Think about yourself driving peacefully on board your Fiat 500 and suddenly an engine warning light appears on your dashboard ! The typically seen reaction is the fear of risking a serious problem. To know what exactly this light refers to, you will have to learn how to read an Fiat 500 fault codes, you may have previously heard about OBD system, this is exactly what we are going to speak about. Our writers have chosen to write this piece of content to enable you quickly discover the origin of this default code and to give you reassurance. To accomplish this, we will first take a look at the nature of a fault code on Fiat 500, then how to read an Fiat 500 fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code in order to turn off the light on your dashboard.
What is a Fiat 500 fault code?
A fault code is a generic or standard code common to all automotive companies , they are also identified as DTC (Data Trouble Code), the goal is to guarantee that any diagnostic OBD can read them. They will be symbolized by a standard format, such as example: P0255. Each data will have a particular meaning. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your Fiat 500. These ECUs will constantly monitor your vehicle’s emissions, pressures, mixtures and when the values exceed the limits set by the vehicle’s ECU, the fault code will show up. The benefit of knowing how to read a fault code on your Fiat 500 is that you will have access to specific info about your automobile which will allow you to find out what issue you are standing in front of.
How to read a fault code on my Fiat 500?
In this second part we will now focus precisely on what brings you on the website, how to read a fault code on Fiat 500. To discover this precious data you will need to to get a diagnostic tool, also called OBD 2, named after the socket on your Fiat 500 to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are easily available for purchase, you will be able to find some in Bluetooth version which connects to your phone and some standard versions with a reader associated to the socket, as far as price is concerned, you will be able to find models between 30 and 100 euros. Once you have obtained an OBD2 diagnostic reader, you will need to identify the diagnostic plug on your Fiat 500, it is established on the left side of your steering column on the lower part of your dashboard, behind a hatch. It is easy to locate because it is triangular shaped and has 16 pins. All you have to do is connect with your diagnostic tool to read the fault code of your Fiat 500.
How to erase the fault code Fiat 500
Finally, to finish this article, we are going to demonstrate you the process to accomplish to erase a fault code on your Fiat 500. Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. Nevertheless, you will have to ask yourself an important question, is it really advantageous to erase this fault code on Fiat 500? Indeed, erasing a fault code without dealing with the problem is like closing its eyes to the fact. Additionally, the computer of your Fiat 500 is made to take decisions according to the data it records, if a very important fault code is present, it will actually modify the engine operation to preserve it. So if you delete the fault code, be sure you fix the issue to which it is associated. Some OBD diagnostic tools do not allow you to do this. You have a dedicated navigation menu on most diagnostic tools that should allow you to clear this fault code on Fiat 500.
To discover more tips on the Fiat 500, take a look at the Fiat 500 category.
