Marine Diagnostic PC Software (CDI M.E.D.S. vs Diacom Marine)
 

Just trying to get opinions prior to ordering PC software to be able to diagnose alarms and get general information on the wellness of my 496 HOs. I like the look of the M.E.D.S. but I am more interested in the functionality and which one has the most to offer. I know that Diacom is around 700.00 with hardware and I will have to call Monday to find out the pricing from CDI. Chime in if you have any experience with either of these products. I am tired of not knowing whats going on under the hood.

i,m in the market too and i like diacoms new handheld laptops are good for looking techie but in reality there hard to use on a boat

I am actually friends with both companies and will be spending sometime this week with CDI. If you are scanning outboards MEDS is really good but does offer some indepth for ECM 555 And PCM 555 nd MEFI 1 thru 4.

Diacom will scan all marine OEM I/O's and inboards no matter of app but will only scan Merc outboards. Price wise the Diacom is cheaper. The techmate pro is very good for running around the lake to watch your scan. You can read it in direct sun light. Others are very hard to do this and see.

If you really want a more indepth scan Merc CDS G3 is the way go but is the most expensive.

If you deal with Diacom or CDI please tell them that John at Boats Unlimited sent you over. Thanks

You have to be a merc dealer to be able to get or use CDS or g3. You can't even buy it. Besides the g3 program won't work on the 496s. The cdi meds is very expensive as well. I inquired about it last year and the rep with Cdi said it was $2800 if I remember correctly

I like the idea of using a laptop because it seems to be easier to use and I think it allows me to scan both engines at the same time but I could be wrong, I have never used a scan tool of any sort. I am open to suggestions. Just tired of not having the information available and being thrown to the wolves whenever anything does go wrong. Right now I have a 2 beep alarm and they want to replace a PCM and i am 95 percent sure that's not the problem. Of the ones mentioned do they allow you to hook up both at the same time so you can see them scanned in tandem?

Well crap, that seems like a lot being that I don't own a shop to offset the cost by charging for a scan, more looking for a consumer product. I will spend whatever I need to so I can scan both engines at the same time.

I've owned the Diacom for some time, it's been great. I've used the older handheld and the newer one, both are nice but lack expanded views of multiple parameters at once. The laptop seems to be the better option as it does all the handheld features well as multiple parameters at once.

That was my point, wish I had your command of the written word.

Also got to love the ability to log the data and compare.

I have the Diacom software on my laptop and it works great.. use it to scan and diagnose my 525EFI's.

You can read both engines at the same time, is that correct?

as a boat mechanic that works on all flavors and most are fishing vessels around here, laptops just always manage to have a dead battery at the time you need it. i have a few extra laptops with solid state drives but was thinking a hand held scanner might be better in the rough and tumble fishing and outboard world

thats what I found out looking around,,did find a copy for sale on Iboats I believe.I have diacom and love it.

Depends how the engines are rigged , ie communication buss between them or not.

As far as I know there is nothing available that will allow you to look at both engines at the same time. The closest you could get would be to install a mercury vessel view if you have smartcraft engines but that won't give you much diagnostics capability.

My local marine mechanic was able to hook to both of them and compare readings simultaneously. He may of had the merc software, I'm not sure.