NOMENCLATURE OBD II

¿WHAT ARE THE FAULT CODES?

• ¿WHAT IS A CODE DTC? THE CODES DTC (DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES). THESE ARE
FAULTS THAT ARE STORED IN THE VEHICLE CONTROL MODULE ECM (ENGINE
CONTROL MODULE) WHEN A FAILURE OCCURS. THESE CODES CAN BE READ OR
INTERPRETED USING A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL (ESCÁNER). THE VEHICLE MECHANICS
MANUAL CAN HELP WITH THE REPAIR PROCEDURES OF THESE FAULT CODES.

• EACH CODE IS REPRESENTED BY A SERIES OF LETTERS AND NUMBERS THAT HAS A

MEANING AS SUCH. EACH LETTER REPRESENTS THE SECTION WHERE THE PROBLEM
IS LOCATED. AS WELL AS THE TYPE OF CODE AND COMPONENT SPECIFIC TO
NUMBERING.
THE FIRST CHARACTER IS CALLED DTC ALPHA DESIGNATOR, THE
LETTER INDICATES WHERE IN THE
VEHICLE IS LOCATED THE FAULT. LETTERS CAN BE THE P, B, C, O U
P= POWERTRAIN, THIS FAULT REFERS TO THE
ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION.
• B=
BODY: FAULTS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE
VEHICLE'S BODY ( SRS, INSTRUMENT CLÚSTER)
• C=
CHASIS: FAULTS THAT RELATE TO THE
VEHICLE CHASSIS ( ABS, ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM,
SISTEMAS DE TRACCIÓN.
• U= NETWORK COMUNICACIÓN -1: FAULTS THAT REFER TO THE CAN
• EL BUS CAN (CONTROLAR ÁREA NETWORK) ENGLISH IS AN AUTOMOTIVE
BUS DEVELOPED BY BOSCH, WHICH ALLOWS MICROCONTROLLERS AND
DEVICES TO COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER WITHIN A VEHICLE
WITHOUT A COMPUTER HOST. EL BUS CAN IS A MESSAGE-BASED
PROTOCOL, DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR AUTOMOTIVES
APPLICATIONS, BUT IS NOW ALSO USED IN OTHER AREAS SUCH AS
AEROSPACE, INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
•
• CONNECT INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS AND SENSORS AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO
CONVENTIONAL MULTI-WIRE LOOMS. ALLOWS AUTOMOTIVE
COMPONENTS TO COMMUNICATE ON A NETWORKED DATA BUS OF ONE
OR TWO CABLES UP TO 1 MBPS.
• EL BUS CAN IS ONE OF FIVE PROTOCOLS USED IN THE VEHICLE
DIAGNOSTIC STANDARD OBD-II.
THE SECOND CHARACTER IS THE
MOST CONTROVERSIAL, IT SHOWS
WHO HAS DEFINED THIS CODE:
VALOR 0 = KNOWN AS PO CODE
MEANS IT'S GENERIC; DEFINED BY
THE SAE,
PUBLICLY KNOWN AS SAE FAULT
CODE.
VALOR 1 = KNOWN AS P1 CODE
MEANS IT'S A DEFINED CODE AND
IT'S SPECIFIC
FROM A MANUFACTURER OF A
VEHICLE BRAND.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE CODES OF THE
MERCEDES BENZ ARE COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF THE
HONDA
CODE OF MERCEDES BENZ
0008 = indicating which system is
CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR -
UNSYNCHRONIZED CRANKSHAFT
POSITION SIGNAL WIRING,
CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR
INSTALLATION, VALVE SET-UP,
MECHANICAL ENGINE
BREAKDOWN, CRANKSHAFT
POSITION SENSOR, ENGINE
CONTROL MODULE
FAULT CODE HONDA:
P1259 SYSTEM MALFUNCTION
VTEC
The third character is the least understood and the most useful;
the affected. Helps identify the overall area location of the fault.
1 = Faults related to Air/Fuel Control System
2 =Fuel System-Related Failures (Injectors)
3 = Failures that refer to the Ignition System (Misfire)
4 = Failures related to the Auxiliary Emission System (EGR,
AIR, CAT, EVAP)
5 = Vehicle speed control failures (Idle control)
6-7 = Transmission failures
8 = Transmission failures
 4,5 CHARACTER
THE FOURTH AND FIFTH CHARACTERS ARE USUALLY SEEN AS A UNIT, THEY ARE THE
• CORRELATIVE OF FAILURES.
• WHEN THE CONTROL SYSTEM DETECTS A FAULT, THE INDICATOR LIGHT CHECK ENGINE
HERSELF
• LIGHTS UP, THE PURPOSE OF THIS LIGHT OR PILOT IS TO TELL THE MOTORIST THAT THERE
IS A
• PROBLEM AND THAT THE SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE DIAGNOSED. SOMETIMES THIS
• LIGHT (MIL = MALFUNTION INDICATOR LIGHT) TAKES THE NAME "SERVICE ENGINE SOON",
• CHECK ENGIONE" O SIMPLEMTE " CHECK" ON THE VEHICLE BOARD.
CORRELATIVE: IS WHAT HAPPENS ONE AFTER THE OTHER, OR KEEPING A CERTAIN ORDER OR
RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER; WHETHER IT'S NUMBERS, PEOPLE, CONCEPTS, IMAGES OR
THINGS IN GENERAL. THE FOLLOWING WORDS MAY BE CONSIDERED SYNONYMOUS WITH
THIS TERM: CONTINUED, FOLLOWED, INTERRELATED, CONSECUTIVE OR PROGRESSIVE.
EXAMPLES OF GENERIC CODES OBDII :

 P0033 TURBOCHARGER BYPASS VALVE CONTROL CIRCUIT

 P0120 MALFUNCTION IN THE THROTTLE/PEDAL/SWITCH POSITION SENSOR CIRCUIT A
 P0149 FUEL TIMING ERROR
 P0172 SYSTEM TOO RICH
 P0213 COLD START INJECTOR MALFUNCTION 1
 P0322 NO SIGNAL IN IGNITION INPUT CIRCUIT/DISTRIBUTOR ENGINE SPEED
 P0789 INTERMITTENT IN CHANGE SYNCHRONIZATION SOLENOID