Deciphering The Dreaded Check Engine Sign

Unless you’re a brand new vehicle owner, then you’re probably familiar with the dashboard lights that show you what malfunctions your car is experiencing. The most notoriously dreaded of all dashboard light is the check engine symbol – because it could mean a wide variety of things. You could visit the mechanic and find that it is a minor repair, or something drastic that would be both costly and time consuming. Here’s everything you need to know about the check engine light.

It Signifies Many Malfunctions In Your Engine

The check engine light shows up on your dashboard whenever anything is wrong with your car. The vehicle produces a code that denotes the specific malfunction it is experiencing, and the dashboard shows this to the driver by lighting up the check engine sign. To get this code you need an obd2 code reader – a device that scans all the malfunctions of the vehicle and gives a report. The codes still need to be interpreted, but they are generally composed of five parts. The different parts of an OBD scan code show where the malfunction has occurred, and the type of malfunction. While it is not 100% specific, it can help save time because the mechanic or technician does not need to search through the entire engine to find what needs to be repaired. 

Can The Check Engine Light Be Turned Off?

When purchasing a used car, many people will look for the check engine sign. Thinking that if they cannot find it the engine must be running properly with no malfunctions. However, it is important to know that many high end OBD scanners allow people to turn off the check engine light without repairing the malfunction. This is why people who buy and sell a lot of used vehicles regularly tend to have their own scanner that allows them to check the malfunctions of a car before considering a purchase. Even if the seller does not turn off their check engine light, using a scanner can help the buyer determine the scope of how serious the needed repairs are – thus they can assess whether buying the vehicle is worth it or not.

Summary

Although the check engine sign is one of the most ambiguous dashboard lights that a vehicle owner can see, there is a way to pinpoint the exact malfunction that the engine is experiencing. Not all engine malfunctions are very serious and costly, but they will all likely cause the check engine indicated to light up. The same devices that are used for scanning the error codes can be used to turn off the light without the need of repairs. 

Decoding the check engine light is not as complex as it sounds. All it needs is a food OBD scanner, and someone to interpret the resulting code. You can pay a small fee online to interpret the error codes, and some high-end devices include the code interpretation. This means that instead of showing a string of digits and letters, the scanner produces a code with a description.