Oxygen sensors, air filters, evaporative emission canisters, catalytic converters- all these things, and more, are vital to the proper functioning of your car. When one of them starts to give you trouble, it’s not likely that you’ll just know what the problem is without running a diagnostic test.
Electronic OBD II code readers are relatively cheap and easy to use nowadays. You plug it into your car port and start up the software on it- this will trigger the code reader to check for any malfunctions in time before they turn into more severe problems. When the code reader finds a problem, it will read it out to you in terms of OBD II trouble codes.
One of the first things you need to know about OBD II codes is that they are not error codes. If you were still using your older OBD I code reader, you could have just plugged in the cables and pulled up a list of errors by their number.
This is no longer possible with OBD II. The reason is that there’s a difference between a malfunction and an actual problem. An indicator light will come on when a malfunction occurs, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything wrong with your car.
For example, the TP sensor light came on in my car and I wasn’t able to figure out why. When I checked it with my code reader, it said that I had a faulty thermostat. When I checked that out, I found out that the thermostat wasn’t faulty at all- it was just stuck open. This means that there was a malfunction in the system but no problem for me to worry about. The same goes for speed sensors, which tend to go bad quite frequently. This is what you want to see on your code reader- no real problems that need fixing.
Aside from checking the various system malfunctions, you can also find out what exactly is wrong with your car by reading the OBD II codes for that specific problem. When your car has a problem, this will tell you exactly what part(s) and how badly they are malfunctioning (you might not always be able to fix it yourself). When an OBD II code reader detects a problem, it will display a number for the part involved and tell you if there is any “faultiness” in that part. This is known as a DTC (diagnostic trouble codes).
The problem with using this OBD II code reader is that it puts you in a position where you’re going to have to diagnose the issue yourself. Unless you’ve got reasonable mechanical knowledge, it is possible that you could end up wasting your money if the information displayed by the code reader is not correct.
An important thing to realize about code readers is that you need to be able to read the codes yourself. The reason for this is twofold- first, it’s usually not a good idea for the shop where you purchased your code reader to do any repairs on the car. Second, when you take your car in for a diagnostic check, they will run all kinds of checks- these include things like checking engine temperature and pressure, checking fuel levels, and so forth.
Conclusion
The next time there’s an issue with your car, you’re going to have to go out and check if it has any problems of its own. This will ensure that you’ll be able to go back to your shop and have them fix it properly. You can also use your code reader to check for problems if you see some lights come on irregularly- the codes will be able to tell you exactly what the problem is. In conclusion, OBD II code readers are a viable means of finding out what’s wrong with your car. Make sure to use an appropriate one, though- a cheap device could give you false results. Another important thing is that it just gives you information about problems; it doesn’t indicate whether or not they need fixing.