If you are interested in doing some of your own maintenance on your Aston Martin DB9 one great tool to have in your repertoire is an OBDII code reader.  OBDII stands for On Board Diagnostics version II – an industry standard communication method that modern cars with computers use.   By linking up your OBDII reader to the car, you can ‘talk’ to it, learning some real-time information from the cars Powertrain Control Modules (PCMs).

Of particular use is to understand what’s going on if the dreaded Check Engine Light (CEL) comes on.  This is also sometimes known as the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) or Idiot light.  Without a code reader you are completely in the dark as what might have tripped the CEL, and at the mercy of a Dealer to find out what’s going on.  With a code reader, you can link up to the car and it will tell you a much more specific error code (a P code in Aston Martin speak).   This will narrow down your troubleshooting greatly, and often it can be a simpler DIY issue to address and then clear the error code and reset the CEL. Continue reading “Using an OBDII Code Reader with an Aston Martin DB9” →