectors and a control pad thingy.
You can buy them all separately.

Oo thanks!
Just seen the price..... Maybe I'll find a cheaper alternative! Even the cheapest hawkeyes are £200

I am saving my pennies for another Faultmate with a single vehicle licence package for the Freelander.
I used to have a Faultmate with the full multi vehicle software for the P38 but sold it..regretted it later !!

Looking at the Hawkeye and Lynx capabilities, programming wise they are restricted in what they can do.
Suppose it depends what you need it for...if it's just fault finding and clearing, then the Hawkeye or Lynx would be fine.
I also had a Test Book a few years ago and it had less capability than the Faultmate so I sold that and bought the Faultmate.

Operation wise, the Test Book/T4 is a lot less user friendly than Faultmate. Both need a laptop or similar to use and I didn't find this a problem. I bought an old Toughbook loaded with XP and it worked fine. Also had as backup an old working, tower PC with XP and a monitor plus keyboard and mouse which was mounted on a roll around cart that I retrieved from the skip at work.

Irishrover said:

I am saving my pennies for another Faultmate with
Looking at the Hawkeye and Lynx capabilities, programming wise they are restricted in what they can do.
S

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Since you looked into it, do you mind sharing what feature you find missing in Lynx? At first glance it looked descent.

Reading through the user manual and the various options available tor the Freelander 1,Chassis (Body Control), it appears that there is no mention of keyfob reprogramming or the facility to reprogram a body control to suit the vehicle (Lucas 27VT CCU) or changing some of the settings e.g. SPE (Single Point Entry) from enabled to disabled etc.
My requirement would be to have at least all of the options available on Test Book/T4 (Dealer Tool).
The Faultmate (Blackbox Solutions Ltd - Designers and manufacturers of the best vehicle diagnostic tools.) with the single vehicle licence gives this facility and would mean no more trips to the dealer for diagnostics at a cost of around £80+/hour plus VAT in the UK.
Four such trips would pay for the system !!

Luckily, I do have access to T4 if ever I need it from a friend who has an Independant LR workshop in the Midlands. Unfortunately it's a 320 mile round trip and not really practical unless I am visiting the area anyway.

T4 should cover everything as it's what the main dealers have.

Locked vin number devices are redundant if you sell the vehicle. Unless the new owner wants to buy it. Could you sell it to someone who could get the license changed to a different vin via the product supplier?

Hippo said:

T4 should cover everything as it's what the main dealers have.

Locked vin number devices are redundant if you sell the vehicle. Unless the new owner wants to buy it. Could you sell it to someone who could get the license changed to a different vin via the product supplier?

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:behindsofa:

It's all a question of economics. If you just want the facility to sort your own car out then single vehicle is the way to go. I had the multi vehicle system for the P38 and did work on other cars which enabled me to cover the cost of the unit over a couple of years.
With the single vehicle system, you can purchase an additional licence for another vehicle at a fraction of the price of the software. As the hardware is unnafected this means that the system can be sold on if needs be separate to the car and the new owner can have whatever modules they need licensed.
Blackbox diagnostics seem to be the first choice on the Range Rover section of the forum due to their enhanced features and a lot of members have got single vehicle systems. There is a topic ongoing over on the RR forum regarding Lynx but it appears that the majority still prefer Blackbox.
Hawkeye is a bit of a non runner over there due to it's limitations and comparative cost.

Biggest problem with the hawkeye is the lack of manual telling the user what things do, and what to eggspect.

I assume peeps start buying 1 product and others follow. Hence the different vehicle go different ways.

Still personally think £300 is a but steep, I guess it depends on how many times you think your car is going to go wrong!

Also Omnipro ! Made by Omnitec so you know its good.

Vissie said:

Also Omnipro ! Made by Omnitec so you know its good.

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Int they the same peeps who make the hawkeye?

Hippo said:

Int they the same peeps who make the hawkeye?

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I thought they were the ones who did the LR version on the Dell laptop for dealers.

Look out for a used Rovacom Lite - they are the predecessor to the Blackbox Faultmate MSV and run the same software...