What's the best diagnostic unit to buy?

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clivech

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2022
Messages
47
The local dealer wants £100 to run a diagnostic on my 2012 Leaf, and wants the car all day. I remember reading on this forum that you can buy a unit to plug into the diagnostic socket. What's the best one for me to buy? And will it give me comprehensive results, similar to what I would get from the dealer? Thanks.
 
There are two different things being discussed, here. The dealer uses a Nissan Consult (X) laptop type diagnostic unit. Those aren't available to the consumer. For reading trouble codes and making minor charges to programming options, there are diagnostic port readers with associated apps. The app you want is called LeafSpy Pro. LeafSpy will also give you a comprehensive picture of the state of your high voltage battery. For a port reader, the one in my signature is reasonable priced and reliable. I've had and used mine for many years.
 
Thanks, Leftie. What do I need to load the LeafSpy app on, and where do I get it? The App Store? Does the dongle you recommend run it, or do I need specialist hardware too? Thanks.
 
Ok, I've answered some of my own questions! I can see LeafSpy Pro on the App Store for £17.99. (I'm in the UK.) The BAFX dongle is not available in the UK, although I could have it imported. Instead I think I'll just go for a wireless OBD fault scanner/reader with iOS capability (I only have Macs - phone and laptop) that has good reviews somewhere other than Amazon (whose reviews are completely unreliable now, thousands having been written for money). There's a Streetwize reader for £21 or an iLC for £15. I'll see if any of the UK responses have recommendations for a reader. Thanks again for setting me on the right path.
 
That's why I'm here. Well done on the research. IIRC, there are a few things that the IOS version of LeafSpy can't do, or can't do easily. Android seems to be better supported, so It may be worth getting a $20 android phone and using it as a dedicated LeafSpy unit.
 
Ok! LeafSpy seems to work fine using an ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD 2 CAN V1.4 from ProScan Automotive (recommended by a seller on Ebay). Now I have to try to read the data! So my Leaf is a 2012 with 42,000 miles on the clock. I took 3 screen shots of the Battery Cells page (because the graph and mV number kept changing slightly). The AHr is 46.62, the SOH is 71.06% and the voltage is 391.63V. The min/ave/max on the 100mV scale are 4.071/4.080/4.095. Did I buy a lemon?! Or is this about right for its age/mileage? Am I looking at drive battery trouble shortly down the road?

Thanks!
 
Those are good readings on the cells, min/max. Drive the car down to a lower "fuel" level (State of Charge SOC) e.g. 2 to 6 fuel bars, and get another reading of the cells. That will give you a good picture of how they are doing toward the low end and any weaker cells will show a wider deviation from the mean.
 
Thanks, nlspace. I'll re-check it before we set off on a 150-mile journey next week!
 
clivech said:
Ok! LeafSpy seems to work fine using an ELM 327 Bluetooth OBD 2 CAN V1.4 from ProScan Automotive (recommended by a seller on Ebay). Now I have to try to read the data! So my Leaf is a 2012 with 42,000 miles on the clock. I took 3 screen shots of the Battery Cells page (because the graph and mV number kept changing slightly). The AHr is 46.62, the SOH is 71.06% and the voltage is 391.63V. The min/ave/max on the 100mV scale are 4.071/4.080/4.095. Did I buy a lemon?! Or is this about right for its age/mileage? Am I looking at drive battery trouble shortly down the road?

Thanks!

I owned a 2012 and had a new battery installed at about 30,000 miles. About 4-1/2 years later and around 51,000 miles, the battery was right at 50 (ahrs). It was good for 55 mile range or so, watching things closely - limited/no 70 mph highway speeds and all other range parameters met (tire pressure, etc)!
Using LS, you can develop a good feel of the (inherently limited) range.
Good luck
 
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