Check Engine Light = Money Light? The Truth About Proper Diagnosis
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Term
service light
The service light is a warning light on your car's dashboard that tells you when your car needs maintenance or has a problem. If it lights up, it's a good idea to check what it means and see if your car needs to be serviced.
Term
motor
The motor is another word for the engine in a car. It's what makes the car go by turning fuel into power.
Term
transmission
The transmission is a part of the car that helps it change gears and move. It connects the engine to the wheels so the car can drive properly.
Term
catastrophic damage
Catastrophic damage means serious damage that can ruin important parts of your car, like the engine or transmission. If this happens, it might cost a lot to fix or even mean your car is beyond repair.
Term
ECM
The ECM is like the car's brain, controlling how the engine works and keeping track of any problems. If something goes wrong, it remembers the issue so mechanics can fix it later.
Term
gas cap
The gas cap is the cover for your car's fuel tank. If it's loose or broken, it can cause problems and might turn on the check engine light. Making sure it's tight can help avoid some issues.
Part
oxygen sensor
An oxygen sensor is a part of your car that checks how much oxygen is in the exhaust. It helps the engine run efficiently and cleanly. If it’s broken, your car might use more gas and pollute more.
Term
check engine light
The check engine light is a warning light on your car's dashboard. It means there might be something wrong with the engine or the emissions system, and you should get it checked out.
Term
engine analyzers
Engine analyzers are special tools that mechanics use to check how well an engine is working. They can find problems that you can't see just by looking at the engine.
Term
scan tools
Scan tools are gadgets that mechanics use to connect to a car's computer. They help find out what's wrong by reading codes that tell you about any issues.
Part
ball joint
A ball joint is a part of a car's suspension that helps the wheels move up and down. It connects different parts of the car and allows for smooth driving.
Term
brake pads
Brake pads are the parts of a car's brakes that press against the wheels to help slow down or stop the car. They wear out over time and need to be changed regularly.
Part
rotor
A rotor is a flat, round piece of metal in a car's brake system. When you press the brakes, the pads squeeze against the rotor to help stop the car.
Term
Trinostics
Trinostics is a way for mechanics to figure out what's wrong with a car using both old-school methods and new technology. It helps them find problems that aren't easy to see right away.
Term
money light
The 'money light' is a warning light on your car's dashboard that tells you something might be wrong. If you ignore it, it could lead to expensive repairs later on.
Term
alignment rack
An alignment rack helps make sure your car's wheels are straight and working together properly. If they're not aligned, your car might pull to one side or wear out tires faster.
LIVE
Good morning Niagara. You're tuned to car connection where the coffee's hot, the
tools are ready, and the talk is always tuned up. I'm your host, Niall Motormouth
Jenkins, coming to you straight from the car connection workshop where we mix a
little humor, a little know-how, and a whole lot of horsepower. Here it's not
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Thursday, yes, happy Thursday morning.
Shall we have a beverage first? Yeah, that's what we do here in the car
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hmm, gotta get you some of that, absolutely scrumptious, well let's take a
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I do have another motormouth tech tip, not a winter tech tip, just a tech tip,
so listen up, get your co-pilot there with the crayons and the leaf bag,
what we'll just call them yard bags, I'm going to start calling them memo pads,
they're an excellent idea, I think it should be a main staple, well my motormouth tech tip
today is entitled, don't skip the spare, not the one around your waist, all right, let's just,
now we don't talk about that stuff, that's a private thing, it's personal, it's personal,
well a classic rookie mistake is neglecting the spare tire, even this time of year, you know what,
I think this is the worst time of year to get a flat tire, it's just on the bottom I know,
but just the same, in the snow, in the slush, ice cold, it's not a pleasantry, do you know what I'm
saying, it's not, it's absolutely not a pleasantry at any time, but if it had to happen, I would
prefer it be warm blue sky and lots of sunshine, right, but this time of year, how many people think
about that spare tire, when was the last time you checked it, is it flat, it's useless then,
it's just as bad as the one that's being taken off, it's absolutely useless, give it a pressure
check and make sure your jack and tools are where they should be, because roadside flats,
they don't wait for triple A, they test your prep game, exactly, and we were doing for many years
with a radio broadcast and our recommended businesses, we had businesses going both sides
of the border, we had automotive shops in the U.S., we were on ESPN for 12 and a half years,
and we developed some great relationship with some automotive shops, over in the Cheek DeWog,
a Buffalo area, West Seneca, all over, and we held some women's service clinics, we put the ladies
in coveralls, we had three or four service bays based on the shop and instructors in each, and
the ladies got an opportunity to perform four different services in each one of those service
bays, we had a blast, and we had other businesses coming alongside sponsoring, so we could have
finger foods and stuff after the program, and we had a great big group shot with the ladies,
and they loved it, and one of the setups was with licensed mechanics,
changing a flat tire, only using the tools that came with your vehicle from the factory,
so no quick pump floor jacks, nothing, and no electric tools, just what the vehicle was born
with from the factory, to remove the flat tire, jack the vehicle up, and put on the spare and tighten
it down the whole nine yards, and the ladies absolutely went crazy because they could see
that they could do it, and they did it, and we did that for quite some time, and we could only
take 12 ladies in at a time, and it would sell out, with the ticket sales went to a local charity
of choice from the shop host, so the owner of the shop got to pick the charity, and it was a blast,
so could you do that, that's my question for you, and put a comment on our YouTube channel,
I don't know, whatever video you pick, put a comment, could you, that's my question ladies,
could you, would you, should you, if you got a flat in the snow, or in this, you know, this
wintry weather, or summer weather, either or, would you know what to do, where the tools are
in your vehicle, what they are, what they look like, and how to get that flat tire off, and get
the spare on there, and number two, is your spare any good, is it pumped up, or is it flat as well,
something to think about, put a comment down for me, I want to hear from you, maybe ask hubby,
hey, how's our spare doing on the car, it's okay if it's his car, it's your car, the one that you're
driving ladies, it's your car, how's my spare, and do I have all the components, if I had a flat
that I would be able to change it, and here's a challenge, you know, you got a dry area in the
garage, you get your car in, practice, see if you can do it, if you can take the wheel nuts off,
get all the components out, get it jacked up safely, and again, using only the tools
the car was born with from the factory, there's a challenge, I want to hear from some of you,
could you do it, and have you done it, and would you do it, you know, if AAA was going to be four
or five hours to get to you, are you going to sit there and wait, I don't know, I know I wouldn't,
I'd be out there getting it done, so be safe, keep it under 100, and stay tuned for another
motormouth tech tip, well today's topic is a hot one, it really is, no it's not summertime,
unfortunately, here along the south shores of Lake Erie, where the car next workshop,
the studio is located, single digits last night, I could actually hear the knots on the trees screaming,
not like that, probably, I don't know, anyways, here's the deal, the service light comes on
in the dash, I already hear some panic, and you don't need to, this is the thing,
fear, false evidence appearing real, that's what that stands for, false evidence appearing real,
service light comes on, doesn't mean the car is going to blow up, wheels are going to blow off,
windows are going to blow out, all the airbags are going to go off,
yeah, the car is going to start on fire, it doesn't mean that, now if the service light comes on and
it's flashing, that means get the thing, pull it over and shut it off, because that means
there's something serious going on, we don't want to cause catastrophic damage to the motor,
transmission, or something that's worth buca bucks, got it, so just keep that in mind, the other
service light is still on, and it's been on forever in a day, a thousand Sundays,
and we got a piece of hockey tape, or an old business card, or a former mother-in-law,
or a pet that's been dead for years, over the service light, that's not a good idea,
no, it's not a good idea, one of these days when I do write a book and talk about, the title's
going to be fix it but don't spend any money, and I just recently did a podcast on that,
so if you haven't heard it, you got to go back, you got to find that one, you got to listen to that
one, I would want to put something in a chapter of that book entitled fix it but don't spend any
money, the things that I would see covering up the service light, because the service light has
been on and annoying the driver for so long that they decided to put something in front of it and
just completely ignore it, yeah, I would like to comment on that in the book, fix it but don't
spend any money, check engine light is on for a reason is to let you know that something has been
flagged by one of the onboard computers and it's saying, hey, yo, yeah, you, that's right, you,
behind the steering wheel, I see something, possibly smell something but I'm letting you know,
something is going on that needs to be checked and I've kind of nicknamed it the money light,
not myself, watching all of you when the service light comes on because you immediately think,
oh, geez, this is going to bust the budget in the house this month, we really don't need the service
light right now, this is bad timing, you automatically turn a shrub into a tree, that's what I want to
kind of clear up today, if the service light is on and it's been on for quite some time and once
in a while, if it's been on for quite some time, it'll go off and then you'll get all excited
and maybe buy an extra latte that day and celebrate, yes, freaking money light went off
and tell everybody at work, yeah, the light went off, it's self healed, spoiler alert, nope,
it did not self heal, I just want you to know that, I don't want to be that bearer of bad news but
the service light and the computer, they're buddies, they work together and it will cycle that
light off but the fault codes are still stored in memory on the ECM, the electronic control module,
the computer, so it will wait and then it will put it back on and then you'll go, oh, crap,
with a big K, yeah, it was out for two days, it's back on, dang, this can't be happening to me,
maybe I'm not living right, maybe that's it, maybe I had too much extra cheese, pepperoni,
and bacon bits on my pizza yesterday, nope, doesn't know any of that but here's the thing,
if that service light has been on for some time, if something truly goes wrong, catastrophic,
the light can't come on again because it's already on, so it can't warn you, so if there are other
things going on behind the scenes that it needs to warn you about, it can't and you haven't been
paying attention anyway because a lot of times I can't count the number of times we'd pull a
vehicle in and go call the customer, you know the service lights on, oh yeah, it's been on for a
little while, what's a little while, about a year, pardon, can you speak up, I didn't quite get that,
about a year, holy smokes Batman, I think I ripped my leotards, over a year are you kidding me,
we need to get a look at that, well that's going to cost a million bucks, we don't have the money to
fix that, well do you know what it is, why the light came on, no, well my neighbor came over and
he did a little something something and then he said yeah, it's just the gas cap or an oxygen
sensor, I went through the same thing, so then you go and you buy those parts and you put them on
and then he comes over with this little dude ad, plugs it in and he goes there you go, oh you're
such a good neighbor and then the very next day you drive it to work, bam, the money light comes
back on, check engine lights on, crap, crappy crap, plus crap, divided by crap equals crap,
how do you tell your neighbor, lights back on, oh I don't know what that is, I'll come over and
I'll check it with my little dude ad, my little thingy, plugs in his little thingy, well I don't
really know what's going on, oh well you told me to change the oxygen sensor in the uh the
fuel cap, well don't listen to me, I don't know nothing, I'm just repeating stories that I heard
for 11 years when I had my own shop on the Hamilton Mount, this is this I'm not making this stuff up
because you can't, you can't make it up, it's a book, it's a storybook all on its own, but here's
what I want to help you with, the check engine light is on, don't panic, get it scanned by a
professional and what do I mean by that, most problems can be diagnosed from a service light
in about an hour, about an hour's labor, if you're working with technicians that you know what,
they don't sit and get fat in front of the TV, they're in the classrooms, they're going to seminars,
they have what I called, I put myself on standing order tickets, if there was a seminar I didn't
care where it was and I could learn more diagnostic skills or learn about machinery, equipment that
could help us be more of an asset than a liability to our customers, that's where I was, I'm not much
of a sitter anyway when it comes to TV, I'll watch 10 minutes of a movie and or watch it almost to
the end just get up and go off and go do something else, but I spent a lot of time in the classroom
learning and getting around instructors that have many more years experience and diagnostic work,
don't be afraid when that service light comes on, approach it this way, my car is trying to tell me
something is not quite right in Denmark and I need someone who can read it and translate it and
diagnose it and determine the causal component, do you remember, four things right, the four things
to a work order, service repair order, the concern, the cause or yeah, the concern, the cause,
the correction and confirmation, so what we're going to do is we're going to get in there,
we're going to scan the computer and here's where people get lost into really bad information,
when we scan the computer for information it doesn't give us the answer 100% as to what's
why the service light is on, there's a lot more to it than that, so when we delve into it this is why
I always tell you give them one hour diagnostic time, concern, cause, correction and confirmation,
what's the cause, that's dyag time, like I said if you're working with technicians that spend time
training, retraining and getting further training and the shop owner is into that,
sending their guys off to get training and further training, you're in the right place,
because in most cases an hour worth of dyag time is more than enough to get down to why is the light
on, why is the service light on, the cause, what is the cause, what is the causal component,
that's why I tell you only authorize one hour of dyag time at a time, at a time,
the time, yeah, one hour of dyag time, make sure that's written clearly on the repair order
so that everyone is on the same page and we don't get miscommunication or no communication
or lack thereof, because that happens a lot and that's what creates the five o'clock surprise,
so when that light comes on there is no machine device we can plug in as service text and dyag,
diagnosticians, that's the word, because that's what we are, we can train monkeys to change oil,
brakes, tires, all that stuff, but when it comes to diagnostics that's where the rubber meets the
road, you're either a service tech that is an asset to your customer or your liability and I
don't mean that disrespectfully, but if the tech doesn't know how to dyag it's going to cost you
a fortune for him to perform trinostics, try a part that was 300 bucks, try another part, well
sorry that one's like 800, I guess the computer wasn't the problem, because anything electronic
that we plug in we can't send back, there's no return on that stuff, no return, no refund,
no exchange, once we take it out of the package, the box, the packaging and plug it into your car
you own it, so I say all that to say this, you need to make sure that you control the amount
of diagnostic time, if they don't have it and have a pretty decent idea where the problem is,
they're like I said already, there is no device that you plug it in and it starts playing the
national anthem for whatever country you live in and then you know ticker tape parade begins and
confetti pops out of the machine and then it gives you a print out and says change this,
that doesn't exist, we don't have no crystal ball, no magic wand, I've ordered them for many years
but they haven't come in, that all comes with spending class time learning new equipment,
new technology, how to use it, how to diagnose and how to get down to the problem
in an hour, an hour and there are the ones, the vehicles that are just a real stubborn
stain, you know like mustard, hey anybody know how to get mustard out of anything,
put me a comment in one of our youtube videos, hey motor mother heard talking about mustard,
try this, now if it's a try, that's Trinostics, what I want is do this mustard stains gone,
so how do I relate that to diagnostics, exactly the same way, we have to take the fault codes
then look them up to see what components are involved in that particular fault code,
now we have to break out and locate those components and individually test each component
to verify is it good or is it faulty, is it defective, so that's where dyag comes in,
we can teach a monkey to download, plug in a device and pull the fault codes, in fact I have one
and it's actually a pretty decent little handheld OTC scan tool that allows me to quickly do a quick
scan so I can grab fault codes and then if the vehicle is still running decent I can just do a
quick summary, capture it, store it and then I can take a look at it after the shop's closed
and I can begin to scribble it out and come up with my game plan to test your vehicle to determine
the causal component that has flagged the ECM to put the light on, so there are a lot of moving
components to a service light, hey a blind hog once in a while can find an acorn if you know
what I'm saying, so if your neighbor has a little code reader and he scans it and he knows enough
to guide you and he hits a home run, God bless him, you know what I'm saying, well done you,
well done you, but I'll tell you now that is few and far between, few and far between, normally
what I would hear is my neighbor told me you know I tested this and that, we've changed, we've put
$800 into it and the service light's still on, that's not what I want to hear and that's not
money you need to spend, so that's where an hour of diagnostic time with technicians and a shop
that are up to date with engine analyzers and scan tools and laptops, that's where this
trade has gone, you know doing brakes and tires and front end suspension components and steering
components, that's a brain dead job, I mean not to not to say it's not a hard job but you know what
it doesn't take a laptop or an engine analyzer, scan tool and this and that and all kinds of other
high tech equipment to come up with the answer on a worn out ball joint, your brake pads are down to
nothingness and you're you know you're grading your rotor like you would grate cheese for a pizza,
I think I'm hungry, anyhow that's how it works, we pull down the information, pull it off the
computers, we look at, we do some run time if it starts and runs, we take a look at all the
sensors that are looking for input, we're getting input and output signals from them
and verifying are the signals, the input signals correct or the output signals incorrect, so we
can give it what I call a yes no, not a maybe, not a try, a yes no, yes it's good or no it's not
and that's where skills and highly skilled technicians come in to play, it's not a plug
and play thing, put in a little cutesy woodsy little cold reader and go change this, it doesn't do
that, that's when you're going to get into Trinostics, that's where the money light thing comes in,
the money light, when you're taking your vehicle to a shop that doesn't keep up with cutting edge,
leading edge technology for diagnosing, when a service light is flagged and drivability issues,
maybe the car's running well, maybe it's not, maybe it's intermittent, that's what we have to
determine, sometimes we have to let the issue develop a little bit more so we can nail it,
otherwise it can turn into Trinostics and that's where I would never let a customer pressure me
into changing something just to satisfy their their fear and anxiety of the money light,
the check engine light, so that's the short story, that's how we have to approach it, one step at a
time it's like eating an elephant I like to say, one how to eat an elephant one bite at a time,
how do we diagnose the car one bite at a time and do not jump ahead when we're diagnosing,
do not skip steps, we need to take all the steps and verify the information we've collected,
verify what is accurate, what is not, what needs more testing to determine the causal component
that puts the light on, there is no device anywhere on the planet, you plug it in it gives
you the answer, it's all in the hands of the technician and his skill level with cutting edge
and leading edge technology, testing equipment, diagnosing equipment and how to use it properly
because you can have all the, you can have all the equipment in the world but if you're a lousy
driver you're still going to put it in the rhubarb, plain and simple, if you have any questions get
in touch with me you can do that through our website ccbusnet.com there is a website form
that you can fill out send me an email come straight to me personally you can also do put a
comment in the comment box on any one of our youtube videos we put three fresh ones out every
single week they're all teaching videos so you get to learn the fundamentals the stuff that will
help you and prevent you from being ripped off out there in the repair and service industry in
the automotive that's my job my job's not to step on anybody's toes but you know what there's good
and bad in all trades right good and bad in all trades you know if i'm going in for heart surgery
first thing i'm going to say is uh where did you graduate in your class yeah do you want the guy
that just barely made it through huh heck no when he says i graduated with honors ding i pick you
yes absolutely the same goes for automotive service techs do i want the guy that watches sports drinks
beers and farts and burps all the time in front of the tv and practically kills you but doesn't
further his skills on the shop floor no that fella is just you know he's good for other stuff but
not for dyag and not every tech automotive technician out there is full hardcore dyag you
got to be working with a high tech shop that has the high tech equipment but the guys know how to
use it it's just like an alignment rack for aligning your car can have the best alignment rack
that they build on the face of this rock we spin on but if the guy doesn't know how to use it the
alignment's going to suck with a capital k simple as that well that's it for me i got to get out of
here and thank you for taking us along this morning let your family friends co-workers names
all know about carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com our website all our links available to you
in the top right hand corner of our homepage all the great amazing businesses that make car
connection possible for all these 31 years and now it's car connection next gen 2.0 podcast youtube
instagram facebook stevensville on the web the whole nine yards we can reach more people be
more effective be able to help the widows the orphans single moms the seniors and just those who
are going through some very dark challenging financial times and we can fix their car for free
as we're looking forward to getting monetized when we do that means we can ask the uh the
relationships that we've created with parts automotive parts stores over 31 years hey will
you jump on board and help us get the parts that we need to help others at the same time for free
so that's our vision come and be part of that we thank you for listening for watching for connecting
and for becoming part of the motormouth crew and our car connection vision to serve life is about
people and serving thanks for coming along happy motoring keep it under 100 put that coffee on
and get some snacks because we're going to come to your house
About this episode
Understanding the check engine light is crucial for every driver, as it often signals potential issues with your vehicle. Niall Motormouth Jenkins emphasizes the importance of proper diagnosis rather than ignoring the light or relying on quick fixes. He shares anecdotes about common misconceptions and the need for skilled technicians to interpret diagnostic codes accurately. The episode also highlights the significance of checking your spare tire and being prepared for roadside emergencies. With a mix of humor and practical advice, this episode aims to empower listeners to take control of their vehicle maintenance.
Original notes
The check engine light comes on...and panic sets in. Most drivers know it as the "money light"
-because they're convinced it's about to cost an arm, a leg, and maybe the steering wheel too. But that fear usually comes from bad experiences with bad diagnostics. In this episode, we unpack the phobias surrounding the check engine light and explain how proper diagnosis actually works. Real diagnostics isn't guessing. It's not firing the parts cannon. And it definitely isn't changing everything until the light goes out. A skilled service tech with the right tools and diagnostic mindset can often identify the problem within about an hour. When that doesn't happen, and parts start flying, it's the consumer who pays the price. This episode is about separating truth from fear, and diagnostics from "try-nostics." Because understanding the process protects your wallet. Ever have this happen to you "try-nostics" tell us about it! email me or put a comment in one of our YouTube Videos, ( [email protected]) comment is better it helps us grow our Youtube channel. CALL TO ACTION - ONE LINK, EVERYTHING Join the Motormouth Crew Like, subscribe, and comment - your engagement keeps this content rolling Ring the bell so you don't miss future episodes
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Car Connection Workshop
Nile Jenkins
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41:02