I have a generic wifi obd reader that I got from amazon a while back and it works well enough for most things. However I came across this and it's not that expensive, I was wondering if anyone had tried one or has any experience with these ones?

VCM IDS Rotunda Dealer IDS V84 JLR V135 for Ford Mazda Jaguar and Land Rover designed

 

Whenever I connect my OBD scan tool to my F-Type, I run into the low battery issue. The ECU never powers down. At this point, I'd be weary of plugging anything into the OBD port.

 

I believe the "hacked" version of that release of SDD 1.35 is too old for the F-Type range. You may want to sit down after searching for "ebay" "SDD" "hack" and decide whether you nerves can stand the thrill of potentially creating a 4000lb paperweight in your garage.

 

Disconnecting the battery for 10 seconds clears the error. The value of getting operating parameters off the datalogger, overshadows this inconvenience.

 

Mpowerrr what is the year model of your car? You should add it to your profile or make a signature, it helps with questions like this.

As stu mentioned, SDD V135 is too old for an F-Type.

And as he also mentioned, you have to be very careful with the diagnostic equipment you use, if things go wrong (as they often do with clone devices and hacked software) it can be a very expensive headache to fix.

If you want to set yourself up with a dealer level diagnostic system you need to invest some money to have a safe reliable system.

That one in your link is a clone, a knockoff. A genuine/original VCM interface when new was $2600 USD, so you really get what you pay for with a $200 one...

 

I have a 16 R coupe.
The above reasons y'all listed are pretty much why I didn't decide to give it a try considering it's pretty cheap, thought I'd ask if anyone had any experience or luck with it. If I still had my shop I'd invest in the real deal, but for now can't really justify spending the dough just to have it and use it once in a blue moon.
Better yet I'll have to ask around and see if anyone in socal has one that they wouldn't mind loaning or renting or something like that whenever there is a need.

 

For a 2016MY car you need pretty much the latest SDD software version and it needs to be connected online to get the latest updates in order to do anything further than read/clear codes.

Current version is V148.

You don't have to spend huge money on a legit interface which is safe/reliable, but the official SDD subscription is something like $1250 per year.

 

I'll keep an eye out for alternatives but sure will be staying away from the knockoff I first inquired about. I should have known it was an old outdated version for the fact that it had ford and Mazda in the description...

 

Well actually, the original VCM was the official diagnostic interface for Ford, Mazda, Jaguar & Land Rover. And it was the best one too. It's what I use myself because it can do everything.

The clones / knockoffs, not so much, I would never use one on a valuable car.

I got a batch of VCM's from that came from Mazda dealers who were upgrading, only got one left now FS [International]: Original VCM diagnostic interfaces - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

But honestly there are cheaper options which will work with an F-Type.

 

I see, did not know that.
What are some of those cheaper options which will work the f-type that you mentioned?

 

JLR Mongoose J2534 pass-thru, around 40 bucks, easy to set up. comes with newer SDD software version than VCM/Rotunda
New Arrival V145 JLR Mangoose SDD Pro For Jaguar and Land Rover

 

Anyone using a $40 knockoff diagnostic tool on a $100k car needs his head read.

By all means try your luck!

 

As I do more research in my leasure and slowly acquire pieces of the puzzle, I'm finding that getting a battery charger/power supply that can output constant 50amp while connected to sdd is proving more difficult than I thought. Not much available and when you indeed find one, they are expensive...

 

100%

 

I was lucky enough to get the exact power unit that Jaguar/LR mention in their SDD docs from a guy who used it when programming his Porsche. A very reassuring $100 spent when flashing/reflashing my VAP tune or doing work on the LR.

 

It really is a pity that the chargers I use won't work on 115V... they have been excellent for me...

 

What's the brand and model?

 

220-240V in Australia?

 

Yep...

 

Your 230V isn't hard to do here in the states. 50Hz is a different matter, unless your charger works at both 50/60Hz.