TAZER MINI vs JSCAN

[Griepp06]

Okay I hear all the amazing things that the Tazer can do beyond changing my Speedo to be accurate when I upgrade to the 35s but what more can it do that the JSCAN can’t and does it make it worth the extra $250 cost over it?

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[IamPro2A]

Go here, and specifically look at the "Live Functions".
Those are all the things that JScan can not do. If some of them are worth the added cost, great. Buy the Tazer. If you don't want any of those features, stick with JScan.

https://www.zautomotive.com/zpu/instructions/TazerJLMiniUserGuide1137.pdf

 

[IamPro2A]

The features I personally use?

the auto start/stop disable
the turn cam
the license plate blanking
controlling the bed/reverse lights from the keyfob
toggling the reverse cam with the mute button
hood alarm
Flashing the 3rd brake light

None of those can be done with Jscan.

 

[IamPro2A]

Also, for most people it's probably not $250 more than Jscan.
Tazer Mini is $329.
Jscan is what? $70-$80?
Plus most people will need to buy the OBDII adapter. There are only 2 adapters Jscan recommends for the Gladiator. The cheap one is around $60, and the better one is $140.

So, the tazer is only $110 more than the better Jscan option.

 

[WetWilly]

Also, for most people it's probably not $250 more than Jscan.
Tazer Mini is $329.
Jscan is what? $70-$80?
Plus most people will need to buy the OBDII adapter. There are only 2 adapters Jscan recommends for the Gladiator. The cheap one is around $60, and the better one is $140.

So, the tazer is only $110 more than the better Jscan option.

By the time I got the 50.00 off offer from Z and then they offered another coupon code, my Tazer was 259.00. That was the deciding factor.

 

[Sprinkler-Fitter]

The features I personally use?

the auto start/stop disable
the turn cam
the license plate blanking
controlling the bed/reverse lights from the keyfob
toggling the reverse cam with the mute button
hood alarm
Flashing the 3rd brake light

None of those can be done with Jscan.

I guess it seems like a waste of money to me, I don’t need any of those features.

 

[ALVagabond]

Also, for most people it's probably not $250 more than Jscan.
Tazer Mini is $329.
Jscan is what? $70-$80?
Plus most people will need to buy the OBDII adapter. There are only 2 adapters Jscan recommends for the Gladiator. The cheap one is around $60, and the better one is $140.

So, the tazer is only $110 more than the better Jscan option.

I set up JSCAN recently:
Bluetooth Code Scanner = $32
Security Bypass Cable = $20
JSCAN VIN Unlock = $24

I bought the hardware recommended by JSCAN from Amazon. The whole set up was ~$75.

 

[IamPro2A]

I set up JSCAN recently:
Bluetooth Code Scanner = $32
Security Bypass Cable = $20
JSCAN VIN Unlock = $24

I bought the hardware recommended by JSCAN from Amazon. The whole set up was ~$75.

$32 for the scanner?
They currently only show 2 that they recommend for the JT Gladiator (Yea, I know they pretty much all work for reading, but reliably writing usually requires the better ones)

https://jscan.net/supported-and-not-supported-obd-adapters/

The cheaper of those 2, the VLinker MC+, is currently on sale on Amazon for $60. The better one is $140. I bought the $140 one, along with AlfaOBD (like Jscan, but works on stuff besides just Jeep) because supposedly that is the only one that can access EVERYTHING.

 

[IamPro2A]

I guess it seems like a waste of money to me, I don’t need any of those features.

I dont NEED any of those things either. But then, very few people actually NEED a Gladiator. The Gladiator is all about WANTS, not needs.

I dont need to be able to turn on my bed lights from the fob, but it sure is handy when it's dark.

I don't need to be able to quickly access the rear cam while I'm driving, but it sure is handy when I can't remember if I put the tailgate up or not.

I don't need to strobe my 3rd brake light when I step on the brake pedal, but it might prevent someone from rear-ending me.

I don't need the license plate lights to turn off when I'm in reverse, but it sure makes it easier to see stuff on the backup cam at night.

I dont need the hood alarm, but considering the OEM hood doesn't have any sort of lock, it's sure nice to have.

If I was a hardcore offroader, I might appreciate some of the other live features. Any deal where you can add a whole bunch of improvements to a Jeep for only a few hundred bucks total is a good deal in my book. Your book may read differently. That's fine, and that's one reason we own Jeeps, so we can easily make them different then every other one off the line.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The features I personally use?

the auto start/stop disable
the turn cam
the license plate blanking
controlling the bed/reverse lights from the keyfob
toggling the reverse cam with the mute button
hood alarm
Flashing the 3rd brake light

None of those can be done with Jscan.

While that's true - the stop/start can be turned off for free, or out on the web at one time there were instructions for making a simple circuit you hide in the dash to do the same thing.

I can do the license plate light control with a cheap relay run through the trailer harness connection. I can tap into the trailer connector using a cheap harness that plugs into where the factory wiring goes behind the bumper. When in reverse, one of the trailer connector pins is hot - trigger a relay to open contacts killing the license plate lights. Take it out of reverse, relay closes the contacts again, plate lights are on again. Use the NC contact connections of a standard relay. Those LED license plate lights take nothing for power. Could even do it with pure electronics. At lease that's my theory - I need to find the wiring diagram that includes the license plate lighting circuit.

Backup lights I resolved using my aux switch and a diode.

And Jscan can change your engine idle speed while you use a winch.

IF someone opens the hood when you have the vehicle properly locked the horns will pulse and the lights flash - built into the truck.

You can turn on the rear camera using an icon on the radio screen (at least I did on my 2020)

For the third brake light - I have a strobe circuit I had used in another thing I built years ago I was going to look into modifying and plugging in back in the tailgate to strobe or flash it. It would strobe a lot like modern bicycle lights do now.

There are some things I have not found a free or cheap way around, but things I really want or think I need (yeah, that's Jeep people, isn't it LOL) I can do myself or build a circuit that can do it for me. For me that's half the fun - finding ways around things.

The thing that I had thought about a tazer for was upping the engine idle for using a winch or other high power draw things. Now that I have found I can do that with my phone and jscan, there's not much reason for me to go tazer.

I don't have to unmarry anything, there's nothing that could interfere with a flash or update, I don't like things messing with the cluster display or re-routing button functions (no way I could remember all of those key-chords for tazer - not with my severe ADHD), nothing I have done or would do would ever be seen as a problem for repairs or upgrades and I can take it in and drop it off at a dealer without even thinking about it.

It's all personal preference and what you PERSONALLY want, or think you need, or would like to have, your budget and so on.

Plus - I love the logging and diagnostics capabilities I have with my SOFTWARE. I can generate freeze-frames and capture malfunctions, do troubleshooting and get detailed reports on conditions when things go wrong. I've used my SOFTWARE to diagnose my wife's Grand Cherokee (can't do that with tazer, sorry - I'm a tech first) and am currently using jscan, AlfaOBD and OBDLink's software to keep an eye on misfires with my new truck.

I'm a mechanic, a troubleshooter - this is why I like software
(and 2 of the 3 apps I use are not locked to just one vehicle - you do need to buy an added license for jscan if you use it on a second Jeep) ->

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I set up JSCAN recently:
Bluetooth Code Scanner = $32
Security Bypass Cable = $20
JSCAN VIN Unlock = $24

I bought the hardware recommended by JSCAN from Amazon. The whole set up was ~$75.

And a lot of things most Jeep people would do or use it for the cheaper OBD interface actually works fine. I have one of the 30-35 dollar ones and it works fine. It's just that I do other things I wanted the speed for.
People may be surprised at the features in jscan that most don't talk about or realize is there.

 

[IamPro2A]

Yes, you can do many of those things with multiple discrete circuits and devices, but those take time, and money, and skills not everyone possesses and also involves making mods to the wiring that are more perm than unmarrying a tazer. I love to tinker myself (that's why I have the expensive OBD adapter and AlfaOBD as well as the taser) but I also do not have a lot of free time right now. This thread reminds me I have a 3d printed mounting adapter for my taser that has been sitting in the center console for months, and that just requires me to pop 1 panel and r&r one screw, and I'm still looking for one of those round tuit things.

Yes, I can turn on the backup cam through the menu. Have you ever tried it while driving? It would be easier and safer just to park and get out and look to see if the tailgate is down. With the tazer I press the mute button on the dash. Barely need to take my eyes off the road. And stuff like that or turning on the bed lights from the fob would be fairly complex to do with discrete circuits.

I don't see the big deal for most people about unmarrying the tazer either. Do other people really need that much dealer work? 36k+ miles on mine, installed the tazer when I got home from the dealer and it hasn't been back to a dealer since.

But again, we all buy Jeeps to do dif things. Some people I'm told, don't even mod them at all! Can ya believe it?

 

[Griepp06]

Also, for most people it's probably not $250 more than Jscan.
Tazer Mini is $329.
Jscan is what? $70-$80?
Plus most people will need to buy the OBDII adapter. There are only 2 adapters Jscan recommends for the Gladiator. The cheap one is around $60, and the better one is $140.

So, the tazer is only $110 more than the better Jscan option.

Jscan License is $20 per vehicle
The Bluetooth OBD2 start at $32 on Amazon
12+8 bypass cable is $18 on Amazon
Total is $70 vs the $329 Tazer mini so $259 difference not sure where you got your numbers from.

 

[Griepp06]

I set up JSCAN recently:
Bluetooth Code Scanner = $32
Security Bypass Cable = $20
JSCAN VIN Unlock = $24

I bought the hardware recommended by JSCAN from Amazon. The whole set up was ~$75.

How do you like it?

 

[tonywin]

Love my Jscan. For the price and what I need its a no brainer. Recalibrated tire size, change from halogen to LED, and enable off road pages.

If you want to turn off ESS then Tazer is the way to go. I personally don't mind it so Jscan was the easy choice. It does everything I need.

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