On startup, my car (details in sig) does its system check and then reports SERVICE in orange. When I bought it, I just assumed that it was telling me it was overdue for a routine service. D'UH!
Now I understand that it means the car has detected a non-fatal fault somewhere and I need to go to a Renault to check it out. Yuk, that's the costly option, I think.
Halfords quoted me £49 to do a one-off diagnostic check. But now I've seen that I could buy my own car fault code reader (e.g. 2016 Universal Car Fault Code Reader D900 OBD2 EOBD CAN Diagnostic Scanner Tool | eBay )for far less than that, and use it multiple times on multiple vehicles. Seems a no-brainer, as far as I can see.
My issue is that some reading around tells me that some/many of these readers struggle with diesel engines before 2004. My car is 2004, although obviously the engine was developed a few years before then.
Then there are various types - OBD, OBD2, EOBD, EOBD2, and possibly others. That's Double-Dutch to me, so could someone tell me what the differences are?
Which type is good for my car? I only want something basic, just so I can understand what the car thinks is wrong with it. A blown bulb or a potential engine failure? I'd really like to know!
Now I understand that it means the car has detected a non-fatal fault somewhere and I need to go to a Renault to check it out. Yuk, that's the costly option, I think.
Halfords quoted me £49 to do a one-off diagnostic check. But now I've seen that I could buy my own car fault code reader (e.g. 2016 Universal Car Fault Code Reader D900 OBD2 EOBD CAN Diagnostic Scanner Tool | eBay )for far less than that, and use it multiple times on multiple vehicles. Seems a no-brainer, as far as I can see.
My issue is that some reading around tells me that some/many of these readers struggle with diesel engines before 2004. My car is 2004, although obviously the engine was developed a few years before then.
Then there are various types - OBD, OBD2, EOBD, EOBD2, and possibly others. That's Double-Dutch to me, so could someone tell me what the differences are?
Which type is good for my car? I only want something basic, just so I can understand what the car thinks is wrong with it. A blown bulb or a potential engine failure? I'd really like to know!