Do Innova Scanners Work On Vehicles That Do Not Start?

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Whether our scanners work on no-start vehicles depend on the situation. If your car is cranking but won’t start, then yes Innova scanners will be able to diagnose what’s wrong. Simply insert your car key and turn the ignition on.

On the other hand, if your vehicle’s unable to crank and the ignition cannot be turned on, then our OBD2 scanners will not be able to diagnose what’s wrong with your vehicle.

This is true not only for Innova scan tools, but for most OBD2 scanners in the market today.

My Vehicle Cranks But Won’t Start

If your vehicle cranks but won’t start, that’s great news! Well, no not really, but at least that means your vehicle has power. This implies that your ignition can be turned on, allowing you to utilize a diagnostic scanner to identify the underlying issue.

There could be multiple reasons why your car cranks but won’t start. It could be due to a failing battery, a faulty fuel pump, a blown fuse, an empty gas tank, and so on.

Having an OBD-II scanner proves to be invaluable in this situation. Start by turning your ignition to the ON position, commonly referred to as the "idle mode." Subsequently, you can use your scanner to discover any stored codes and establish direct communication with your vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU).

By doing so, you may be able to skip multiple troubleshooting steps and find the issue right away, allowing you to proceed with the actual fix.

My Vehicle Won’t Even Crank

If your vehicle won’t even crank, chances are your ignition cannot be turned on. This in turn means you’re unable to use OBD2 scanners to diagnose the underlying issue.

Again, the ignition must be on and connected to the ECU for our scanners to work.

Functions like retrieving trouble codes or viewing live data will not be possible. The only available feature under these circumstances will be the battery test, which is supported on the Innova 5210 or above.

My Vehicle Starts Fine, But My Scanner Won’t Turn On

If your car starts without any issues but you're unable to connect your Innova scanner to your vehicle, there's a high chance of your vehicle having a blown accessory fuse.

All Innova scanners power on through the vehicle’s accessory fuse, so if it’s blown our scanners will not turn on. It’s very rare for our scanners to break down (with proper maintenance).

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