Engine Management Light – are you ignoring yours?

Engine Management Lights appear on your dashboard to alert you to a potential problem or fault with your vehicle.  I’m sure we have all been guilty of ignoring them and hoping they will go away.  Unfortunatley by ignoring them it could actually cost you more in the long run,as you may continue driving the vehicle with a faulty part or problem which gives potential to actually cause more costly damage leading to a bigger repair bill.

Its always best to find out why you have a light on before deciding how much of a priority it is for you to fix.

As we have gone into the colder darker winter days making sure your vehicle is reliable is even more important. Breaking down on the side of the road on a cold windy or wet winters day is much worse than a warm sunny day. Both are inconvenient but standing on the hard shoulder waiting for a recovery truck is much worse in the winter.

Now many people are under the impression that by reading the engine management light themselves will tell them whats wrong with the car, this isnt really true. Yes it will give you an indication of what area there is a problem but it wont tell you what part you need to fix it.

All to frequently I speak to customers who say ” my friend plugged it in for me and we replaced this but i still have a problem”.  This is why you need a professional to test and not guess the cause of the fault light.  I frequently have to explain to customers that diagnostics isnt simply a case of plugging a computer in and extracting an error code, the computer doesnt tell you how to fix it. Years of training and knowledge are used to then test the vehicle and determine why the code is present meaning that you dont throw random parts on the car that it doesnt need.

For example a fault code for an airbag fault can mean so many different things. Airbags are connected to lots of different components, it has fuses, wires, modules and sensors, these then connect to other parts which could be connected to the issue. To get the most cost effective fix its best to contact someone who knows what they are doing and has access to diagrams that are specific for your vehicle.  All to frequently we see customers who have already spent hundreds on parts before calling us because they thought they could fix it, sometimes its best to put your pride to one side and reach out for help.

Remember engine management lights are not there to annoy you, they are there to help you and alert you to a problem that needs addressing. Most importantly just because the car is driving ok and your not aware of anything obvious doesnt mean there isnt a problem!

This is what we do all day long, we pay to have access to many main dealer systems so we can trace faults, so if you have an engine management light on your vehicle and need to get to the bottom of the problem please give us a call today on 07587 988174 or contact us by clicking here