2023 Best Diagnostic Tools for Construction & Farming Diesel Equipment

While aftermarket multi-brand tools are common for automotive and commercial trucks, they aren’t well known for diesel powered off-highway equipment. Off-highway equipment is anything powered by a diesel engine but not allowed to legally drive down the road. This includes farm tractors, excavators, generators, bulldozers, and millions of other pieces of off-highway powered diesel equipment.

The software that dealers use for construction and farming equipment isn’t a very good option either. Each OEM requires a special adapter ($700 to $3,000 each) plus the software license. Unfortunately, many won’t even sell the software license, which leads people to trying and finding pirated software on the Internet. This software is usually very old versions that don’t work.

The good news is that technology has caught up with this problem and we present to you the list of the 2023 Best Diagnostic Tools for Construction & Farming Equipment!

Professional Level Tools

Tools in this category will work with over 100+ different manufacturers. Besides reading and clearing fault codes, you can run diagnostic commands just like the dealers can. This includes programming injectors, performing DPF regenerations, calibrating hydraulic system settings, and much more.

For this category, there are only two major players – TEXA and Cojali. Both products have very comparable coverage, and offer the following features:
• One piece of hardware and software connects to all equipment
• Over 60 different cables are available, depending on which equipment you want to connect with
• Lifetime licenses that never expire. You won’t lose any diagnostic functionality if you don’t purchase a support package after the first year.
• Dealer level diagnostics functions.
• Rugged laptops and hardware built to withstand outdoor environments.

Diesel Laptops is the largest seller in the world for both brands, and we got there by providing extra products and services that you won’t find anywhere else:
• Diesel Repair – Repair information including fault code assistance, wiring diagrams, and much more on our Diesel Repair platform.
• Diesel Training – Technician training is offered both online and in our classrooms around the United States. This includes training on not just how to use the software efficiently, but also how to properly diagnose diesel powered equipment.
• Virtual Diesel Technician – Our call center is staffed with experienced diesel technicians that are there night and day to help you diagnose and repair equipment.
• Diesel Parts – Access our database of cross references and lookup tools to find parts you need without assistance.

In comparing TEXA and Cojali, it usually comes down to which interface your more comfortable learning and the software licenses. TEXA offers one package that contains everything for off-highway, while Cojali breaks theirs down into Agriculture, Construction, and Material Handling Equipment. The Cojali option may be more expensive or less expensive based on your needs.

Basic Level Tools

Tools in this category often leave you more frustrated than fulfilled, but we are including them in this review. The main reason is that these tools are not inexpensive, and they often lack the functionality and support users are looking for.

For example, lets look at the CanDo OHV Pro. CanDo moved all their off-highway coverage from their other products into a stand-alone tool. The problem comes down to coverage and functionality. The OHV Pro, as of this blog post, only comes with 7 cables. We know from experience that over 60 are available in the market. However, it does have the cables for the most common equipment such as Cat, John Deere, Volvo, JCB Case-New Holland, Hitachi, and Liebherr.

The other concern is that on import tools they often lack in the functionality. Don’t expect to buy this tool and have great coverage. If you go this route, we highly recommend being able to test on equipment first with it or make sure you have a window of time to return it back if it doesn’t meet your needs.

Entry Level Tools

There do exist several options for connecting to off-highway equipment through some entry level tools.

Diesel Explorer is our free PC-based software. It will read fault codes and some live on equipment that uses standard protocols and has either a 9-pin or OBDII cable. For example, it works great reading fault codes on John Deere equipment.

Noregon’s JPro software will also read the same data as Diesel Explorer, but it requires an annual software license (Over $2,000) along with Noregon’s hardware (Another $900+). However, it will do cylinder cut-out tests on 5 different CAT engines. Since CAT has hundreds of models and thousands of tests, it is very limited.

Summary

No matter which path you’d like to try, Diesel Laptops is here to assist you! You can either chat, call, or fill out the form below and we’ll start a conversation with you. Our tools come with everything you, including repair information, support, and training. We offer a variety of financing options, including our Guaranteed Credit Approval program that gets you started with a very little amount down.