Your car is more than just a means of transport. It’s an advanced piece of machinery with a complex electrical subsystem that relays information to an engine control unit (ECU) via sensors. These sensors continually monitor performance and generate fault codes if something isn’t right. Your dashboard has lights that alert you to drops in performance or electrical subsystem issues.
To retrieve store fault codes from the ECU, auto electricians use specialist equipment, including Snap-On scanners. This is called vehicle diagnostics. Located in Lancing, this service is offered to motorists in nearby areas, including Goring, Hove, Shoreham, Worthing, Brighton, Portslade, and across Sussex. If you have broken down at the roadside and your car won’t restart, Steve’s Autos Lancing Ltd offers a breakdown recovery service.
You may have heard vehicle diagnostics referred to as engine management in the past. The engine management light appears 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 indicate a timing issue, an inaccurate air-fuel mixture, or even worn 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.
Common causes of an engine management light include:
The oxygen sensor can alert a driver to how much or how little fuel the engine burns. Lights triggered by a too-rich or too-lean fuel-to-air mixture indicate the sensor needs to be calibrated or, in some cases, replaced.
An engine management light can sometimes point towards a dirty diesel particulate filter or dirty diesel injectors. When vehicle diagnostics indicate a DPF issue, we use the latest HY-Carbon S-Series cleaner from FEED UK.
Data from the mass airflow sensor helps the ECU calculate how much fuel and air mixture the combustion chambers need. A clogged inlet filter can tell the ECU that the engine is running rich. This can trigger a warning light.
In a petrol car, the ignition system helps fuel burn with a spark from a spark plug, whereas a diesel engine 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 reads stored fault codes and retrieves them. This helps our technicians quickly identify a subsystem fault without having to troubleshoot for hours, usually at the expense of motorists in Lancing, Goring, Hove, Shoreham, Worthing, Brighton, Portslade, and West Sussex.
Engine management enables faster diagnosis and helps us recommend the most accurate type of repair.
