Considering "messing around" with FORScan.

[GLOCKer]

I'm looking at purchasing a compatible cable to poke around and learn a little about FORScan. As you can see in my signature, we have a household full of Ford vehicles.

Any tips, tricks, or pitfalls I should be aware of?

 

[donalds]

You will love it it's so in depth
Don't buy anything wireless get the usb. One

 

[15Limited]

Also, go to the FORScan website/forum and read up on it.

 

[Jason94sport]

All I have used it for is to program keys. Works well for that. If I had mechanical/electronic problems i'm sure it would be of great use.

 

[J_C]

You will love it it's so in depth
Don't buy anything wireless get the usb. One

Why not? Many people use the wireless without issues. Granted forscan needs the windows app to program rather than just read, but a typical laptop has wifi and bluetooth or you can get a bluetooth USB dongle for about $2 delivered on eBay.

This also allows you to use it with your phone if you are not at home at the time. I keep a BAFX bluetooth reader in my '98 glovebox and a cheaper little translucent blue one (falsely advertised as all OBDII but can only do CAN bus) in the '14 Explorer that uses CAN bus.

 

[Mitchs07explorer]

It’s an awesome program, as others have said you can get much more in depth. It reads codes my SCT and other decent scanner that I have can’t read. I bought a $100 windows 10 RCA Tablet and a $25 ELM327 usb connected hookup from Amazon. Worth every penny.

 

[allmyEXes]

. I bought a $100 windows 10 RCA Tablet....

Are you using a WIFI connection for your downloads?

 

[GLOCKer]

Cool. I've downloaded it to my laptop. I'm about to score a $10 Amazon gift card so I think I will get myself a USB connector. I have a Bluetooth OBDII connector for on-the-fly code scanning (but I don't think it's compatible with FORScan??).

 

[Mitchs07explorer]

Are you using a WIFI connection for your downloads?

My has a USB connection. https://www.amazon.com/bbfly-BF32302-modified-Windows-ELMconfig-Forscan/dp/B01N9R9QS2

 

[J_C]

I have a Bluetooth OBDII connector for on-the-fly code scanning (but I don't think it's compatible with FORScan??).

Forscan works fine with *most* ELM327 based bluetooth scanners. You just need the windows version of it for certain features, so with a bluetooth scanner that means the host computer needs to have bluetooth, whether it is built in (common on laptops) or you add a USB bluetooth dongle (about $2 delivered on ebay).

EDIT: I saw a list of supported adapters that do MS-CAN bus (excludes those that can't), but you don't need one that does MS-CAN bus for 2nd gen Explorers because they don't use CAN bus. Not doing CAN bus is why a lot of the ELM327 scanners aren't listed.

See this chart: Comparsion of FORScan applications

However if you are running Forscan and your host device (phone, PC, tablet, whatever) can see the bluetooth adapter and link with it, but Forscan doesn't recognize it, that would be more conclusive that it won't work... assuming the same host does get it to work with a different app instead of Forscan, as proof that it works at all.

 

[GLOCKer]

I was looking at that one. I was also looking at these:
Wireless:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUALTS...colid=EBOC0U1QM51U&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
Wired:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DFDXZT...&pd_rd_r=a0aa6db8-205a-11e9-841b-4d76d22006a0

 

[Mitchs07explorer]

Are you using a WIFI connection for your downloads?

Actually I’m not sure what you’re asking... are you asking if I’m using WiFi for my downloads to my tablet, then yes.

 

[J_C]

I was looking at that one. I was also looking at these:
Wireless:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUALTS...colid=EBOC0U1QM51U&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

This one looks like they took the same exact circuit board in the BAFX, and added the MS-CAN switch to it and charged $8 more for it.

How to access MS CAN bus using FORScanV2 and modified ELM327 - FORScan forum

That one should work with Forscan, and in the long run it might be worth $8 more to you to have MS-CAN support, but MS-CAN is not used on our generation Explorers so you'd be paying extra for a feature only supported on a newer Ford vehicle, compared to getting the BAFX for $22. To clarify, you do not need MS-CAN to just pull OBDII codes on newer Ford vehicles (around '04 and newer for Explorers IIRC), HS-CAN is used for that and ELM327 supports it without a switch(ed) circuit.

https://www.amazon.com/BAFX-Products-Bluetooth-Diagnostic-Scanner/dp/B005NLQAHS

Ironically the cheaper one I use on my '14, used to cost the same $8 but is now only $3.37, crazy because I couldn't mail the empty bubble pack envelope it came in, back to China for $3.37... but it won't do J1850 protocol that our 2nd gen Explorers use instead of CAN bus. However the quality control on these cheap ones is poor, I got a working one on the first try but some people have gotten them DOA and had to get another one. However I don't know if it does MS-CAN, but certainly does HS-CAN or it wouldn't have connected at all.

Bluetooth Mini ELM327 OBDII OBD2 Auto Car Bus Diagnostic Interface Scanner Tool 8011681500743 | eBay
^^^^ THIS WILL NOT WORK ON OUR 2ND GEN EXPLORERS (worth repeating )

 

[allmyEXes]

To download FORScan. However once the software is on the tablet, then no need to go online.
Just trying to envision all the pieces etc. here is a beginner video that I found. Not sure if helpful.

Also another video that is a little more advanced.

If FORScan was being used with the vehicle in motion something to hold the tablet?
Car Windshield Desk Top Mount Bracket Holder Stand Cradle for 7-10.1" Table Zh6 | eBay

 

[J_C]

Why wouldn't you just leave the tablet wifi on and settings intact so you can go online with it any time you wanted to?

I could see turning wifi off for some uses where you want to increase battery life, but a tablet is a different ball game than a phone, the battery is larger yet the screen itself is going to be using far more power than wifi.

If runtime is that close to a problem (after the typical few hours per battery charge) then the solution is an AC/DC adapter or vehicle power supply.

 

[donalds]

I use a 750 watt inverter to power my win 7 tab

 

[allmyEXes]

I'm ignorant on this subject but eager to learn as many others are too. Thanks GLOCKer for starting this thread.