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I thought those cheap knockoff fuel injector testers were just junk, but one saved my bacon.
I was working on a stubborn 6.7 Powerstroke that kept throwing codes, and my usual Snap-on unit was out for calibration. A buddy loaned me his $150 Amazon special, and it actually gave me the same pressure drop reading across cylinder 3 that the expensive rig found later. I mean, maybe it's just me, but has anyone else had a surprisingly good experience with a budget tool they didn't trust at first?
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adams821d ago
Sometimes a tool just works. My Harbor Freight multimeter has been dropped in coolant and still reads right. The cheapo compression tester matched the shop's results on three different motors last month. Not everything needs a fancy brand name to be useful for diag.
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grace9261d ago
Honestly, it's just one reading on one truck. That doesn't mean the whole tool is good. Those cheap things are built to fail, and you got lucky. The real test is if it gives you the same correct answer a hundred times in a row, not just once. I'd never bet my diagnosis on something that came in a bubble mailer.
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Exactly, it's pure luck. I bought one of those code readers that looked legit online... first time it cleared a check engine light for an evap code, I thought I was a genius. Next week, same code comes back, but the stupid thing showed all clear. Tried it on my buddy's car and it gave a totally wrong transmission code that wasn't even in the system. Felt like such a waste of money. Now it just sits in a drawer.
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