Once upon a time, you could diagnose the culprit of your Mazda MX-5 Miata's check engine light with a paperclip. We now use ...

In 1976, Chrysler ushered in the computer engine management system era with their Electronic Lean Burn 400 4-bbl. This early computerized spark-advance control system was developed to make the engine ...

This article was updated in November 2025 with new information. You know you’ve earned your DIY stripes when you can stay calm the moment something goes wrong. And with cars, that moment usually ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Modern cars are technological marvels, and understanding what’s happening under the hood has never been more important—or more ...

In the January issue, we discussed the history of OBD. This time we are going to investigate some of the technology required to meet OBD II standards. To give an idea of the magnitude of technological ...

The world of car diagnostics has changed a lot over the last 50 years. Back in the '70s and earlier, a mechanic's most valuable diagnostic tools were usually their eyes and ears. You could figure out ...

A few weeks ago, I decided to buy a couple of cheap OBD-II adapters to start out some ethical hacking experiments. However, when looking for a reliable adapter on the market, you can get a lot of ...

We named this one of the best Bluetooth options in our recent comparison test because it takes the headache out of diagnostics in a compact device. It pairs deep scanning capabilities with an app that ...

Seeing your vehicle's check-engine light come on can throw a wrench in your travel plans. It can also feel a little scary: Does it mean your ride is headed for the scrapyard? Or is there a simple fix?