Today’s European cars are more and more complicated. But auto technology has kept up with those complications. Computer diagnostics can save you and your auto technician tons of time searching for the true cause of a problem. Star Motors European wants you to know more about computer diagnostics and how they can help you to find and even to prevent problems with your European car.
What Does Diagnostic Testing Do?
Diagnostic testing might sound like something that’s done on the Starship Enterprise, but it’s a pretty everyday tool that auto technicians rely on to assess issues with vehicles. The testing starts by connecting a reading device to the car, or more accurately to the car’s ECM, or engine control module. The ECM transmits various codes to the device that the technician is able to investigate and clear.
Diagnostic Testing Offers Information to Solve Problems
The big thing to remember is that diagnostic testing isn’t the car telling the technician, “This is where it hurts.” Sometimes the information that the technician gets is a little more general and vague, which means that more trial and error are involved. An experienced auto technician can put the information from the diagnostic testing together with other symptoms that you’re seeing in your car’s performance and narrow down what’s happening.
Testing Can Also Rule out Issues with the ECM
Keep in mind also that your car’s ECM is the brain of the car, but it isn’t infallible itself. If there’s something wrong with the car’s onboard computer, that can give you information on your dashboard that is incorrect. You might not be able to spot these issues yourself, but diagnostic testing and an experienced auto technician can.
Diagnostic Testing Frequency
That’s why it’s a good idea to have diagnostic testing done every year or so, just to make sure everything is working properly and that you don’t have any surprises lurking anywhere. This can be a routine service that you ask for every few oil changes or that you tag onto another yearly service. The timing can be flexible, as long as you’re not experiencing big issues with your vehicle and its performance.
Does diagnostic testing and tracking down difficult car issues sound like something that you’d love to learn how to do? Star Motors European in San Juan Capistrano, CA has a way to help you do that. We partner with APAC ATI to help veterans, people in recovery, and ex-offenders learn what it takes to be top-of-the-line auto technicians.
