Within the confines of this Chapter, we will look at the Fault Code Reader and other equipment suitable for testing the various components of the E...

Within the confines of this Chapter, we will look at the Fault Code Reader and other equipment suitable for testing the various components of the Engine Management System. Some of this equipment is inexpensive, and some not. Fault code reader (FCR) A number of manufacturers market test equipment for connecting to the EMS serial port (see illustrations 2.1 and 2.2). These general-purpose FCRs allow data to be retrieved on a wide range of vehicles and systems. The FCR could be used to obtain and clear fault codes, display Datastream Information on the state a f the various sensors and actuators, 'fire' the system actuators, alter the coding of the ECM, make adjustments to the timing and/or idle mixture and provide a flight recorder function. However, not all of the FCRs available wlll fulftl all of these functions and in any case, some functions may not be possible in some systems. The FCR is very useful for pointing the engineer in the direction of a specific fault. However, the faults detected may be limited by the level of self-diagnosis designed into the vehicle ECM, and other test equipment may be required to pinpoint the actual fault. FCRs come in many shapes and sizes (and indeed in many price ranges) and could generally be divided into three levels. At the most basic level, the FCR may do little more than interface with the SO connector and read codes as flash codes. A range of cables and connectors along with instructions on how to connect, retrieve and clear codes from the various vehicles and systems covered by the tool should be available. Flash code tables in an accompanying manual should be provided for interpretation purposes. The basic FCR will not be able to read fast fault codes, and will therefore be very limited in the number of vehicles that it can be used upon. Certainly, none of the advanced functions such as adjustment or actuator testing may be available. FCRs at the second level are usually quite sophisticated, and will contain all of the functions available to the basic tool and a whole lot more. This FCR will probably display the code and a line of text describing the fault. Data for each range of vehicles or systems will usually be supplied on a removable pod or memory card, which makes the tester very upgradeable. Many of the more advanced facilities will be available, and interface with a PC and printer is often possible.

The Fault Code Reader (FCR) is a tool used for testing the various components of the Engine Management System.
The FCR is very useful for pointing the engineer in the direction of a specific fault.
The faults detected by the FCR may be limited by the level of self-diagnosis designed into the vehicle ECM.
FCRs come in many shapes and sizes and could generally be divided into three levels.