Car diagnostics Sheffield

The majority of new cars rely on computers and at Auto Electrician Sheffield we can provide a complete engine diagnostic on your vehicle, to give you peace of mind, or identify any potential issues.

We can offer diagnostic services on nearly all types of car and will use our years of expertise to find the exact problem, as quickly as possible. There’s no need to waste time with unnecessary checks, to ensure you get the best value for money and a prompt service.

Given the importance of running your vehicle safely, if you are uncertain about any aspect of the diagnostic check, please do get in touch, so we can advise on the best next steps.

For those interested, here’s a little more information about diagnostics. Diagnostics relate to an automobiles reporting and self assessment function. This is often called on-board diagnostics or OBD for short. An OBD provides owners or auto electricians with access to a range of sub systems.

Vehicle diagnostics date all the way back to the 1960s. At the time, a few big companies did the work to create a common standard. It’s worth noting that before this, car businesses were using their own systems, but this was the point at which the first unified approach was taken. Volkswagen were the first company to introduce one of these commonly used systems, with the EU making its own regulations mandatory for all cars, from 2001.

While early iterations provided just a simple light to highlight a problem, OBDs in today’s cars provide tons of relevant real time info in addition to a a set of error codes, that allow us to quickly find problems and fix them.

Different tools plug into a car to enable diagnostic functions. Some are simple, generic tools, while some are very complex that should only be used by experienced professionals.

Hand held tools are often basic error code readers and reset tools. But, the more advanced versions possess increased functionality, such as access to further diagnostics, control of other functions like anti lock breaking systems and air bags, or even up to the minute monitoring of engine performance to help with tuning.

Software and apps are often used on a PC or Mac, and can help diagnose issues, read fault codes or use the real time stats to help measure performance, such as fuel consumption. To use this type of application, you typically need to have a specialised adapter plugged into the car, to connect up to a laptop.

These days, you can also get mobile or tablet apps to display diagnostic data, by using a USB lead or sometimes a Bluetooth adapter, which is fitted to the car itself. Some of the latest devices include a GPS and the option to send diagnostic and geographic location data over the mobile networks. This means that some modern diagnostic devices can be used to actually locate vehicles or even keep an eye on an owners driving style, along with the more traditional approach of reading error codes like we would at the garage. The most high tech options actually enable the users to reset error codes in cars. Of course that would not fix the issue at hand and could lead to problems in your vehicle in the long run. As always, despite some of these apps and programmes being available to the public, we’d always highly recommend letting our expert staff take a look, rather than sorting a problem yourself.

What data can be looked at when running car diagnostics in Sheffield?

Take a look at some data that can typically be retrieved when running a car diagnostic

• Engine and transmission data (Powertrain)
• Control systems for emissions
• Vehicle unique IDs
• Emission monitoring
• Ignition monitoring
• Calibration identifier

Whatever the problem, if you need car diagnostics in Sheffield, feel free to get in touch and we can help.