Sunday 11 March 2018

All About an Automotive Diagnostic Scanner

Cars and trucks are an integration of systems. Various systems together make the vehicle run. While the fuel injection system is responsible for injecting the fuel into the engine chamber, the combustion system or the engine burns the fuel inside it and the transmission system transmits the power so generated to all the four wheels. But these are the core systems at work. You have a plethora of systems in your car. There is suspension system, safety system, door and lighting system, battery management system et al. If you have an automotive diagnostic scanner, the status of every system is in your fingertips.

An Interface For All Systems
What is common to these systems is that all of them are connected to a common interface in your car, the OBD2 diagnostic interface. This is an interface for all the systems. You need to connect an automotive scan tool to the port in the OBD2 diagnostic interface to get the status of various systems. This makes an OBD2 diagnostic interface a very important tool for car owners. If you are concerned about abnormal sound, vibration or a malfunctioning safety system, you can simply connect a diagnostic scanner to the OBD2 diagnostic interface and read the code coming out of a particular system.

Automotive Diagnostic Scanner

A diagnostic scan tool is a great utility for car and trucks owners, since it can help detect problems in particular systems. The advanced scanners have another important usability – they can direct the owners in rectifying the abnormalities found through scanning. These devices have evolved from the basic code readers into versatile tools for car owners. It can help you to fix a system and restart a stalled vehicle stranded on the highway. It can be really helpful. However, to use this utility effectively, you need to have some DIY experience in car maintenance. 

Benefits of Using a Diagnostic Scanner

Your car is just refusing to change speeds or the engine is making abnormal sound! What would you have done in the olden days, when there was no scanner? You would have taken it to the nearest workshop or dealer of the particular brand of car and get the problem fixed. You could not even come to know what was the problem, unless you were an avid car geek. But, with the help of a diagnostic scan tool, information about all the systems of your car is on your fingertips. You just need to connect the scanner with the OBD-2 interface. You can get information about the malfunctioning systems and also directions on how to fix it. If a small tweak here and there does the job, you can rectify the problem yourself. This can be huge utility for people in a country like Australia where you need to traverse long distances to reach your destination. So it saves great amount of time, effort and money for the car owner.

How It Functions

It is a handheld device with a screen and a variety of cables for connection. The size of the screen varies from one brand/model to another, and so are the functions. However, basically their functions are same. Once you connect it to the OBD interface, it gets on with its job. It detects faults and shows the code in its screen in the form of codes. To interpret the codes you need to go through the manual that comes with the tool.

Selecting The Most Suitable Diagnostic Scan Tool

There are a number of brands which are manufacturing automotive diagnostic scanner. Some of these tools have very high degree of sophistication while some offer just basic functions like code reading. If you are a car geek you can go for the high performing ones, but for others these are not the most suitable ones. You may need something that can locate the problem precisely and can also indicate steps to resolve the issue. From basic to the most advanced ones, the price rises by quite a few notches and so does the cost of upgrading the software. There is a whole range of products in between the two extremes. Selecting the most suitable one depends on whether you are a geek, a novice or an occasional DIY guy.

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