If you're a personal user, knowing how to read and interpret OBD codes is a trick that's well worth having up your sleeve for those times when the Check Engine light in your car suddenly comes on ...

Did your vehicle's check-engine light just pop on? An OBD-II scanner can provide some direction. We tested a handful to find ...

A code reader for your car can mean the difference between dropping everything and heading for the mechanic and letting that warning light ride a little bit.

Did your vehicle's check-engine light just pop on? An OBD-II scanner can point you in the right direction—and potentially save you a bundle.

Check for trouble codes of course. Sure, you could spend the money on a good Ford-specific EEC-IV diagnostic code reader, but why do that when you could just as easily test for trouble codes manually?