Diagnosis of the car with their own hands - how to do?

If your car suddenly began to behave unpredictably, "eat" more oil or gasoline, the best way out of this situation will be timely, full-fledged diagnostics. It is also used to test devices and aggregates before a long trip. However, every year, manufacturers are releasing more sophisticated cars, manning them with a mass of sometimes unnecessary electronics.

A quick diagnosis of the failure of such vehicles will allow only the diagnosis of the car. It's realistic to do it with your own hands. As - look further in our article.

Scanners for car diagnostics and their characteristics

At the moment, almost all modern auto repair shops and service stations have in their arsenal of tools special devices for machines - scanners and testers. Currently, Russia uses the following equipment for car diagnostics:

• Code scanners;
• Motor-testers.

To understand the features of each of them, we will analyze these devices separately.

Diagnostic Troubleshooting Scanners

So, what is the diagnostic code scanner? This unit resembles an electronic device based on a microprocessor, which allows you to read the information codes from the memory of the electronic control unit (ECU) in digital form. Connect the scanner directly to the diagnostic socket. Depending on the configuration, this machine allows:

• Decode the code in text form;
• Read error codes from memory, and classify them into established and current ones;
• Display the interpretation of the electronic block of current values of signals from all sensors;
• To activate certain elements of the car system (РХХ, injectors and so on);
• Overwrite the value of the coefficients in the block memory.

Motor Tester

Now let's move on to the motor testers. These devices are universal electronic diagnostic scanners, which are used to measure the performance of ICE. The information of interest is measured using special probes and sensors, which are often included in the kit. Due to the motor-tester, you can measure the following characteristics:

1. Oil temperature.
2. The current voltage of the battery.
3. Crankshaft speed.
4. Current of starter and generator.
5. Voltages in the ignition system circuit.
6. The magnitude of pressure or vacuum in the intake manifold , etc.

Modern motor-testers have in their design digital oscilloscopes, thanks to which with a high degree of accuracy many of the above data are determined. This information can also be displayed graphically. But how to detect an error / breakdown in the system without using these scanners to diagnose cars? The way out of this situation is - it is called the Bluetooth diagnosis of the vehicle. What is the essence of the process, we consider below.

Free car diagnostics using a regular smartphone - a reality or a myth?

Recently, a great popularity among motorists is used to check the technical condition of the machine through a tablet or phone, which is loaded with a special program.

Surely on the Internet you met a photo or video, where the PDA or tablet was used as an on-board computer - showed the exact engine speed, fuel consumption, temperature of the antifreeze and much more. So, these devices can serve not only sensors, but also scanners, that is, diagnose the vehicle through a special wireless device (adapters for car diagnostics are presented in the photo below).

This device is connected to the standard diagnostic connector of the car (most often it is to the left of the steering column), and then through Bluetooth transmits information and error codes to the engine ECU and other systems.

Moreover, by scanning your vehicle, the smartphone will not only accurately determine the error code, but also give a full description to it and decryption. Also, this method can be used on the go - when the vehicle is moving, the device will read the information from the control unit without any trouble.

How to use this tool?

How is the car diagnosed with the help of the above described method? Use your mobile phone or tablet as a diagnostic equipment is not only convenient, but also very simple. To do this, you need to connect an adapter to the car's connector, then connect the latter via Bluetooth with your tablet or PDA and activate the desired program.

Almost all owners of cars manufactured since 1996 can use this method. As for the stamps, the diagnosis of the car with your own hands can be made for absolutely any vehicle. These are Toyota, Kia, Peugeot, Hyundai, General Motors and many others.

If your car is not equipped with a special port (for example, if it is a diagnosis of the VAZ 2109 car), then as an alternative to the adapter you can use a DATA cable. In addition, today's range allows you to choose any product, starting with cheap Chinese, ending with reliable and tested models. The cable is selected separately for a particular vehicle brand. Still in many respects the diagnosis depends on the program itself, downloaded to the smartphone.

Advice from seasoned motorists

Many motorists advise using the Torque Pro software. With this utility you have the ability to view all the parameters of the car in real time, including full diagnostics using a GPS tracker or without it. The interface allows you to take the indicators from the various sensors on the screen of the display.

It operates similar software on phones on the Android platform. On another operating system, diagnostic programs can also work, but we will talk about them a little later.

What opportunities open before the motorist using this diagnostic equipment (phone + software + adapter)?

Here it is necessary to note the high functionality of the software, since with it your smartphone can:

1. Output all the main characteristics and parameters of the ICE.
2. Read the codes from the memory of the electronic control unit.
3. Decrypt errors, and delete them from the block memory.
4. Save the diagnostic report and display the status of the code.

Some programs also have the function of automatically creating an SMS message with a fault code, which can be sent to the master at the workshop.

How to diagnose via Java or Windows Mobile?

On phones with such an operating system, the utility Check-Engine is most often used. By its functionality this program is capable of the following:

1. Display the parameters of the ICE in real time.
2. Decrypt and remove errors from the block memory.
3. Send SMS messages with the code of detected malfunctions.

As you can see, the set of functions between the two programs is very similar, and therefore there will not be any difficulties in moving from one software (or phone) to another - the algorithm of their work is practically the same.

Diagnosis of the car with their own hands is not only easy, but even fascinating. It is very useful to have in your pocket such a mobile scanner, because you can use it almost every day. Especially it is worth doing in the event that the car is diagnosed before purchase - here you can independently identify hidden faults and ask for a discount from the seller (if it is buying / selling cars in the secondary market).

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to note that due to the availability of the necessary program, smartphone and special adapter, the need for professional diagnostics of the car in the service station will simply disappear, and, accordingly, you will not constantly spend money for such services. The initial cost of computer diagnostics of the car starts from the mark of five hundred rubles.

Every time using a smartphone and adapter, you save this amount, at the same time gaining experience with computer equipment. Agree, it is better for this money to buy a couple of new candles or windshield wipers on the windshield than pay for the same services to another person.

So, we found out how the car is diagnosed with our own hands.