SeekOne SK860 OBD-II scanner review

Our Verdict

Bones but effective at ferreting out common automotive problems, the SeekOne SK860 OBD-II diagnostic scanner shows live data and electric current faults and tin tell you if your machine volition pass inspection.

For

• Rugged design
• Lifetime warranty
• Cheap

Against

• Big and heavy
• Lacks diagnostic services that more than expensive scanners provide

Tom's Guide Verdict

Basic just constructive at ferreting out common automotive issues, the SeekOne SK860 OBD-II diagnostic scanner shows live data and current faults and tin can tell you if your car will pass inspection.

Pros

• +

  Rugged design

• +

  Lifetime warranty

• +

  Inexpensive

Cons

• -

  Big and heavy

• -

  Lacks diagnostic services that more than expensive scanners provide

SeekOne K860: Specs

Size: 7.8 10 3.8 ten 1.ii inches
Weight: 11.2 ounces
Live data: Yes
Display type and size: Color, 2.viii inches
Number of keys: 8
Bluetooth: No
Handheld: Yes
Warranty: Lifetime

Designed and built to take a beating, the inexpensive SeekOne SK860 OBD-Two automotive diagnostic scanner deserves a identify in your toolbox or glovebox because it has an splendid mix of basic functions.

It may lack some of the detailed routines of more expensive scanners and be on the large and heavy side, merely the SK860'due south $61 price tag more than makes up for it and puts information technology on our list of the all-time OBD-Ii scanners.

Read on for the remainder of our SeekOne K860 review.

SeekOne SK860: Pricing and availability

Priced at about $lx, the SeekOne SK860 straddles the realms of economy OBD-II scanners and scanners aimed at professional mechanics. It is the company's but OBD-II scanner available in the U.S., but SeekOne likewise sells estrus guns, soldering kits and Qi chargers for phones and watches.

SeekOne SK860: Design

One of the largest and heaviest vertical OBD-Two scanners available, the SeekOne SK860 measures seven.8 x 3.8 x 1.2 inches and weighs in at a hefty 11.2 ounces. This makes it much bigger and heavier than Innova'due south pricier (and more capable) CarScan Inspector 5310.

(Image credit: SeekOne)

Ruggedly designed, the SeekOne SK860 has ribbed grips simply tin experience heavy and bad-mannered, peculiarly when you're also trying to balance a wrench or a manual. The scanner comes with a padded case.

With a 2.eight-inch color screen, the vertically oriented SK860 relies on icons rather than text to work you through its software. In addition to the expected Diagnostic, DTC Lookup and Setup categories, the SeekOne SK860 interface has choices for Review, Print Information, Help and BAT Check for monitoring the car's charging and battery.

Its eight-push interface includes a key to initiate the scanner's I/1000 (inspection/maintenance) readiness check, which is a helpful routine to become through before you take your vehicle in for a state inspection. The results are shown as LEDs for no-fault codes (green), intermittent issues (yellow) and permanent fault (ruby).

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

The scanner can show live information such every bit engine speed and coolant temperature, and can as well run a check on the condition of the car'southward oxygen sensor. There are no phone or tablet apps for the SeekOne SK860, but you lot tin print annihilation yous see onscreen when you lot connect the scanner to a PC via a USB cable and apply SeekOne's software.

SeekOne SK860: Performance

The SeekOne SK860 reliably connected to and showed data from my two cars, a 2014 Audi A4 Allroad and a 2016 Infiniti Q50. I started with the main menu'southward eight icons just couldn't immediately place the vehicle's details. Later on a little nosing around, I retrieved the cars' vehicle identification numbers (VINs).

The SK860's battery cheque is a big bonus and not something you lot ofttimes find in the sub-$100 course of OBD-II scanners. The scanner examined the battery and showed the current charging voltage, making it a lot easier to see if the battery or alternator needed replacing.

Afterwards that, the scanner immediately constitute the fault that I introduced into the motorcar'southward operations (a disconnected oil-temperature sensor). It was able to erase the fault code from the auto's figurer and turn off the Check Engine light.

(Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

The SeekOne SK860 works with generic mistake codes and its software is available in 8 languages, simply this OBD-II scanner doesn't go beyond the nuts. In that location are no repair instructions, no oil-level monitoring and no power to turn off the oil-maintenance light, all features that more expensive scanners oft provide.

SeekOne SK860: Setup

Less than xx seconds after I plugged the SK860 scanner into my auto'south OBD-II port, it linked to the vehicle'southward calculator. The 58-inch cable reaches into the auto's engine bay if you lot're diagnosing a circuitous trouble. It also worked well with a third-party OBD-II extension cable. There's a mini-USB port for connecting to a computer for printing results and updating the scanner'southward firmware.

(Paradigm credit: SeekOne)

The included instruction booklet is halfway betwixt a basic guide and a full transmission. In addition to a quickie description of how OBD-2 diagnostic scanning works, the booklet includes a section to assistance OBD-II newcomers with getting started using the scanner. On the downside, in that location's isn't much beyond this.

The SeekOne SK860 stands out from the oversupply with a lifetime warranty that includes updates to its firmware, pregnant that this could exist the concluding OBD-Two scanner yous'll e'er demand to purchase.

SeekOne SK860 review: Bottom line

Bones, but with a lifetime warranty that includes firmware updates forever, the SeekOne SK860 OBD-II automotive diagnostic scanner does a lot for a petty at $lx.

Large and at times cumbersome, the scanner has been ruggedly designed and can take a beating inside a toolbox or machine trunk. It goes a long mode to define what's wrong with your car, but it stops curt of recommending how to ready problems or suggesting the parts you'll need.

Brian Nadel is a freelance writer and editor who specializes in technology reporting and reviewing. He works out of the suburban New York City surface area and has covered topics from nuclear power plants and Wi-Fi routers to cars and tablets. The onetime editor-in-chief of Mobile Calculating and Communications, Nadel is the recipient of the TransPacific Writing Award.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/seekone-sk860

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