Do you possibly have a warning light on your vehicle that stays illuminated while driving? Are you worried about how this is going to affect the performance of your car? Then it is a good time to get the issue at hand checked out and get the vehicle diagnosed.
Due to vehicles being run by many different electrical systems nowadays, it is not uncommon to have a warning light pop up while driving. Ideally, this should be checked out as soon as possible by a car diagnostics test to reduce the risk of the problem becoming worse.
What are the most common warning lights to occur on vehicles that require diagnostics?
1. Battery light
The battery warning light typically indicates that there is an issue that requires diagnostics within your charging system. This could be caused by many things such as a bad battery, faulty alternator, or various other electrical problems. This could cause problems with starting the car or running the vehicle as there may be no charging.
2. Tyre pressure light
The tyre pressure warning light typically indicates that one or more of your tyre pressures have dropped below what the pressure should be. It could also indicate an electrical issue within the tyre pressure monitoring system. In most cases, this light will come on due to a Puncture and may need to be repaired.
3. Airbag light
This warning light indicates that there is an issue within the airbag system. It is vital to get this diagnosed as soon as possible as having the safety system working in the vehicle is very important for driver safety. If it is an amber warning light then the airbags will still work how they should in the event of a crash however, if it is a red light this should be looked at straight away as this means the airbag may not go off in the event of a crash.
4. Engine management light
The engine management light could indicate a lot of different problems within the vehicle. This could vary from anything to a simple problem such as a failed sensor, or it could be a wiring issue or a failed control module. All cars have slightly different issues so there is no one solution to fix this light.
5. ABS light
Anti-lock braking is what stops the wheels from locking up under harsh braking. If this light comes on this won't affect your normal braking and the brakes will still work as they should, however under emergency braking the ABS may not work properly so it is ideal to have this working in the event of an emergency.
6. Bulb warning light
A bulb warning light typically indicates that one of your lights is out and should generally be a simple fix to get the lights to work again by typically just replacing a bulb, but could also be an electrical issue in more complex situations. Typically a diagnostics test is not needed for this issue just typically a quick general inspection of the lights.
Has your engine management light come on?
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​What is a car diagnostics test?
A vehicle diagnostics test checks all of the different computer systems on your car. Typically a car can have anywhere from 10-60 modules powering the car all running different systems and doing different jobs. This makes modern cars a lot more prone to electrical issues.
Diagnostics tests can tell you issues within major modules such as engine, transmission, or braking but can also give you faults to do with other modules in the car.
Most times a vehicle diagnostic test is not enough to solve the problem as the fault codes that are generated just point you in a rough direction. Further testing needs to be carried out in most cases to pinpoint the problem.
After all diagnoses, a free no no-obligation quote will be provided to carry out the repairs needed on the car. If you have had a warning light pop up on your car and are unsure what it is then it is best to have this looked at as soon as possible.
Has your engine management light come on?
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Frequently asked questions
What does a diagnostic test tell you?
A diagnostics test checks the many computer systems included in the vehicle. These diagnostics tests will check for any problems within your car's engine system, transmission system, problems with ABS, airbag faults, air conditioning faults, and many more. A diagnostics test will give you a fault code that can help you diagnose the issue at hand. This can give you an indication but there always needs to be further investigation to find the fault at hand.
When does a diagnostic test need to be done?
The benefits of getting regular diagnostics tests done are that they will usually help to identify issues that are within the car before they become a much bigger problem.
Diagnostics checkups are not usually needed too regularly but can be useful to find any issues as soon as possible so if you have any sort of warning light on the dashboard then it is best to have this checked out as soon as possible before the problem snowballs and becomes something more difficult to solve. If you notice any warning lights or different driving symptoms then have this checked out today!
Why should you get your car checked out as soon as there is a warning light on?
Getting a car diagnostics test done when there is any warning light on is important as this could lead to costly repairs if left.
Sometimes the check engine light may pop up but the vehicle may not drive any differently at all. It may be tempting to not get diagnostics done and keep on driving the vehicle the way it is, if there are no drivability issues but something simple could become worse if left for a prolonged period of time.
There are many different reasons why these lights can come on and could range from something simple such as a broken wire or just a faulty sensor that needs replacing but it is different in every situation, there are now hundreds of different systems on a vehicle so there are many different issues that could take place.
If you notice any warning lights come up on the dashboard give us a call and we can check it out. If you have any red warning lights on the dashboard then this indicates that there is quite a serious problem that needs attention and you should pull the vehicle over as soon as it is safe to do so.
What vehicles can you connect your diagnostic equipment to?
We can use our diagnostics equipment to connect to most makes and models of vehicles in order to perform a diagnostics test on the issue with the car and get it back to running optimally as quickly as possible, we will carry out a full report looking for faults and carry out any further testing required.
Do I need to take my car to a dealership to have a diagnostic test performed?
No you do not need to take your car to a dealership in order for a diagnostics test to be performed. The only time this would be recommended is if the car is under warranty as warning lights under warranty are usually covered by the manufacturer. We can carry out diagnostics on all car makes.
Wing Park Motors
Stewkley Road
Wing
Leighton Buzzard
LU7 0NE
Email: Workshop@wingparkmotors.co.uk
Open: Monday-Friday 9-5