Engine diagnostics are an amazing automotive service tool. With one test, we can determine what is wrong with your vehicle precisely. The test can also reveal other problems that are invisible to the naked eye. Your vehicle is a computer on wheels. Let’s talk more about this below.
Engine Control Module
The heart of the computer system in your automobile is the engine control module or ECM. The ECM is the main computer chip and it does two specific things. First, it controls vehicle systems, such as the ignition system. It fires the spark plugs in the correct order and makes certain you have plenty of air and fuel in the combustion chamber. It also controls the dashboard warning lights.
The engine control module speaks with the computerized sensors located throughout your automobile from the minute you turn on your engine to the minute you shut it off. This constant communication ensures that every system in your vehicle is running safely and efficiently. In fact, if you want to watch this communication, take a look at your dashboard warning lights when you turn the ignition key.
At first, they will turn on right away. This means that the computerized sensors are testing their systems. Once the test comes back that everything is okay, the sensor will report this to the engine control module. The ECM will then turn off the dashboard light. You will see each light turn off one by one rather quickly as these tests are being conducted.
Computerized Sensors
The sensors continue to communicate with the ECM while your vehicle is running. This is to make sure that you don’t end up in a pickle because something goes wrong. For example, the sensors in the anti-lock brake system will monitor the ABS to make sure it doesn’t fail. If something does go wrong with the ABS, the ABS sensor will report it to the engine control module.
The sensor reports a specific code that tells the ECM exactly what is wrong. This code also tells us exactly what is wrong when we run a diagnostic test on your automobile. If the ECM cannot fix the problem on its own, it will turn on the ABS light on the dashboard. This is the beauty of engine diagnostics. You are immediately alerted of a problem.
Once you bring your vehicle to our shop, we will run a diagnostic test to retrieve the error code that was sent by the ABS sensor. This tells us the exact thing we need to do to repair your automobile.
