Spent $600 on a scan tool that mostly just tells me to call someone smarter

Picked up a mid-range Autel last month thinking it'd finally crack the weird electrical gremlin in my buddy's 2012 F-150, but it just cycles through generic codes and points me to a Ford dealer. I guess I'm old school now, back when a test light and a wiring diagram got you through the night, so has anyone else dropped cash on new tech that just made you feel like a dinosaur?

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the_wren17d ago

Ever notice how these scan tools only give you the code, but not the context? My buddy's Jeep was throwing a P0300 misfire code, and the thing just said "random misfire" which is basically useless. Back in the day we'd check the coil packs and grounds first. Now I feel like I'm paying for a translator that speaks fluent mechanic but refuses to explain what it means. The real trick is finding a cheap Bluetooth OBD2 dongle and using free software like Forscan, it gives you live data that actually tells you what's happening instead of just pointing fingers.