You Don't Need To Be A Mechanic To Outsmart Your Check Engine Light
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Let's replay a scenario that is likely rather well known among the automotive inclined. You are driving your 2005 Cadillac CTS coupe along the highway on a long road trip. The music is blasting, the sun is shining, and you are getting exactly 30 miles per gallon. All is right with the world.
It starts fairly innocuously — your fuel economy starts wavering a bit, but, the car still sounds and drives fine. Then, something dreadful happens that will send a chill down the spine of anyone but the sturdiest rat rod driver. The check engine light comes on and your beloved Cadillac starts sounding like a typewriter in the middle of sending an angry letter to the editor.
But, you are prepared (or at least you think you're prepared). You pullover into an autoparts store parking lot and go to the trunk and get the socket set out. You check the oil level. It's right where it's supposed to be. The spark plugs look good too. You check under the car to see if anything is hanging loose, and the undercarriage (apart from the numerous zipties) looks like it should. You're scratching your head, worried you might have to throw parts at the CTS to rectify the issue, hoping some educated guesswork will fix the issue. That will take a lot of time, and more importantly, money. You just want to get back on the road.
This doesn't have to be the case. There is another way to gain a professional edge and diagnose your vehicle with unparalleled precision. You could invest in an OBDII scanner. ODBII stands for "On-Board Diagnostic II" – the electronic diagnostic standard used by every car manufactured from 1996 onwards. No matter how basic your car may seem, as long as it was made after 1996, an OBD2 Scanner can speak your vehicle's language and offer you some priceless peace of mind.
A Good Scanner is an Important Tool In the Automotive Toolbox
An OBDII scanner allows you, the driveway mechanic, to scan your car's onboard computer system to get a better idea of what's going on. When that check engine light rears its ugly head, it can make the diagnostic process much less scary. If you're skilled enough with a set of tools, you can skip the mechanic shop and fix the problem yourself. If not, you can at least be more informed about what's going on with your car and you can give more information to the shop you trust with your vehicle. Regardless, more information is key and is never a bad thing to have access to. After all, not only is knowledge power, but it's your car, and you should know what's going on under the sheet metal.
Fortunately, over the years, ODBII reading technology has been democratized and mass produced enough that the power can be wielded by anyone willing to get their hands dirty, not just big dealership service departments. There are dozens of brands out there that make ODBII scanners and a lot of them are great. We like Innova – one of the pioneers in bringing automotive code readers to the wrenching masses. Specifically, the company has been working with automotive diagnostic technology for over 30 years, longer than the OBDII standard has even been around, so it knows what it's talking about.
Innova's 5610 Scanner Has All the Features You Want
One of Innova's most full-featured scanners is the Innova 5610. Like every other ODBII scanner, it plugs right into the port under the dash and can give you a detailed readout on trouble codes to demystify what that check engine light (or really any other warning light) means. The Innova 5610 also includes a number of advantages over a lot of other scanners on the market.
For one, it has bidirectional capability. That means it can not only read what information the car is sending out, but it can also send commands back to the car's various electronically controlled systems. That, according to Innova, allows you to better pinpoint what your car needs. That can allow you to reset, for instance, the anti-lock brakes pump to ensure it's working (or not working). Bidirectional functionality is helpful as it allows you to not only diagnose the problem, but take an active part in fixing the issue as well. It's quite handy if you need something more in-depth.
Even a high-end ODBII scanner like the Innova 5610 requires some detective work to figure out exactly what's wrong with your car. It isn't magic and fixes like changing brake pads or most fixes involving the suspension still require some automotive knowhow as components like shocks and tie rods are not connected to the vehicle's onboard diagnostic system. However, for fixes like replacing your o2 sensor, changing the spark plugs, mass airflow (MAF), manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor, and anything involving electronics and ignition, a good OBDII scanner will be able to guide you in the right direction towards a fix.
Innova's 5610 isn't only helpful when your car is having issues. The scanner is also capable of showing live data from your car like fuel and air flow, what your brakes are doing at any given moment, or even a more accurate reading of how many RPMs your engine is running at. That information is worth its weight in gold when your car needs a tune up or you're working on souping up your ride a bit. It's not only a tool for emergencies when your engine has decided to give up the ghost. It's handy all the time.
The tool also has the infrastructure of Innova behind it, meaning Stateside customer support whenever you need it. Plus, it works with free access to Innova's own RepairSolutions2 App that provides more specified car repairs by offering parts recommendations and actual repair instructions. The scanner also gets free updates for the life of the tool and it isn't beholden to a subscription model like a lot of other companies use. You buy it, and it's yours. It's like having a tiny mechanic on hand, only it's made of plastic and it can fit in a glovebox.
A Scanner For Every Automotive Occasion
Adding an OBDII scanner to your toolset is a must for anyone who spends time working on their own car and staying as far away from the dealership mechanic as possible. OBDII scanners can help you remain empowered over the care of your vehicle and help be informed over all of the complex inner workings of your vehicle of choice. You drive your car everyday, if you're reading this, you probably have a great deal of affection for your ride, so it only makes sense that you are able to accurately diagnose what's gone wrong when the dashboard lights start doing an impression of a Christmas tree.
Innova's 5610 scanner is one of the better tools available that allow you to interpret what's going on with your car. The bidirectionality gives you an extra edge over other scanners on the scene, and Innova's own backbone through a few decades of experience and customer support gives you a fair amount of confidence that it will be a good product for what you need it to do. Free updates and the RepairSolutions2 app are just icing on the cake.
After you've added an OBDII scanner to your tool list, you can then take your precious Caddy on all the road trips its engine can handle. Getting stuck on the side of the road without a clue of what's happening mechanically can be a thing of the past and you can return to wrenching in your driveway under your own terms and not just when the car's mechanical systems throw a fit. A good scanner on hand is knowledge and a little bit of peace of mind, and that tool is as good as any socket set.
Read more on why every enthusiast should keep a scanner in their glovebox.
