Ingleside Road, Lancing, BN15 8EL
Your car is more than just a means of transport. It is an advanced piece of machinery with a complex electrical subsystem, and it relays information to an engine control unit (ECU) using sensors. These sensors continually read and measure performance, generating fault codes if something isn’t quite right. Your dashboard has lights which alert you to drops in performance levels or to electrical subsystem issues.
To retrieve store fault codes from the ECU, auto electricians use specialist equipment including scanners from Snap-On. We call this process vehicle diagnostics. Located in Lancing, this is a service we offer to motorists in the nearby Goring, Hove, Shoreham, Worthing and West Sussex areas.
You may have heard vehicle diagnostics referred to as engine management in the past. It is the engine management light that shows on your dashboard’s instrument cluster.
This light connects directly to the ECU, which we should think of as the brain of the engine management system. It is often the first thing that tells us something is wrong, although an experienced driver may also notice noises, unusual smells and small changes in normal driving characteristics. The warning light could point towards a timing issue, to an inaccurate air and fuel mixture, or even to a worn set of brake pads.
Book in for vehicle diagnostics at our workshop on Ingleside Road at the first sign of a problem. Our auto electricians use the same engine management technology as main dealerships.
If you have broken down at the roadside and your car won’t restart, Steve’s Autos Lancing Ltd has a breakdown recovery service available. We can collect from anywhere in Goring, Hove, Shoreham, Worthing or West Sussex.
Common causes of an engine management light include:
Emissions System – The oxygen sensor can alert a driver to how much or how little fuel the engine burns. Lights triggered by too rich or too lean a fuel/oxygen mix point to the sensor needing calibrating or, in some cases, replacing completely.
Blocked DPF – An engine management light can sometimes point towards a dirty diesel particulate filter, or to dirty diesel injectors. When vehicle diagnostics point to a DPF issue, we use the latest HY-Carbon S-Series cleaner made by FEED UK.
Mass Airflow Sensor – Data from the mass airflow sensor helps the ECU to calculate how much of a fuel and air mix the combustion chambers need. A clogged inlet filter can tell the ECU that the engine is running rich. This can trigger a warning light.
Ignition System – In a petrol car, the ignition system helps fuel to burn using a spark from a plug, whereas a diesel model ignites through compression. A faulty ignition system could point to a damaged coil (petrol) or worn glow plugs (diesel).
With vehicle diagnostics, auto electricians plug scanners directly into the ECU. This scanner read stored fault codes and retrieves them. This helps our technicians to quickly identify a subsystem fault without having to troubleshoot for hours at a time, usually at the expense of Lancing, Goring, Hove, Shoreham, Worthing and West Sussex motorists.
Engine management leads to a faster diagnosis and helps us to recommend the most accurate type of repair work.
