Imagine yourself driving quietly aboard your Ford Explorer and suddenly an engine light appears on your dashboard ! The typically seen kind of response is the fear of risking a serious problem. To know what precisely this light refers to, you will have to learn how to read an Ford Explorer fault codes, you may have already read about OBD system, this is precisely what we are going to talk about. Our writers have decided to publish this article to enable you quickly find the origin of this default code and to give you reassurance. To do this, we will first check out the nature of a fault code on Ford Explorer, then how to read an Ford Explorer fault code, and finally how to erase this fault code in order to turn off the light on your dashboard.

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What is a Ford Explorer fault code?

A fault code is a universal or standard code which is identical to all automotive companies , they are also known as DTC (Data Trouble Code), the point is to ensure that any diagnostic OBD can read them. They will be represented by a standard format, such as example: P0255. Each info will have a special interpretation. Default codes are codes issued by the calculators of your Ford Explorer. These ECUs will continuously monitor your vehicle’s exhausts, 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 Ford Explorer is that you will have be able to access to specific data about your motor vehicle which will allow you to understand what issue you are facing.

How to read a fault code on my Ford Explorer?

In this second part we will now focus specifically on what brings you in this article, how to read a fault code on Ford Explorer. To access this precious info you will need to to buy a diagnostic tool, also known as OBD 2, named after the socket on your Ford Explorer to which you will have to connect. These diagnostic tools are freely available to buy, 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 have to situate the diagnostic plug on your Ford Explorer, it is located 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 Ford Explorer.

How to erase the fault code Ford Explorer

Finally, to conclude this content, we are going to demonstrate you the methode to carry out to erase a fault code on your Ford Explorer. Once you have navigated through the menus, you will access the list of active fault codes on your car. But, you will have to ask yourself an essential question, is it really advantageous to erase this fault code on Ford Explorer? Indeed, erasing a fault code without dealing with the problem corresponds to burying its head in the sand. Furthermore, the computer of your Ford Explorer is made to take resolutions depending to the data it collects, if an essential fault code is on, it will actually adapt the engine operation to preserve it. So if you delete the fault code, be sure you solve 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 Ford Explorer.

If you want more tutorials on the Ford Explorer, go to our Ford Explorer category.