Car diagnostic code readers have gone a long distance from what they used to be, let’s talk about a some history and bring you up to the times. Auto readers, commonly known as auto scanners or OBD scan stands are devices that are hand held that are inserted into an OBD port to help identify the vehicle engine and problems associated with emissions.

Vehicle OBD scanners plug right into a port that is found directly under the dash of every U.S. created cars after the year 1996. Most commonly referred to as OBDII cars, before 1996 things weren’t uniform and vehicle manufacturers had various methods and car diagnostics to figure out problems. Just about all cars developed after the year 1996 were feeded with an OBDII system that allows universal codes reader to help figure out problems with the engine. The overall main difference between on board diagnostics 1 and 2 system is the creation of a universal code diagnostic system.

The introduction of on board diagnostic readers helped ease the issues of diagnosing and solving engine related issues by standardizing the onboard diagnostic system. Allowing for car code readers to display the same code regardless of the engine model or auto manufacturer. » Read more: Car Diagnostic Code Readers Designed For OBDII Autos Can Save You Money