You may have heard the term OBD testing or OBD reset and wondered – what does OBD stand for and what does it mean? OBD is actually short for on-board diagnostics, which is the standardized computer system that all modern vehicles have equipped (models in year 1996 and newer). The on-board computer system has the important job of monitoring different electrical sensors throughout your vehicle. This computer monitors the performance of these systems and can detect when a problem arises.
The OBD also closely monitors your vehicle’s emission system, ensuring that your vehicle is regulated in terms of emissions and fuel economy. If the computer system does detect an issue, it will illuminate your vehicle’s check engine light, which will appear on your dashboard. This lets you know that something is wrong, and on-board diagnostics will be needed.
In order to understand what causes your vehicle’s check engine light to illuminate, our experts will conduct on-board computer diagnostics using a scan tool. This scan tool will pull the error code from the system, which will point our experts in the direction of the issue. More than likely, further evaluation and inspection will be needed to pinpoint the exact problem, since the error code typically doesn’t tell us the broken part, just the system.
We do recommend that you have your vehicle evaluated as soon as the check engine light turns on because the issue could progress and get worse over time if ignored. Plus, you won’t be able to pass emissions testing with a check engine light on. Sometimes the problem can be minor, and in this instance, we can fix the issue and reset your OBD.
If you need check engine light diagnostics, we invite you into the experts here at Revolution Motor Works today!
