Translate That Screaming Check Engine Light
By Calvin Lewis
If you love your car like a baby, hearing it cry when you don’t know what’s wrong just hurts. Thats why the dreaded “check engine” light is so frustrating: it doesn’t tell you what to check. To translate the gobbledygook from the plug under your dash into the reason the CEL came on – in English — you need a tool like the CarMD.
Designed for OBD2-certified vehicles newer than 1996, the CarMD’s cable connects to a 16-bit slot usually found underneath the dash on the driver’s side of your car. (If you can’t find yours, swing by the CarMD site for assistance.) After connecting the CarMD, simply turn the key on (just enough to turn on the electrics) for 10 seconds. You’ll hear six beeps: the first two confirm a solid power connection and the next four confirm a successful diagnostic check.
The CarMD seems easy to use, too: a green light means all is well, a yellow light indicates your car could use some TLC, and the red light says “Oh, hell! Take me to the shop as soon as possible!”
If the CarMD indicates a problem, you can take it inside and hook it up to the computer (via a USB cable) and you’ll have access to the cause, solution — and even an estimated price — free via CarMD’s website and software. (You get free software updates as well.).After you register it, the software can track up to three separate vehicles . Additionally, the CarMD can perform emissions tests.
But what I like most is the CarMD’s ability to help keep mechanics honest and to check to see if that used car is a lemon. Forget the ties, sweaters and other useless junk, the CarMD is only $90 and would make a great holiday (or any day) gift for your favorite car junkie.
The CarMD [Corporate Site]
December 6th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I realize this is more consumer-pointed, but for the cash, I’d rather spend another $70 and have the more-usefull ScanguageII (http://www.scangauge.com/) or the OBDII Diagnostics program/dongle (http://www.obddiagnostics.com/order.html) that hooks directly to your laptop. I’ve got the latter, and it’s great, but definitely more info than a soccer-mom needs.