What happens with a lot of the Chinese assembly companies is that they get a contract to manufacture x,000 units for their customer. They then make a few extra and sell them for less. So you are buying the same thing but not through the normal channels. It happens a lot with radio equipment, you can buy a Kenwood or Icom hand portable radio or you can buy something for less than half the price that looks identical except for the label saying what it is. In fact, they are identical internally and made on the same production line by the same sub contractor that makes the brand name ones.

Been out and checked my Creader and it still works.......

More a case of a crappy eBay seller was the problem with mine, it was cheap though. I've got a couple of other bits (the icarsoft for Renault being one of them) which works fine, I suspect mine was either a reject/return from someone else as the front of the screen cover isn't properly stuck down on it either.

Unless your getting a problem with it I wouldn't bother trying to flash it, Its not like its got as much going on underneath as the Nano for example, where bugs/errors are fixed that are more noticeable in use. I've also got a VCDS chinese copy, which other than being a bit of faffing about to get the software installed works fine for what it was needed for (resyncing immobiliser and speedo on a Golf that someone had killed the cluster on, which you can't do with the free version)

Gilbert - I've only just seen your explanation above about the companies that make extra over the contract to sell elsewhere - that makes sense and was what I was thinking might be the answer. Mine certainly seems perfect in terms of build, works perfectly and is unlikely to have been made in a copy cat factory.

Another question. I assume the Creader must be used when running on Petrol but does it perform any useful function when on LPG ?

The stuff below (my first post) is probably known to you but just in case .....

Gilbert I know you know your stuff but presumably you know that you have to download and install drivers etc for the Creader 6 before it is connected and recognised on the computer. It is then, when you register/log in with the special code your machine generates that they read the serial number and tell you if you have pirate one !!! The website and login stuff is all on the following if it helps -

How to Install Launch............... http://blog.x431sale.com/2018/02/27/install-launch-creader-6-vi-software-driver/

And
Launch Creader Vi software update |VtoolShop

And general info from Launchtech

It's all a bit fiddly and tedious - I only wanted the luxury of being able to view the results on the PC and I'm not totally sure if the website isn't the Pirate !!!

You can view the fuel trims with the creader on lpg and compare to petrol running, if its setup/calibrated correctly they should be the same. Though its easier to monitor the injector timings and compare directly in the software.

The creader will still show you whats going on when on gas, any error codes generated would still be valid, you'd just need to work out if they were LPG issues or not before trying to fix them. (misfire and which cylinders can help tracing faults for example)

Hi guys
Sorry to jump on an old thread.
In need of some help.
Does anyone have a nanocom that can reset my srs on the other halfs diesel p38 in the Cambridgeshire area.
Thanks in advance
Wayne

Not that old and still running, but I'm in Stilton, just south of Peterborough and have a Nanocom. It's got the GEMS licence so can't do anything with the engine on a diesel but will do the SRS and other sub-systems.

Chris, found out what I was doing wrong with my CReader, I was using the driver for a VI and mines a VI+. Tried the correct driver and it updated but doesn't appear any different to before. Doesn't seem to allow it to be used with a computer though unless Brian knows any different..

Creader and my long term P38 running problem. Lack of power/acceleration when approaching hill especially in the hot weather here. Well it seemed to improve a bit as the weather cooled but it is still hot - 28 in main part of day and under bonnet and input temps still high. Very strange but since I plugged the Creader in - like the EAS no faults shown but yesterday the car is 95 percent better ! Changes down when needed, still a bit sluggish but can get back up my mountain in normal gears ! Is it possible that just the action of connecting the Creader has cleared some ECU malfunction ? I have recorded running up and down as Gilbert suggested but selected all readings and not sure how to see the results yet. (I notice that the percentage Throttle on the gear ECU is zero percent when idle but on the other main ECU it is 10 percent ? ) The only other thing that I have done is top up the auto Transmission fluid which was right at the bottom of the stick or even worse, which bearing in mind the mountain is steep in parts so might be a factor. I notice that going down a steep hill it used to jump out of gear - doesn't do that now and it now changes gear down when needed. Could this be the root of my problem ? Sorry to keep bothering people.

Don't know - never got that far with mine, though i didn't get the pirated version bit either that was mentioned above. If i wanted to do that sort of stuff I'd use either the Nano/Torque pro/VCDS depending what vehicle it was I was dealing with but never really found a need to do so. Far as I know the port is to upgrade the software on the unit if required, only knew about it as I'd had to do so whilst the seller was still trying to troubleshoot mine.

Could have been, they don't like being run low. You have been checking it with the engine running as per the book I hope? Checking it when not running and the level is about 4 inches above the max mark on the dipstick but drops when running.

I had a thought the other day when you said it only did it when very hot. There's the anti pollution thing that dumps excess petrol vapour into the inlet manifold when there's too much pressure in there. On mine, just occasionally maybe once every 3 or 4 months, I can start the car and it idles lumpy and doesn't want to rev. If I leave it idling it will clear after a few seconds or I can switch it off and restart. I've always put this down to excess petrol vapour being dumped into the manifold so that along with a good slug of LPG (as my singlepoint runs on LPG from cold) gives it a very rich mixture. I'm wondering if yours is doing the same when it gets really hot?

A low fuel level should also produce more petrol vapour in the tank as it sloshes around more, that plus the temperature might explain it. Would also explain why its better with more fuel in the tank and the adaptives reset. Being Gems it has a fuel return as well which also means more vapour generated.

Yes Gilbert - did check transmission correctly - reason I had not bothered for years was because it seemed complicated, bit sloppy of me !! As you know, my journey start is all downhill for 5km and engine at its coolest. Once down on the coast engine hot and returning up steep 5km hill is when it was at its worse - but yesterday seems almost cured. I did notice tickover a bit rough - maybe it is missing - coil or something.

Yes Brian - I'm now running on a fuller tank - presumably lower petrol and high vapour pressure should not be a problem when it switches to LPG ?

It should reduce the problem, the changes in altitude won't help much either, but if you can minimize the effect that will help.

If its missing are you getting any misfire codes logged? Gems might not detect them as well as Thor, so no guarantee it will actually pick them up. I've found that generally if you have a pattern to the misfires you can work out which part is a problem (a pair of cylinders for example is most likely a coil pack, particularly if the pair in question is on the same side of that coil). A broken trigger wire (or damage to one even if its still partially joined) could also cause the same problem, though would expect that to come up as a fault if completely broken, if its damaged it can either short out to earth if anything is close enough to touch, or just work badly intermittently).

I have always had a problem spotting misfires on V8 ' s. Easily fooled after 4 cylinders ! It sounds smooth enough gradually increasing rpm when stationery. Yesterday there were moments when it sounded 'wuffly' - I get different sounds from the exhausts - oldish - may have a leak - But where do I see potential misfires on Creader - can it see them ? There are no fault codes that have come up on my EAS or Creader.

Misfire codes are P0300 (multiple misfires) and codes P0301 to P0308 for individual cylinders, however, I don't think GEMS is sufficiently OBD compliant to show them. Bear in mind that compliance didn't become mandatory until 2000 by which time the Bosch engine management had been implemented. So the fact that GEMS gives any codes at all is a bonus, some cars of the same era don't even have a socket to plug a code reader into (anything never intended for the US market where they adopted the standard from 1996) or, if they do, it is a socket unique to that manufacturer and can only be interrogated by manufacturer specific hardware.

Running on 7 is quite noticeable at idle and on pick up but smooths out once the revs get up. The GEMS coils feed two cylinders each so a coil breaking down when it gets hot is another possibility but as well as being down on power, you'd only be running on 6 and I'm sure you would notice the roughness if that was the case.

Thanks Gilbert - fills in my knowledge and makes sense now I think about it. The original coil pack failed soon after I bought the car (about 60k) and was replaced by RR dealer £ 400 or so ! I did a swap with another old one a year ago but it made no difference to this problem then. Do you think that with the live readings I'm getting from the Creader any probs with the CPS would show ? The MAFseems to show airflow, Inlet Temp seems OK - TPS shows logical increase as one opens throttle -(apart from difference in ECU 1 to ECU 2 - (0 percent idle and 10 percent idle) so can I assume these are all ok ?

Can you obtain a spark tester if you still suspect an ignition issue and try to compare? When you swapped the coil pack over was it all 8 cylinders swapped out or one half of it (and if so do you know it works on another engine, if not that might be the easiest way to prove if your happy with it or not).

Bear in mind if there is a spark but its weak, that will be the same as a failing coil pack potentially (had that on another car of mine which was on lpg, converted by an installer prior to my ownership, turned out to be a sharp point on the solder joint on the coil pack wiring was shorting out the coil pack feed to the trigger, had taken a few years to develop into a problem as well).

Will the creader do srs stored fault?
Find a few on fleabay but most say not compatible with older vehicles.
I have 1999 2.5 diesel.

Will the creader do srs stored fault?

Sorry - I don't know (haven't got that far with mine but I don't think so) - I think Gilbert or Brian will know !

No, it's an OBD code reader so will only do diagnostics on stuff that is in the OBD standard which is mainly emissions related. Not even sure why it can read data from the gearbox but it can.

Ok thanks. I've been looking on eBay for a cheaper alternative to a nanocom found a laptop 163039400032.
Or this 283079322059 from icarsoft. But I believe the second item again is only an OBD reader there was a guy on fleabay selling Jaguar Land Rover discs with a licence for about £16 I have a spare laptop that I can put that on I will just need the lead then