Konnwei KW681 review

Our Verdict

Desire to check your auto's battery and alternator along with the expected OBD diagnostic tasks? Konnwei's KW681 can do it, and for less than $100 it's a genuine bargain.

For

• Includes battery tester
• Minor and light
• Inexpensive
• Works with motorbike batteries

Confronting

• Lacks high-end features
• Tin can't use battery tester and OBD scanner at once
• Bombardment clips non marked for polarity

Tom's Guide Verdict

Desire to check your machine's battery and alternator along with the expected OBD diagnostic tasks? Konnwei'due south KW681 can do it, and for less than $100 it's a genuine bargain.

Pros

• +

  Includes battery tester

• +

  Small-scale and light

• +

  Cheap

• +

  Works with motorcycle batteries

Cons

• -

  Lacks loftier-cease features

• -

  Tin't use battery tester and OBD scanner at once

• -

  Battery clips not marked for polarity

Konnwei KW681: Specs

Size: five.5 x 3.2 x 1.0 inches
Weight: 4.iii ounces
Live Data: Yes
Display type and size: Color, 2.four inches
Number of keys: 7
Bluetooth:No
Handheld:Yes
Warranty: i year

With its ability to check the battery and put an electrical load on the car's charging system, the Konnwei KW681 is a must-accept for older cars, particularly in the winter when batteries oft fail. It lacks some high-stop features on more expensive models, but the OBD scanner squeezes a lot into a small and low-cal example. At $70, it's a steal for those who need to keep an eye on their car and its battery.

Konnwei KW681: Pricing and availability

Available for $lxx, the Konnwei KW681 has something that few OBD scanners have: a full battery tester, along with clips for connecting the device to the automobile'southward electric system. The company has a wide range of automotive tools as well, from basic scanners to bound-kickoff batteries.

Konnwei KW681: Design

The Konnwei KW681 may look like any other budget OBD scanner, but information technology has a secret. The device comes with an extension to its OBD cable that connects to a car'south battery, offering a variety of electrical tests that others can't perform. On the downside, you can't use the battery tester and OBD scanner at the same time – it'south i or the other.

(Prototype credit: Konnwei)

For all information technology does, the KW681 is modest and calorie-free at 5.five 10 three.2 x i.0 inches and four.3 ounces. That's on a par with the less capable ThinkOBD 100. The carmine and black OBD scanner is like shooting fish in a barrel to spot at the bottom of a toolbox, but you might want to store both information technology and its cables into the included nylon bag.

Its 2.4-inch color screen can't compare with the larger displays like the Autel AutoLink AL539's 2.8-inch color screen or the ThinkCar ThinkScan 609's 3.5-inch display. That said, the on-screen data is easier to view and work with than the ThinkOBD 100's cramped 1.8-inch screen.

The KW681's 7 button interface can be bad-mannered at times, but the scanner has a shortcut fundamental for running a pre-inspection I/M Readiness serial of tests. Below the screen are ruby, xanthous and green LEDs to show the results.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The home screen is really a pair of screens with six icons on the first and three on the second. Together, they cover the gamut of the KW681'south operations with everything from Diagnostic to Setup to DTC Lookup.

(Image credit: Konnwei)

In improver to the 56-inch OBD cable, the package includes an 18-inch extension that has small battery clips at the cease for checking the battery and car's charging system. Happily, both include Velcro cable wraps. On the downside, the clips are not marked "+" and "-" but are colored red and black for positive and negative. The device too tin can aid diagnose battery bug with motorcycles besides.

Konnwei KW681: Setup

A few seconds after I plugged the KW681's OBD cable into my 2014 Audi A4 AllRoad's diagnostic port, the scanner's screen started up and showed the company's logo. The hard wired 56-inch cable was simply long enough to reach the motorcar's engine bay; getting an extension cord might be a good idea.

In addition to a ane-yr warranty, the KW681 comes with its cables. The company provides a downloadable cursory 14-page startup guide and includes lifetime support, firmware updates and an app for doing the upgrades. The Shenzen, China-based company'southward back up crew is bachelor for questions via email, a toll call or fax.

Konnwei KW681: Functioning

Once continued, the KW681'south display lit up quickly and performed well. It was able to show the automobile's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and picked up my introduced fault after I asunder the oil temperature sensor on my 2014 Audi A4 AllRoad. I was able to turn off the Check Engine lite.

Aside from resetting the Oil Change low-cal, the scanner besides shows live information, such as air temperature, throttle position and engine speed. Unfortunately, the interface is less than efficient, making you browse through eight pages of choices with the pointer primal. Any of the parameters can be graphed for analysis.

(Paradigm credit: Tom's Guide)

On the other hand, the KW681 only covers generic faults and lacks the power to look into problems with the car'south air bags or the anti-lock brakes – things that are included in premium OBD scanners. Unlike Innova scanners, the KW681 doesn't suggest repairs or parts.

(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

While it lacks the total electric multimeter on Autel's AutoLink AL539, the KW681 tin give the automobile'southward charging arrangement a expert workout. In addition to checking the voltage, information technology showed the alternator's wave form, a valuable slice of information when diagnosing a charging problem. Finally, information technology tin can put a load on the battery to check the alternator's operations. This makes it a must-have for cars with old batteries in the wintertime.

Konnwei KW681: Verdict

If your automobile's battery is having trouble keeping a charge, the Konnwei KW681 can help figure out why along with regular diagnostic tasks. That's because in add-on to running an array of OBD tests, it can give the battery and alternator a full conditioning. Modest and low-cal, it may not have some high-terminate features, but the KW681 tin assist when in that location's not enough juice to offset the auto.

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

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/konnwei-kw681

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