Check Engine Light
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Check Engine Light On? Northway Ford Brantford Can Help!
The check engine light actually refers to the engines emissions being out of spec. The idea behind this is simple. If the engine is not running properly the emissions and hence fuel economy go south.
There are 3 types of codes History, Pending or Current. History is a code that happened present or not it remains in memory until a certain amount of ignition cycles have passed without the code returning. When it is Pending it means it happened once and has not been verified on the current ignition cycle. When the code is current it means it happened on the current ignition cycle.
In the industry we refer to "Check engine lights" at DTC's. Diagnostic Trouble Codes. Diagnosing a code always starts the same way. Find the code, clear the code, retest the vehicle for the code to make sure it wasn't a once in a life time hiccup. One failure can cause multiple codes to appear. Such as a bad ignition coil will cause a code for the coil and then random multiple miss fires on each cylinder and a limp mode code.
In all cases if the check engine light is on you may run the risk of causing further damage. Some errors could cause the air / fuel mixture to be incorrect which could have serious repercussions. Other codes may be as simple as a gas cap being left untightened. Come find out at Northway Ford Lincoln in Brantford, just west of Hamilton and south of Cambridge.