Yet Another Galaxy - Obd Question

[looops]

Hi all.  I've been round the block and back again researching this and now I'm more confused than when I started.   I have a Galaxy Mk1 2.3 petrol that's running as if it's only using 3 cylinders but it's not, it's using all 4 because I can remove each HT lead and little changes.  The idle is very rough and goes up and down, nearly stalls then climbs high again.  During driving it does stall, is low powered and seems very sick.

 

I've used the OBD connector under the ashtray, using a OBD - USB lead I found on fleabay a year ago I can read the VAG parts of the car with VCDS-Lite.

 

I need to read the engine fault codes for said problems  and gather that my current lead (whatever protocol it is) will not talk to the engine, so I need a new lead.  Looking around I think I need a ELM327 lead.   I've found many on Fleabay but this looks like the one:  

 

ELM327 OBDII OBD2 CAN-BUS USB Auto Diagnostic Code Scanner Reader Tool V1.5 UK  (shortend URL http://goo.gl/2GLCz )

 

That said, I've also seen this handheld unit:     Any Car Engine Fault Diagnostic Scanner Code Reader OBD OBD2 OBDII CAN BUS D900 (Short URL http://goo.gl/hsnDb )

 

Any wisdom welcome.

 

Thanks
Paul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[viperclive]

It sounds as though one of your ht coil packs are on their way out.

[BrianH]

Your selected leads should be fine. The one you have if it works with vcds lite or VAG com isn't a standard obd lead its a vagcom lead hence it doesn't work for the engine as your engine and ecu is a ford version (which will work with standard diagnostics). It will as you have already discovered talk to the VW parts and to the diesel or 2.8l engines but not the 2.0 or 2.3 petrol ones.

 

You just want a standard code reader of some sort to get fault codes if thats the route you need to go down.