Check Engine Light

I think we are all familiar with the “Check Engine” light in our dashboard. If not, it’s a warning indicator that lights when you need to take your car in for service. What that service actually is could be many things. Perhaps your gas cap is not on tight or your catalytic converter is failing. When you get to the mechanic he will plug a device into the car’s computer to download the error codes. But that is only if the indicator is still lit. If not, there are no codes to download and you wasted a trip to the mechanic. If there are codes he can then look them up in a manual to determine what might be wrong.

Wouldn’t it be a little easier and less time consuming if there were a little display next to the indicator that would show those codes when needed? You could jot those numbers down and have them available when you get to the mechanic just in case the indicator goes out when you turn off the motor and won’t come back on when the mechanic is checking. That would also be good for the weekend do-it-your-self mechanic who wants to save a few bucks and doesn’t have a device to access the codes. Seems like a good idea to me.