You hear a new, disturbing noise coming from your engine, open the hood, look around, and find nothing. Now what? Before you reach for a conveniently-placed torque wrench to try the ol’ “love tap,” ...

Code readers are diagnostic tools that every car owner should consider owning. Having one of these is as important as carrying a spare tire or a fire extinguisher in the trunk. Back in the day, before ...

For all its '81 vehicles, GM introduced a computer-controlled engine-management system named Computer Command Control. It became known as CCC or C-3. The engine controller—first called an engine ...

Onboard diagnostics (OBD) systems have been around since the 1980s and were developed to help limit harmful automotive exhaust emissions. Between 1988 and 1995, U.S.-built vehicles came with what's ...

OBD-II diagnostic device BlueDriver interprets engine error codes to suggest what might need fixing, and lets you know if your car is ready for a smog check. Wayne ...

Once upon a time, you could diagnose the culprit of your Mazda MX-5 Miata's check engine light with a paperclip. We now use ...

The world of car diagnostics has changed a lot over the last 50 years. Back in the '70s and earlier, a mechanic's most valuable diagnostic tools were usually their eyes and ears. You could figure out ...