Drive straight to our shop if your check engine light is on. We will run a diagnostic test to find out why the check engine light turned on. This test is a quick and easy way to diagnose the problem and save you money on your auto repair bill. Let’s talk more below about automobile diagnostics and the check engine light. We will also refer to the check engine light as the CEL.
Automobile Diagnostics
Modern automobiles are computers on wheels. There is a main computer chip called the engine control module or unit and sensors in every system. The sensors talk to the computer chip to keep it abreast of how everything is doing while the engine is running. If something goes wrong, the engine control module will attempt to fix the problem itself. If it cannot fix the problem, it will turn on a dashboard warning light. The check engine light serves as a catch-all for numerous problems.
To explain this further, all of your dashboard warning lights turn on when you first start your automobile. If you keep an eye on them, you will see that each light turns off one by one. This is because the sensor in that system reported all systems go to the engine control module. If there was a problem, the light would stay on. In addition, if a problem occurs while you are driving, the module will turn a light on. If the problem does not have its own warning light, the CEL will turn on.
CEL Warning Reasons
There are many reasons why you may end up with the check engine warning on the dashboard. One of these reasons is a problem with the transmission. Another reason is an engine vacuum leak. In addition to these problems, the engine control module will also turn on the CEL if
- Your car fails an emissions test
- Your check engine light is on
- You notice a decrease in fuel efficiency
- Your car’s engine makes more noise than usual
As we mentioned above, the CEL covers many different problems. This can make it difficult to diagnose what is wrong with your automobile if you have received a check engine warning. Enter the diagnostic test.
Any time something goes wrong in a system, the sensor reports an error code to the engine control module this code is specific to the problem, and it is downloaded when we run a diagnostic test. We can use this code to determine exactly what is wrong with your automobile, so bring your vehicle to our shop today if you have any illuminated dashboard warning lights.
