On our never-ending quest to improve this place by listening to feedback from the B&B, we are taking a new tack with these product posts, choosing instead to focus on items we have actually used or purchased with our own meagre income. After all, if we’re giving you the truth about cars, we ought to give you the truth about car accessories.
Nearly all TTAC readers and writers have wrenched on a vehicle equipped with the OBD-II diagnostic system. Having a handheld code reader in yer box of tools can help douse that infernal check engine light – or, as we’ve found in today’s revisitation of this topic, accurately diagnose which wheel speed sensor is wonky on a 12-year-old Lincoln.
As always, some definitions won’t go astray to start this post. The acronym OBD stands for On-Board Diagnostics and permits a person access to the state of the various vehicle sub-systems when they have the right computerized tool at hand. In 1996, with computers having become ubiquitous in most new cars, the OBD-II specification was made mandatory for all passenger cars and gasoline-powered light trucks with a weight rating less than 8,500 lb (except California where it was required on all gasoline-powered vehicles up to 14,000 pounds so long as they had California Emissions).
Rules have changed over the years, eliminating the weight restrictions and eventually becoming a fixture across just about everything on the road. Code readers which can communicate with the system are able to help diagnose triggers for certain warning lights, evaluate the health of an electrical system, and reset maintenance reminders (though the latter can often be done simply through a new car’s infotainment system these days).
For yer next pub trivia night, know that most error codes start with a P (for powertrain) though there are C (chassis) and B (body) codes as well. The second through fifth characters of a code are usually numbers and help determine what specific problem is being complained about by the car. Like VINs, the first two or three digits are universal for categories like fuel metering or vehicle speed control, for example.
Two code readers, both found on eBay and both from a brand called Innova, have found their way into my toolbox – likely through a moment’s inattention or forgetfulness. In any event, the smaller of these two readers, the Innova 3011, is a small unit about the size of a pack of smokes and only has two buttons plus a digital readout screen with decent resolution. Selling for about 40 bucks these days, this tool is handy but only for providing error codes and scanning for emissions related problems. Still, that’s no small potatoes since those two issues are common to many machines.
In fact, such information is probably enough for most DIYers to suss out what’s wrong with their car instead of blindly throwing parts at a problem. Even people who don’t have the bandwidth or aren’t interested in fixing their own car can benefit from a code reader since simply knowing the intelligent questions to ask prior to visiting a mechanic can save a lot of money in the long run. Sure, the tech can run their own diagnostics but showing up with codes in hand helps one be a much more informed customer.
The other code reader in my arsenal, the Innova 5310, is more than twice the size (and triple the price) as the small reader and has far more functions. For starters, it can read problems with an ABS system, which is great if all that’s wrong with the thing is a cheap wheel speed sensor. That was a suspected issue on the offending Lincoln mentioned earlier – presence of ABS and T/C warning lights started the clues – and the 5310 tool told me exactly which of the four sensors had given up the ghost. Sure beats the guessing game.
It can also perform tests on a car’s battery and alternator, reset maintenance alerts, and deal with SRS airbag codes. It’s a great piece of kit, one used more often than I’d like to admit. Most cars have the proprietary port into which these readers are plugged located somewhere under the dash near the driver’s knees. And it’s worth stating that clearing a code emphatically does not fix the underlying problem – the light is probably going to come back on eventually.
As planned, this series of posts will continue to focus on items we’ve actually used and bought with our own money. We hope you found this one helpful.
[Image: Author]
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