novelmike
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2015
- Posts
- 788
- Reaction score
- 319
- Location
- Central California
- Ram Year
- 2012
- Engine
- 5.7
I am in need of a OBD 2 scanner for use on my 2012 Ram 1500. Is the AlphaOBD MX+ a good choice? Or do they work better for 2013+ vehicles?
Here’s what happened to me...Today I had a check engine light come on and the lightning bolt flashing on my dash. Truck would idle at 1500rpm till I tapped the brake pedal. And this started to happened while on a 10,800’ mountain top with no cell reception! The lights came on seconds after I switched off the “4WD lock and into 4WD auto” I was afraid to shut the truck off so I drove down the mtn and got on the highway so I would be able to flag people down if necessary. I’d been off-road most of the day driving fast on some rough roads. So I wasn’t sure if it was something minor or something that would prevent the truck from starting or put me in a limp mode that would make me drive for hours at 5mph To get to a to a paved road with cell service.
Truck seemed to run fine on the highway except for the high idle and wouldn’t shift into 5th or 6th gear. Once I had a good cell signal I turned the truck off, and restarted it. Red lightning bolt no longer flashing, no high idle, truck ran perfect for the 350 mile drive home. The check engine light was still on, as expected. I noticed absolutely nothing wrong besides the check engine light being on.
And here I am... what does the code mean? I know the MX 2 has a lot of benefits over the standard scanners. But I seem to not have all those cool those functions available because it’s a 2012?
So should I find another OBD 2 scanner in the $100 range or go with the MX 2? Is the MX 2 a good diagnostic scanner??
I am a iPhone user by the way.
Here’s what happened to me...Today I had a check engine light come on and the lightning bolt flashing on my dash. Truck would idle at 1500rpm till I tapped the brake pedal. And this started to happened while on a 10,800’ mountain top with no cell reception! The lights came on seconds after I switched off the “4WD lock and into 4WD auto” I was afraid to shut the truck off so I drove down the mtn and got on the highway so I would be able to flag people down if necessary. I’d been off-road most of the day driving fast on some rough roads. So I wasn’t sure if it was something minor or something that would prevent the truck from starting or put me in a limp mode that would make me drive for hours at 5mph To get to a to a paved road with cell service.
Truck seemed to run fine on the highway except for the high idle and wouldn’t shift into 5th or 6th gear. Once I had a good cell signal I turned the truck off, and restarted it. Red lightning bolt no longer flashing, no high idle, truck ran perfect for the 350 mile drive home. The check engine light was still on, as expected. I noticed absolutely nothing wrong besides the check engine light being on.
And here I am... what does the code mean? I know the MX 2 has a lot of benefits over the standard scanners. But I seem to not have all those cool those functions available because it’s a 2012?
So should I find another OBD 2 scanner in the $100 range or go with the MX 2? Is the MX 2 a good diagnostic scanner??
I am a iPhone user by the way.
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