ScarabEpic22- all great questions
Ive tried every code reader, scan tool, high end scanner (including solus and genesis) that i could get my hands on in the last 5 years---NONE work. Why you ask? They are all designed to work on OBD2 compliant vehicles. Our Epics are NOT OBD2 compliant. It's all about the software not the cable. The cable is simply the interface between a PC and vehicle. This software has different configurations. One works with OBD2 compliant vehicles and the other works on NON compliant.
As far as the generic feature it has worked on every OBD2 compliant vehicle I've ever plugged it into. I have to check for codes and monitor status on every used car I work on that my dealership sells and it has worked on all. Like I said before the data is limited in generic. That's because the software doesn't have the data bases need to go full dealer level. It reads and erases codes and monitors and has limited live data.
Yes, originally I was trying to tailor this to our boats but the cost quickly escalated over $1700 a unit and THAT manufacturer was inconsistent during our communications. I dropped it and them. None of us want to or will pay $1700 for that. This is simple and affordable and I think it works AWESOME. I personally use the Basic VIM and it does everything I want, especially for $200. As for the $650 Premium VIM that support newer Operating Systems, people asked for it and I wanted to give them an option. Yes, you're right "Windows XP Mode" will not work on Windows 7 Home. XP mode is a free pre-configured windows XP virtual machine. But for Windows 7 Home users there is "Windows Virtual PC" it is a virtualization program that allows you to create and run virtual machines on Windows 7 Home. Here is a blog link with info and links to downloads that explain the differences.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/virtual_pc_guy/archive/2010/07/07/installing-windows-virtual-pc-on-windows-7-home-editions.aspxI'm not a good Operating Systems PC guy. To be honest I downright stink at it. I rely on my PC guy to help me out. He explained this to me and I did not fully understand what he said. Sorry for the confusion on my end. I think this is a great workaround to let us run the Basic VIM. Worst case scenario, you have to upgrade your Operating System like you mentioned at a cost of "$100+." It still is less than half the cost of the Premium VIM.
I really just want an affordable tool so we can do real diagnostics on our boats and stop guessing or jumping to fixes for pattern failures that we think is the problem or close to something we read on the forum that may or may not be related to our individual issue. How cool would it be for someone to post "Hey I got code P1345 VVT sensor/cam postion sensor circuit malfunction (bank 1) and ask is that the cam sensor or VVT actuator?" We could do real diagnostics and not just say "Hey replace the spark plugs and pray." And yes sparkplugs do fix a lot of our problems but how long have you had 1 cylinder misfiring that you can't even feel on our boats, that's damaging the exhaust manifolds and we're clueless? Then all of a sudden we have 2, 3, or 4 misfiring and that's when we notice? We can see that in live data and prolong exhaust manifold replacement. We can also see a MAF sensors grams per second off because it's dirty and causing our fuel system to go rich and foul spark plugs and take out manifolds. It's just a vicious cycle. Our boats are getting to be 10+ years old and like the Lexus LS400's and GS400's at my dealership, we are going to start having real issues. Unfortanitly it's just a matter of time.
I think this tool could bring a whole new level of professionalism needed on our site. It would be cool to have a section just for diagnostics so any visitor doesn't just think these boats are loaded with issues. We own them because of the reliability not because were stuck with them.
I will be on vacation 1st through 5th of August so if you have any more questions I will answer them when I return.
Thanks
Wakejunky
Doug
