Best scan tool for small school with diesel buses?

thecarman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Apex, NC
My kids go to a small charter school in Chatham county, just south of chapel hill. Because they are a charter school, they don’t get to participate in the school bus fleet/maintenance with Chatham county schools.
They have 3 full sized diesel school buses that they bought used. They’ve had trouble staying in contact with a bus mechanic who is both competent and timely. Currently they take the buses to a guy in Mebane (which is not close) when needed.
They are thinking about buying a scan tool for some minor diagnostic work - things their maintenance guy could fix if not serious enough to take to the mechanic.
Does anyone have experience with a $300-ish scan tool that would work on buses? Here is a pic of the connector under the dash…
IMG_4726.jpeg
 
For example, my wife (a kindergarten teachers assistant and bus driver) was leaving the school this morning when the bus started smoking like hell and the EGT warning light came on.
She turned around and drove it back to school, and by the time she got back, there was no more smoke or warning light.
This bus had just been to the mechanic for them to investigate why the EGT light had been coming on, and the mechanic returned the bus saying they couldn’t find anything wrong with it
 
The "Best" budget tool might well depend on the make of the buses as well. If possible jumping out into some forums and Reddit groups for brand enthusiasts specific to the make, engine and transmission could help you get the best scanner for the specifics of the bus...

For my Freightliner XC chassis RV with a Mercedes (Detroit Diesel) and Allison Transmisison, This Scanner has been able to diagnose everything I've needed and seems to be a pretty popular choice for non professionals;


But every medium duty chassis out there has a setup to work with a variety of engines, and a Cat motor might not show all the codes on any particular scanner.

Long story short, Try to find others diagnosing the same setups, and find out what they're using.
 
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