Spotted this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nanocom-Evolution-Land-Rover-Discovery-4-LR4-NCOM44/202430451547?hash=item2f21cb8f5b:g:pEMAAOSwD3JbjPj1
£280, even buying your software it’s a cheap unit.

I see the Nanocom sold pretty quickly - My Creader is on its way to me from UK following Gilbert's recommendation and I'm wondering why Nanocoms are so expensive when my Creader is costing about £30 and by all accounts seems to do most of what one ever needs. Of course I have the EAS ver4 to fill in gaps.

That's why. The Creader is just a generic OBD reader for reading engine codes, the EAS V4 fills in the gaps for most of the subsystems on the P38 but even a combination of both won't do everything a Nano will. As well as live data on the engine, the Nano will show, and can record, live data on the rest of the systems too. For example, you can record from the HEVAC, go for a drive and it will show you the varying temperatures from all sensors, the blend motor positions, whenever the AC compressor is engaged, etc, none of which the EAS software can do, it can only read what is there at the time. The same functionality is available for other systems too.

I think you said that the Creader can at least read live engine stuff so if so, that will help me a lot ! The EAS shows my faults with HEVAC but it works more or less ok so I'm not bothering at present. (something about blend motor fault which I understand is the motor that directs the air and a short to ground somewhere but cold air comes out everywhere I can see and feel and in Spain that is ok for now ?) I still have to renew or clean connections on the CPS and hope that is causing my funny running problems ! We have had our first rain for 5 months and here is a little film to show you why I am trading in the P38 for a DUKW ! Finca Niagra (https://youtu.be/DwTnizrFVVc)

The nanocom covers everything you need for the other 0.1% there's Marty :)

To be fair to the Nano, those kind of diagnostics done at a LR dealer would quickly add up to the cost of the Nano over a couple of years. Engine isn't so bad as other stuff can look at it, but the minute you get into anything else (the ABS being one possible unit to look at that I got mine for) your left with the option of getting diagnostics, identifying part and fitting it/sorting fault then a second diagnostics session to clear the fault.

The basic unit also is upgradable to cover most Land Rovers (at a cost, but the cost is only mostly the cost of another diagnostics session at the dealer anyway at which point you've got it for the next time as well with no further cost).

Also the Nano isn't vin locked - some of the other diagnostics that are available are locked to a specific vehicle, somewhat limiting their use.

If I were still operating in UK I would have no problem choosing the Nano - most of the machines in my Film studio were 10 k and I had many of them - now falling apart ! But here I have to watch my cash so the EAS and Creader will have to do. I didn't realise the EAS did not cope with live readings but is good for most things and with the original free version I sorted my Air suspension. Down to the post tomorrow to see if Creader has arrived !! I made films about many things - this is close to cars anyway if not P38's [BP Launch Medley] (https://youtu.be/vuOwg494k6Q)

Posting this on here as I'm not sure how to make sure Gilbert and others see it !

Hi Richard - I don't like to bother you with this continuing problem, but need your skills ! Have got the Creader £29 (unboxed ie used ) and it seems brilliant ! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction to get it. I have done some readings - no faults found as with my EAS but I have done the diagnostic readings on both ECU's (didn't realise at first that they both have to be done) and I have posted a film (poor quality but visible -sorry) on Youtube here Diag01 https://youtu.be/-1e-KABrLG4
Could you have a look and see if anything makes sense ?
I'll copy this to Chris too as I'd like him to see. Have to say that although it does not do all the P38 stuff it is brilliant for £29 as you pointed out. Worth telling others of its value. Chris

By the way this Creader film on Youtube might be of interest to others Creader

I was going to reply to the PM but as you've copied and pasted it here, I'll reply in public. Yes, the Creader can connect to both the engine and gearbox ECUs so the first one on the list, with only 4 parameters, is the gearbox ECU. The second one is the engine and it shows most things. Looking at your video it's obvious that you've recently reset the adaptive values. The long term trims are showing 0% so they are back at default but the short term trims are permanently -ve so after a while the long term trims will go slightly -ve so the short terms will flip flop either side of 0%. The lambdas are both switching nicely too so all is running well at that time. One thing to note is that the OBD standard requires a 0-1V lambda output but the GEMS engine uses 5-0V sensors so it converts what is actually happening to something that meets the standard. So when it displays 0V, the sensor is actually outputting 5V (lean) and when it displays 1V the sensor is actually giving 0V (rich). OBD didn't become mandatory in Europe until 2000 by which time the P38 had the Bosch engine management that uses 0-1V sensors anyway, earlier ones had to fudge the figures to keep the Yanks happy (who had to be OBD compliant from 96).

If you select the View Graphic items it allows you to select up to 4 parameters and display them as a graph. If you select the two lambda sensor outputs, the air flow through the MAF sensor and the revs, you can then drive it and see what the lambda outputs do when it goes all sick and flat. Then at least we'll know whether it is going rich or lean.

My goodness - far more complicated than one could imagine - and differences between Gems and Bosch as well - how are we ordinary folk supposed to cope ? Gosh - didn't realise the first ECU was gearbox and how does 'calculated load value' fit into this ? Next job to select the four you suggest and see what lambdas do. By the way, the slowing and lack of power/gear change down is far less marked now that the ambient temp has dropped so it seems heat affected. It says I can record up to 8 hours of live data - haven't found out how to do that yet and if I plug it into the PC with USB what can I access I wonder.

Asking further - So I select the four parameters you suggest in graphing mode and drive to where the problem starts. Does it record these because I can't view and drive at the same time (would be over the edge of the mountain ) and then I'm not sure how to access them for playback, or how to interpret them. This reader only powers up when plugged into the car of course, unless I can connect to the PC.

It will power via the usb connector when on the pc. As you need to be able to do so to upgrade the software on it anyway if required. It appears to be the same hardware to me as the icarsoft units, just with different software loaded.

Thanks Brian - I have to download drivers it seems and I have the websites - but it does say the Creader 6 is discontinued although available on ebay I have to say that for a P38 it is really good value even though things like suspension, HEVAC and ABS are not included. I have these covered with my EAS ver 4 so all in all as Gilbert pointed out, it is a pretty inexpensive way of getting diagnostics - only problem for me is then knowing how to interpret them !!
Mine as you may have seen was £29 (used) but new ones seem available at £40 or so.

The graph squidges up so it the switching of the lambda sensors get closer together until it decides you'd never be able to read it so the graph scrolls. It will display the last 10 minutes or so. So if you drive it normally and look at the graphs (the most important thing you are looking for is airflow through the MAF rising with revs and lambdas switching between the limits) then keep driving until it goes sick and have another look. You should be able to see the difference and that will give a clue as to what is going on.

Calculated load value is determined by throttle position, revs and MAF. It is a combination of this and the road speed that the gearbox uses to decide when to change gear. So if you have low revs and high throttle opening, it drops down a gear.

GEMS and Bosch ECUs do the same job in the same way but the Bosch is much later technology. GEMS dates back to the early days of electronic fuel injection and was a joint venture between the French company Sagem and Lucas. It was mainly used on BL vehicles while most others used variants of the Bosch systems. Bosch continued to develop their systems (and supplied more and more different manufacturers) but Lucas decided it wasn't worth updating their system to make it fully OBD compliant. The two systems use the same sensors to do the same jobs but they aren't interchangeable.

Thanks - how on earth do you know all this ??? Don't leave us !

super4 wrote:

Thanks Brian - I have to download drivers it seems and I have the websites - but it does say the Creader 6 is discontinued although available on ebay I have to say that for a P38 it is really good value even though things like suspension, HEVAC and ABS are not included. I have these covered with my EAS ver 4 so all in all as Gilbert pointed out, it is a pretty inexpensive way of getting diagnostics - only problem for me is then knowing how to interpret them !!
Mine as you may have seen was £29 (used) but new ones seem available at £40 or so.

Mine died (also a 6) though it was useful for the few hours it worked for. And yes it may be discontinued, but its not like your connecting it to a 2018 vehicle so shouldn't really matter anyway.

Oh - hope mine lasts more than a few hours - are they cheap and nasty really ? Also, once it is connected to the PC can you see and playback all the data on screen ?

Mine's lasted about 4 years so far so Brian must have just got a duff one. I wasn't even aware it could be plugged into a computer so I've just got mine out of the car and checked, sure enough, there's a USB socket in the bottom under a little flap. I'll have a play with it later and see what it can do.

Well mine seems ok and works ok. So I went to the website and downloaded the Update software and driver. Installed everything and connected up and got this message - see my screen shot
Now is mine a pirate machine or is it the downloaded software ? I could do without all this agro.

I notice that Storey Wilson of EAS warns that his software has been pirated in China and they sell cheap copies !!

You get further than I do, mine just comes up with Communications failure even though the green OK is lit and the red spanner flashes, it does nothing. On the Launch website there is a warning about pirated Chinese copies but my view is if it still works does it matter? I've got a Chinese copy of a VagCom unit for VAG group cars and although it comes up with lots of warnings that it is unregistered, it still works. Just got to check that mine still works now having been plugged into the computer or if I've turned it into a brick......

Interesting - you should be ok - mine would not let me access the thing at all but read the serial number from inside and then seemed to decide it was a pirate. As you say if it works then why bother - it is just that the download seems to offer updated software and presumably one can view all the saved stuff on a PC instead of sitting out in the car all night !! Mine certainly looks the part and if it is a copy must have been done by a company not far away from the original. Its probably a scam - the original company probably sets up a sister company making the same model and then advertises it for less knowing that we will always look for the bargain - that way they increase sales and still sell the full price ones.