Monitoring System Archives

Warning Lights: After Repair Information

You may have recently had a warning light repaired in your car. This could be a check engine/service engine soon light (this is most common), a.b.s., s.r.s, battery or other warning light.

Our intention with this article is to try to answer any questions about your repair, give you a little insight to how the new car systems function, and avoid any misunderstanding or confusion if the light reappears in a short time.

In recent years cars have become more sophisticated, or electrically challenged as we say, and the computer monitors more systems than ever before. We’re talking about everything from knowing if the windows are rolling down to if the gas cap is tight enough, as well as all the major functions that make the car run.

A computer monitor is a complex sensor system that tests (monitors) certain components at specific times while you are driving the car and reports the findings back to the main computer. There is usually a minimum of 5 monitors on all cars, or can be as many as 20 monitors, all testing the car’s systems; it just depends on the system and type of car. Once a monitor is sensing a problem with your car, you guessed it, the warning light comes on.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky; the monitors check different systems at different times. For instance, an evaporative monitor for most cars has to have the gas tank fuel level between ¼ and ¾ then driven at a steady speed no lower than 45 m.p.h. and no more than 65 m.p.h. for one minute. The coolant temperature must be above 200 degrees and the air temperature above 75 degrees; this is a simple system. So, imagine a person who never drives on the freeway. It would be difficult for the computer to check this system.

There is a point, once a check engine light comes on, that it stops monitoring all systems until the broken one is fixed. What I’m trying to say is once a check engine light is repaired and the system starts its monitoring program again, the light may reoccur for a totally different system failure other than the one that was repaired. Depending on your driving habits, it could be a week or even a month before the computer checks all the monitoring systems. If a system fails, that’s right, another check engine light for another reason.

Certified Auto is committed to giving our customers the best service possible. If we have repaired a warning light and it comes back on, we will gladly recheck the codes at no charge to you.

Certified Auto Specialists: the friendlier and more helpful auto shop! Feel free to call 626-963-0814 with any questions and we will be glad to help, or visit our website at CertifiedAutoCa.com

Hometown Service You Can Count On!

CAN System…Your Car Has One!

I have written articles many times about that fact that your car is really a computer on wheels. They have up to 100 million lines of computer code and that is more than many jet fighters! The most basic of vehicles have a minimum of 30 microprocessor-controlled devices. We call these ECU’s (electronic control units). Luxury cars can have 100 ECU’s!

These processors make it difficult for the average person to work on their own vehicle but it makes it easier for auto repair shops, such as Certified Automotive Specialists, as they have made an investment in the right equipment and diagnostic tools in order to translate trouble codes and determine what is actually wrong with your vehicle.

What do all these ECU’s do? They help meet emissions and fuel-economy standards, do diagnostics, simplify design and manufacturing, reduce wiring, provide safety features, comfort and convenience.

Controlling your vehicle’s engine is the most processor-intensive job and the engine control unit is the most powerful computer in your vehicle. It gathers data from dozens of various sensors and knows all that is going on. It performs millions of calculations per second. The processor in your car runs more efficient code than that in your PC.

Each module communicates problems to a central module. The problem is stored and then a technician can read the code using an off-board diagnostic tool. There seems to be more and more technology going into our vehicles each year so more and more computer code will be necessary. This is all part of keeping our environment cleaner and reducing the amount of accidents. As we are moving toward the commercialization of the self-driving car we will find this will increase a great deal.

The CAN (Controller Area Network) also known as CAN Bus enables all the electronic control units to communicate with each other…without a host computer. This lets the vehicle’s electronic components; control units, microcontrollers, devices, sensors, actuators, and many more talk to each other on a single or dual-wire network.

Your engine management electronic control unit is connected to the transmission electronic control unit, which is connected to the anti-lock braking electronic control unit, and so on! There are essentially two wires involved; a CAN High and a CAN Low. Why is this important? They act as a backup for each other in case one fails. This is why your car can continue to run just fine with the check engine light illuminated.

This is also why we tell you not to keep on driving miles and miles with the check engine light on…it really is telling you that your car needs attention. You are already down to one wire…if the other one fails you have a problem! Next time your check engine light illuminates, make an appointment and let our diagnostic technicians get your car back to excellent health.

Please call us with any questions at 626-963-0814 or visit our website at www.CertifiedAutoCA.com.

Hometown Service You Can Count On!

Your Computer On Wheels And Malware

Like any piece of software, connected cars are vulnerable to malware. Cars’ computers are very necessary as they control everything from brakes to our “infotainment systems”. This is a market hackers are eager to explore and exploit.

When you or any driver in Glendora, get in your car you don’t have to log on first, you don’t have encryption or other ways to verify you are in command of your car’s computer system. Hackers can access your vehicle a number of ways by Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Internet. Just think about it…your laptop and mobile devices are actually more securely protected at this time than your vehicle. That doesn’t make drivers feel very secure, now does it?

Controller Area Network (CAN) Bus makes it possible for a car’s ECUs (Engine Control Units…and cars can have over 100 of these, depending on the make and model) to communicate with each other. They work hard to make sure your car is ready to go and quickly. Last year researchers showed just how easy such an attack is by getting “inside” a Jeep Cherokee. They disabled the brakes and controlled the steering remotely. Chrysler had to recall 1.4 million vehicles and “patch” this loophole.

Since protecting a vehicle with a firewall is not the answer as it slows down the ECU so it can’t control safety functions quickly enough when you start your engine, a company in Ann Arbor, Michigan called Karamba Security is looking for another way. They recently introduced anti-malware. It will provide security by protecting the gateways to the externally connected controllers. This anti-malware knows what should be running on these ECU’s and should a hacker introduce another “code” not on the list, the anti-malware will stop it in its tracks.

This works well with the codes supplied to Karamba from the manufacturers. The difficultly comes, however, when a driver decides to add aftermarket devices to their vehicles. The FBI and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a warning about this very thing.

Our mission is to keep Glendora drivers informed as we enter this new arena!

Please call us with any questions at 626-963-0814 or visit our website at www.CertifiedAutoCA.com.

Hometown Service You Can Count On!

Why is My Check Engine Light On?

The Check Engine Light strikes fear into the hearts of some Glendora motorists and is totally ignored by just as many. Just what it means is a mystery to most of us Glendora auto owners.

Let’s get the urgency issues out of the way first. If your check engine light is flashing, that means that something is wrong that could cause important engine damage. Naturally, you need to get that taken care of right away. If your check engine light is flashing, you shouldn’t drive at California interstate speeds, tow or haul heavy loads. Take it easy all the way to your Glendora service center.

If the light is glowing steadily, you should keep an eye on it for a day or two. If the light doesn’t go off, schedule an appointment with your reliable Certified Auto Specialists service advisor to get it checked out.

Some more Glendora information on how the Check Engine Light works may be informative for Glendora motorists. Most of your engine functions are controlled by a computer, not surprisingly, called an engine control computer. The computer is able to adjust many engine parameters for environmental conditions, engine condition and even the way you drive.

In order to make these adjustments, the computer relies on a network of sensors to provide data. The computer knows the proper operating range for each sensor. When a sensor reading is out of range the computer runs some tests and may turn on the sedan’s Check Engine Light.

A simple example is a loose or missing gas cap. This may cause one of the sensors to read out of range. The computer doesn’t know if it’s a serious condition that caused the reading or just a loose gas cap, so it stores a trouble code and turns on the Check Engine Light.

Now when you tighten up the gas cap the sensor readings will be in the correct range. The computer will keep checking on the report for a day or two. Since a bad reading didn’t come up again, it turns off the Check Engine Light. The computer will also try to make adjustments to compensate for some readings. If it can do so, it’ll then turn off the Check Engine Light.

If the problem can’t be resolved then the light will remain on and you should get your sedan looked at. Your reliable Certified Auto Specialists tech will plug a scanner into the on-board diagnostic port and read the trouble code stored in the computer. The trouble code will give the technician a starting place as he diagnoses the cause of the problem.

ICE – In Case Of Emergency In Glendora California

Sometimes the unthinkable happens in Glendora California. A terrible accident and those involved aren’t able to provide rescuers with emergency contact information.

You have people in the Glendora California area who you’ll want to be contacted to arrange help, give consent to treatment, and inform paramedics of medical conditions, allergies or medications.

Too often, our California police and rescue workers must sift through pockets, glove compartments, wallets, purses and cell phone directories for clues – often wasting precious time.

A brilliantly simple solution is now spreading around the globe: ICE. ICE – standing for In Case of Emergency, is a way to identify emergency contacts in your cell phone directory.

Simply put ‘ICE’ before a contact name in your cell phone, like ‘ICE – Dad’, ‘ICE – Nancy’, or ‘ICE – Doctor Roberts’. Rescuers will be able to quickly identify your emergency contacts, saving valuable time.

Bob Brotchie, a Cambridge, England paramedic came up with the idea and started a promotional campaign in England in 2005. This powerful idea is now being heavily promoted in Glendora California and in other countries. Rescue workers all know of how many times they are unable to find a wallet or purse on an accident victim, yet they are seldom without their cell phone.

There are national and worldwide disaster databases, but participation can cost up to two hundred dollars a year. ‘ICE’ is free to the 276 million cell phone users in the U.S.

It is easy and just takes a few minutes to designate some ICE contacts in your cell phone. Remember to keep the listings current.

Please join Certified Auto Specialists in getting the word out. Help us put Glendora California on ICE!

TPMS: Tire Pressure Monitoring For Your Glendora Auto

You may know that all 2008 model year and newer cars, mini-vans and light trucks in Glendora come with a tire pressure monitoring system. Many slightly older vehicles around Glendora have these systems as well. A tire pressure monitoring system – called TPMS – consists of sensors on each wheel that measure tire pressure.

If tire pressure drops 25 percent below the manufacturer’s recommended pressure, the sensor sends a signal to a monitoring unit that causes a warning to light up on the dashboard. When you see the warning light, you know it’s time to put some air in your tires.

There are many benefits to driving with properly inflated tires around Glendora. First is cost savings. Running at the correct air pressure improves fuel economy. Driving on under-inflated tires is like driving through sand – it drags down your fuel economy. You’ll also see longer, more even tread wear so your tires’ll last longer.

Another important benefit of properly inflated tires is increased safety. Under-inflated tires become hotter and that heat can actually lead to tire failure – possibly resulting in an accident. Your car and the tires themselves will just perform better and more safely around Glendora with properly inflated tires.

Local Glendora consumer groups, law-makers and vehicle manufacturers advocate TPMS systems hoping that they will save lives, property damage and inconvenience. While you can’t put a value on saving a life, we keep in mind that TPMS systems will carry a cost.

The systems themselves are added into the price of the car. The batteries in the sensors will have to be replaced from time to time. Parts will break and need to be replaced. In colder climates around California, ice and salt are frequent causes of failure.

In addition, there are other behind-the-scenes costs to be aware of. Every time a tire is replaced, repaired, rotated or balanced, the tire technician has to deal with the TPMS system.

Your service center (Certified Auto Specialists) must purchase equipment used to scan and reactivate the TPMS system after every tire service. Because older tire change equipment can damage TPMS sensors, your service center may need to buy expensive, new tire changers.

Since there is no uniformity among manufacturers, technicians need to be trained on several TPMS systems. These behind-the-scenes costs are very real to your service center.

That’s why they are anxious for you to understand the financial impact of TPMS systems. In the past, they’ve been able to quickly and cheaply provide tire services, and then pass the low cost on to you as an expression of their good will. But now even these simple jobs will take much longer.

Sensors will need to be removed and reinstalled. Even a tire rotation will require that the monitor be reprogrammed to the new location of each tire. When a car battery is disconnected, the TPMS system will need to be reprogrammed.

So when you start so see the cost of tire changes, flat repairs and rotations going up, please keep in mind that it’s because of this new safety equipment. Certified Auto Specialists just wants to keep you safely on the road – and we’re committed to do so at a fair price.

It’s important to remember that the TPMS warning only comes on when a tire is severely under-inflated. You’ll still want to check your tire pressure on a regular basis. At every fill-up is best, but you should check pressure at least once a month. Here’s wishing you safe travels.

Contact Certified Auto Specialists for more information about Tire Pressure Management Systems.