Automotive Diagnostic Scanners Are Useful; Only If You Are Comfortable Under The Hood

Diagnostic scanners are not for every car owner. These devices are only for those owners who are comfortable under the hood and have a DIY tendency. Given your love for fixing car problems, you do need a automotive diagnostic scanner. Indeed, it can be a piece of utility for you. This piece of utility can decipher the fault codes displayed by your car computer (OBD II) and bring out the exact location of the fault. Modern scanners are two steps ahead of this. They can even suggest remedies for the problem and also guide you to fix the problem in a step by step manner. So how is this possible? This is made possible by the OBDII and the sensors and actuators present in different parts of the car for controlling them.

On Board Diagnostics

OBD I was the precursor of OBD II. In the previous avatar it was a kind of dumb machine that just illuminated the check engine light whenever there is a problem with the car. It could not signify the system or subsystem of the car that is causing the problem. Cars and trucks too were not so comprehensively integrated with electronic communication systems. Now a days, manufacturers use embedded electronics in every system and system of cars and trucks. All these systems are connected to the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) for control, diagnosis, testing and repair. PCM is the mother of all control systems in your automobile. It encompasses the Engine Control Unit (ECU) and the Transmission Control Unit (TCU). All the sensors and actuators in the subsystems related to engine, fuel supply to engine, emission etc are connected to the ECU. On the other hand, the subsystems related to transmission, braking etc are connected to the TCU through actuators and sensors. While the sensors are necessary for getting the working data from various subsystems of your car, the actuators are necessary to control the function of various parts. So if you are a car enthusiast and love DIY car repair, you may not need to take the car to workshop at all. However, to do this you need to have a modern automotive diagnostic scanner. Such a scanner can bring out the hidden meaning of the error codes sent by the OBD II.

Check Engine Light

The OBD II displays the check engine light if there is a problem with the cars’ engine, fuel supply, power transmission system, emission system or other systems. A check engine light may indicate a number of problems. This is why the diagnostic system also sends an error code. You need to have detailed information about individual error codes in order to sort out the matter. However, OBD II is dumb in this respect. You need to connect the automotive diagnostic scanner to the OBD computer to decipher the trouble codes. Manufacturers have a dictionary of error codes. These veritable tomes contain thousands of error codes, their meanings, implications and ways to resolve them. Modern scan tools contain this veritable dictionary in its memory. It helps to decipher specific trouble codes along with their implications and ways to resolve them. 

Error codes

There are generic error codes for some troubles, but there are a number of manufacturer specific error codes too. It may not be possible to decipher an error code if your automotive diagnostic scanner is not compatible with the make and model of your car. The aspect of compatibility spawns over the areas of communication protocols, manufacturer specific error codes, modes of connection of the tool with the dashboard, powering the tool etc. So while buying an automotive scan tool you need to see that it is compatible with your car.

Functions Of Scan Tools
Though reading the error codes is the basic task of any automotive diagnostic scanner, there are a number of other functions too. The tool must be able to read and analyze the trouble codes in order to guide the driver. The tool must also be enabled for code erasing. This is a very important since if you have old codes in the memory, the tool may indicate problems when there are none. The ability to show data serially is another very important feature of any standard automotive diagnostic scanner. Stuff like sensor calibration, manual parameter grouping, system identification, activation function, service resetting, key programming etc too are very useful functionalities of a scan tool.

A Diagnostic Scan Tool Can Be An Excellent Aid, If You Are At Ease With Working Of Various Car Subsystems

If you are a DIY car enthusiast, you may like a diagnostic scan tool. Such a tool can be a real friend for you. It can save your costs and your car too. It can show error codes thrown up by the OBDII for various systems and subsystems of your car. It not only indicates the location and type of fault, but also guides you to resolve the problem. You can really get some much needed help from this tool. It acts much like the neighborhood friendly workshop mechanic. Since, it can throw up errors through trouble codes, you can get a glimpse into the working of the subsystems of your car. Even if it does not throw up an error code, you can spot anomalies in Serial Data View mode. There are some anomalies that don’t show up through codes. However, there may well be some anomaly in the working condition of various parts. For example the fuel leakage error code may not show if the leakage is miniscule, yet the reading of various data regarding fuel use, fuel combustion, thrust etc may expose the anomaly. This can be done if you view the corresponding data in Serial View. This option is there in an advanced diagnostic scan tool. However, to interpret such data you need to be comfortable with operating conditions and parameters of various systems and subsystems of an automobile. 

 

Functionalities of A Diagnostic Scan Tool

The basic function of a diagnostic scan tool is to read the error codes shown by the On Board Diagnostic computer. But today’s scan tools are more about interactivity and intelligence than just showing error codes. These are not like the dumb devices of yesteryears.  These tools can not only read trouble codes, but also analyze them and suggest ways to resolve the problem. They can also guide you to solve the problem. This is the biggest help that you can get from the device. But in order to serve this purpose and also for other purposes, a modern diagnostic scan tool is capable of many other functions. It is able to erase data, show current operating data in parameter as well as graphic mode etc. You can also group the parameters manually. The device can identify a system with the System identification app. In can also calibrate the sensors, Since the sensors are the ones that send the data to the OBD II, they need to throw up proper working data. With sensor calibration you can ensure that the sensors are working perfectly. The ability to program is a great utility of such tools. You can program the fuel injector so that it injects fuel in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. You can also program the keys and the remote if need be. However, for all these and especially for sensor calibration and programming of various components, you need to be quite adept at everything related to automobiles. A diagnostic scan tool does help the owner a lot, but only if the owner is very much conversant and comfortable with various systems and their working parameters. A service reset is a very useful function for any scan tool since without it you are stuck with a Service Now message for various services even if you have serviced them many times over. You may have changed engine oils, yet the OBD II is showing Change Engine Oils soon. This happens since the sensor can detect the changed oil or other services only after few drive cycles. In such a condition a service reset option is very handy. You can use the Service Reset option in every item. 

 

How Does It Look Like

The automotive scan tool comes with a tablet PC running either on Windows or iOS. It is much like a tablet or a smartphone. The user interface is littered with options or apps. You just need to choose your option. It comes with a Data Link Connector popularly known as DLC, a power cable and some other components. The software for carrying out the job is installed in the tablet. You need to update this software on a regular basis. The frequency of updates depends on the type of tool, the company etc. In some companies the updates cost nothing, in others you may need to pay for updating. Without updates, the tool is not likely to perform satisfactorily.