Your check engine light can come on for a variety of reasons. If you are a do it your smartphone, or someone with some experience in auto repair, you can find out whats wrong by checking the error codes. These error codes are generated by an engine tester or code reader.
If you feel like purchasing an engine code reader, you can do so at your local auto parts store or online retailer but these stores will often check your error codes for you free of charge. Some of these codes may be an easy fix, and some of them not so easy.
These codes are general error codes for vehicles built after 1996. Before 1996, each vehicle had its own set of diagnostic tools and codes. Unfortunately, these codes were a pain the butt to understand and costly to determine. Occasionally, the government made it mandatory to make each vehicle code the same. This cut down on cost and the amount of instruments you needed to determine these codes. The new regulation for codes is called ODB ll or ODB 2. Before that, there was ODB l.
These ODB scanners come in a variety of types. Most of these scanners are hand held and easy to use. You just connect the pin connector to the socket under the dash on the drivers side. These ports are often near the fuse box. Once you have plugged in, you just start up the car and the error will transfer over to the scanner. The scanner will then display the error code, and in some cases (the more expensive models), the scanner will display the code with a readout to tell you whats wrong. The newer, nicer models can even hook up to your windows PC for software and firmware updates.
