Vehicles are usually fitted with electrical systems that monitor their working. The check engine lights are what alerts us when there is something wrong with the car by going on. Check engine light blinking is caused by several reasons. For some cars, loose gas cap can cause the check engine light to go on while for some cars it can be caused by a change in humidity. But on most occasions, it happens when there is a problem with the engine system which is crucial and requires immediate investigation. Well, the following are some ways on how to clear a check engine light when it goes on.
Use a trouble code scan tool- It is the safest and simplest way to rest a check engine light. You may purchase a scan tool from your local auto spare parts shop. The OBDIII scan tool is used to recover stored trouble codes, clear trouble codes, and also turn off the check engine light. It is only applicable to 1996 and newer vehicle models.
Disconnecting the Battery – The method works for many cars. This process requires power in order to save the recollection of the error codes it is picking up to set off a check engine light. You should leave the lights on and drain all bits of electricity by pressing the horn for some minutes. They are complications with this method. Disconnecting the battery will cause your radio not to work and for vehicles that use theft protected radio systems, the radio may think that the car has been stolen. Once you have reset the check engine lights, you may experience troubles with reactivating the radio. Reactivating the radio may require you to obtain the code from the manufacturer of the vehicle. You may also have problems of vehicle lock-down for cars that have a factory fitted alarm system.
In case you do not know or don’t want to do the fixing by yourself, you can take the car or vehicle to a professional to reset it. In auto repair shops, the professionals will use the check engine light code to reset tripped codes. They mostly perform it free of charge if you ask them in a nice way.
In conclusion, using an auto scan tool to reset the check engine light is the best way. It clears the error code without causing any disturbance to the connection of the battery. It also does not require any technical expertise and is easy to carry out. The whole fixing procedure doesn’t take a long time as it can take up to even less than ten minutes. The prices of the automotive scan tools have reduced and have become more affordable. It is advisable for any driver to have a scan tool so as to reset the check engine light efficiently in a short time.