The purpose of a diagnostic test is to find out quickly what is wrong with your automobile. This test reduces the amount of diagnostic time it takes us to figure out the necessary vehicle repairs. One benefit of the diagnostic test is it reduces your auto repair bill. The test tells us exactly what is wrong quickly so we can repair it quickly and reduce your labor fees. Let’s talk more about vehicle diagnostics.
Diagnostic Basics
You probably already know that your automobile is a computer on wheels, but did you know that it has a main computer chip that communicates with sensors throughout the vehicle? The main computer chip is called the engine control module or the engine control unit. This chip not only communicates with the sensors but also handles some of your vehicle’s performance.
For example, the engine control module controls the timing of the spark plugs in the cylinders. This is just one thing that it does. It also balances the air and fuel in the combustion chamber for maximum performance and efficiency. It is quite useful to your car, truck, or utility vehicle. In fact, if the engine control module goes bad, the engine will not run.
As we mentioned above, the module talks with the system sensors in your automobile to make sure everything is okay. When you first fire up your vehicle, you may have noticed that all of the dashboard warning lights turn on and then turn off one by one. This is an indication that the module is communicating with the system sensors. Once it gets the all systems go from the sensor, it turns off the associated dashboard warning light.
If something is wrong with one of the systems, the engine control module will leave on that dashboard warning light. If something goes wrong while you are driving, the module will turn the light on. Some lights are specific to a system, i.e., the ABS light applies to the antilock brake system. The module will turn on the check engine light for problems that do not have lights of their own.
The Diagnostic Test
The reason why the module turns on a light is that it receives an error code from a system sensor that something is going wrong. You may not have any other warning other than the illuminated dashboard warning light. When we run the diagnostic test, we download that error code. The code points us directly to the problem so we can fix it right away.
There you have it. That is the purpose of a diagnostic test. Call us today to schedule an appointment for your automobile if you would like us to run a diagnostic test on it.
