OBD Diagnostic Trouble Codes
On-Board Diagnostics II (OBDII) Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) are codes that automotive systems use to indicate faults. When the vehicle detects a fault, the ECU stores a DTC that can be read and cleared using the CAN Bus Debugger.
Each DTC consists of a letter followed by four digits (e.g., P0123). The letter indicates the system (P = Powertrain, B = Body, C = Chassis, U = Network), and the digits specify the particular fault.
Access the OBDII DTC application from the Apps screen on the CAN Bus Debugger.
Performing a Scan
Use the 'Scan' button to begin scanning. Once the scan completes, any detected DTCs display on the screen. Use the '>' and '<' buttons to scroll through the DTCs. If the DTC code matches one of the codes in the obdii_dtc.desc file on the SD card, the description is displayed.
Clearing Diagnostic Trouble Codes
Use the 'Clear' button to clear the DTC codes. After using the 'Clear' button, the tool waits briefly and automatically performs another scan, allowing the target time to reactivate any DTCs if the fault persists.
Adding Code Descriptions
The tool loads Diagnostic Trouble Code descriptions from the obdii_dtc.desc file located in the root of the SD card. This file supports up to 6000 code descriptions.
To create a custom DTC description file:
- Add descriptions to a CSV file
- Convert the codes using the
can_debugger_csv_to_dtc.pyscript (COMING SOON) - Copy the output file to the tool's SD card