How To Use Automotive Diagnostic Scanners

by Tracy Martin

Overview

From hand-held, dedicated units to software that turns PCs and Palm Pilots into powerful diagnostic scanners, auto enthusiasts today have a variety of methods available to make use of on-board diagnostic systems. And not only can they be used to diagnose operational faults, they can be used as low-budget data acquistion systems and dynamometers, so you can maximize your vehicle's performance.

Beginning with why scanners are needed to work effectively on modern cars, this book teaches you how to choose the right scanner for your application, how to use the tool, and what each code means. "How To Use Automotive Diagnostic Scanners" is illustrated with photos and diagrams to help you understand OBD-I and OBD-II systems (including CAN) and the scanners that read the information they record. Also included is a comprehensive list of codes and what they mean. From catalytic converters and O2 sensors to emissions and automotive detective work, this is the complete reference for keeping your vehicle EPA-compliant and on the road!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627886482
Publisher:	Motorbooks
Publication date:	08/01/2015
Series:	Motorbooks Workshop
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	200
File size:	53 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Tracy Martin (tracyamartin.com) is the author of five Motorbooks Workshop series books, including, How To Use Automotive Diagnostic Scanners, How To Diagnose and Repair Automotive Electrical Systems, Motorcycle Electrical Systems Troubleshooting and Repair, How to Tune and Modify Motorcycle Engine Management Systems, and How to Troubleshoot, Repair and Modify Motorcycle Electrical Systems. He also co-authored the Motorcycling Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence.

Tracy is a regular contributor to several national magazines, including, Motorcycle Consumer News, RoadBike, American Iron Dealer News, and others. Tracy's automotive carrier begin as a high-school auto shop teacher and he has been a consultant for Sun Electric, Nissan of North American, Snap-On Tools, and other automotive aftermarket companies. When he's not writing he teaches advanced motorcycle skills and plays the banjo.

Tracy Martin (tracyamartin.com) is the author of five Motorbooks Workshop series books, including, How To Use Automotive Diagnostic Scanners, How To Diagnose and Repair Automotive Electrical Systems, Motorcycle Electrical Systems Troubleshooting and Repair, How to Tune and Modify Motorcycle Engine Management Systems, and How to Troubleshoot, Repair and Modify Motorcycle Electrical Systems. He also co-authored the Motorcycling Safety Foundation's Guide to Motorcycling Excellence. Tracy is a regular contributor to several national magazines, including, Motorcycle Consumer News, RoadBike, American Iron Dealer News, and others. Tracy's automotive carrier begin as a high-school auto shop teacher and he has been a consultant for Sun Electric, Nissan of North American, Snap-On Tools, and other automotive aftermarket companies. When he's not writing he teaches advanced motorcycle skills and plays the banjo.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1-On Board Diagnostics, a Brief History
Chapter 2, OBD-II - the On-Board Emissions Monitor Transitions: From OBD-I to OBD-II
Chapter 3 - Catalytic Converters, Oxygen Sensors and Electronic Fuel Delivery
Chapter 4 - Professional Scanners & Code Readers
Chapter 5 Scan Tools
Chapter 6, Automotive Detective Work
Chapter 7 Scanner Operation
Appendix:
Domestic OBD-I and OBD-II Applications
OBD-I Codes
OEM Contact Info for OBD-II
OBD-II Automotive Terms
OBD-II Acronyms
DLC Non-standard Locations
Diagnostic Trouble Codes

Preface

Preface

When Motorbooks asked me to write this book I did not perceive an immediate need for what I thought would simply be another book on automotive scanners. After all, on-board diagnostics, second generation (OBD-II) has been around since 1996 on every car and light truck sold in the United States.

I did some investigation on what books were available on the subject by starting with several of my 22-year-old son's friends who work on their cars as a hobby. I asked them if I could take a look at the books I assumed they had acquired on scan tools and code readers. I received blank stares in response to the question, but one of them said he owned a code reader. He told me that they used the code reader mostly to turn off the check-engine light when they inadvertently caused it to come on by disconnecting an engine management computer sensor and forgetting to plug it back in when they next drove their cars. I told the group that even a code reader could do more than turn out the check-engine light, and asked them about OBD-II inspection and maintenance monitors and some other basic OBD-II related questions-again, blank stares. They told me that the code reader came with a 10-page manual, but they did not have any other information.

After a trip to the local book store I found nothing on scan tools, code readers, or OBD-II systems, so I tried the Internet-many would agree that if "It" is not on the Internet, "It" probably doesn't exist. Surfing around on my laptop, I did find several books on the subject of OBD-II, but almost all were written for professional technicians, and the few that were not only seemed to cover automotive diagnostics in general and hadnothing on scanners and code readers. However, I did find the reason that this book should be written-there are no books that cover the subject of scan tools and code readers for the do-it-yourself technician.

With the availability of code readers and scan tools targeted at the consumer market through retailers such as Sears, Wal-Mart, and auto parts stores, it's more than evident that the aftermarket automotive electronic equipment manufactures have realized a need for owners and enthusiasts to have access to what once was solely the domain of dealership and professional technicians-an automobile's on-board diagnostic system. What seemed to be missing was a source of information that tied everything together. I wrote this book about scan tools and code readers in the same easy-to-read style as my first two books on automotive and motorcycle electrical systems to fill this information gap.

In this book, the first generation of on-board diagnostics (OBD-I) will be discussed in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 will cover OBD-II, the diagnostic monitoring system in all vehicles sold in the United States since 1996, and the system that code readers and scan tools interface with. Also included is a brief history of automobile air pollution and how this problem has driven the automotive industry to produce these systems in the first place. Chapter 3 covers electronic fuel injection, oxygen sensors, and catalytic converter operation. Code readers are discussed in Chapter 4 with scan tools following in Chapter 5. How an engine works, and especially how to separate engine mechanical problems from OBD-II system diagnostics, is discussed in Chapter 6, and Chapter 7 provides some practical applications for using a scan tool to diagnose emission related problems.

This book will provide the reader with a sound understanding of how on-board diagnostics relate to engine performance and emission problems, however, because both OBD-I and OBD-II systems, on-board computers-and their numerous sensors and components-are electrical in nature, a basic understanding of automotive electricity will go a long way toward diagnosing and repairing problems with the vehicles that use these systems. My book How to Diagnose and Repair Automotive Electrical Systems, also published by Motorbooks, is the perfect companion book to this one. I've also written on the same subject for motorcycles, Motorcycle Electrical Systems Troubleshooting and Repair, also published by Motorbooks. You can find more information about these books and some background on myself on my website at: www.tracyAmartin.com. Send me an email me if you want to comment on any of the books I have written or just to say hello.

Editorial Reviews

"THE MOTORBOOKS WORKSHOP SERIES gives readers a wealth of knowledge on a variety of very specific subjects, and it's always on the shelf for reference in years to come." - Tom Vogele, Editor, Streetscene Magazine

From the Publisher