Diagnostics as an element of maintenance involves determining the technical condition of the machine without disassembling its units and assemblies. Usually it is carried out in order to determine if there is a need for repairs or some other measures for the maintenance of the car. But there may also be special diagnostics when detecting any problem in the operation of the car.
Instructions
Step 1
Typically, diagnostics are carried out at service stations, but modern cars also have self-diagnosis systems that help the car owner determine which vehicle unit has a problem, as well as save data for subsequent diagnostics using professional diagnostic equipment.
Step 2
The self-diagnosis system will turn on automatically if one of the vehicle's sensors starts to give deviations in the readings. In this case, the system turns off the sensor itself and turns on the bypass program, and a corresponding signal appears on the panel (check or a blinking engine icon, if the fault is in the engine, or something similar). If the readings return to normal, then the sensor starts working again in normal mode, but a record of the abnormal situation remains in the computer.
Step 3
The information of the self-diagnosis system can be read and decoded using special codes. This procedure may be different for different manufacturers and different car models, but the principle is usually the same. For example, Toyota cars have a special connector under the hood in the form of a plastic box on the left in the direction of the car with the DIAGNOSTIC designation. On Nissan vehicles, the diagnostic unit is located under the passenger seat or in the front left pillar.
Step 4
The procedure for reading readings in the memory of the self-diagnosis system of different cars may require closing the connectors (using any piece of wire) or using a screwdriver. There are also special devices - scanners that allow you to take readings from the system.
Step 5
In Japanese cars, the car fault code system is usually based on the ratio of short and long flashes of the corresponding light bulbs (LEDs), either on the dashboard or on the computer itself. Deciphering the ratio of short and long flashes gives digital codes, each of which corresponds to one or another type of error. To determine the types of error, there are special code tables that can be found in the documentation for the car or on specialized sites.
