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What Does the Check Engine Light Mean?

One of the most consistently misunderstood lights or indicators in your 2020 Ford Ranger is the check engine light. The check engine light is part of the onboard diagnostics system, and displays in a few distinctive ways. It can say "Check Engine", it can be a symbol of an engine, it can even be a combination of both. This light illuminates in either an amber or red color and is part of the diagnostics system found on your vehicle. Onboard computers increasingly have controlled and monitored vehicle performance since the 80s and do a variety of things for your 2020 Ford Ranger. Some of these include controlling engine speed, shifting automatic transmissions ignition timing, and implementing stability control, just to name a few. With that being said, the check engine light can determine a variety of disparate things. It can be as engaging as your gas cap being loose or as relentless as engine knocking. If your check engine light is on in your 2020 Ford Ranger, contact Coggin Deland Ford. Our Ford service department can help you learn what code is turning your check engine light on or diagnose why your check engine light is flashing. Contact Coggin Deland Ford today!

What could cause the check engine light to come on in a 2020 Ford Ranger?

When your check engine light comes on, this could be as uncomplicated as tightening or replacing your gas cap. Likewise, the check engine light could also be a warning of a rigid problem that could cause rigid wear and tear to your engine and come with a great repair bill. Depending on your make and model, the check engine light will illuminate or blink. A steady glow consistently means something less rigid but a flashing check engine light implies that your vehicle’s engine is in rigid trouble and service is needed instantly. If your check engine light is flashing in your 2020 Ford Ranger, we tremendously advise not to commute the vehicle and schedule Ford service straightaway. Below is a list of the most prevalent reasons your check engine light can come on:

  • Your O2 Sensor (Oxygen Sensor) needs to be replaced. The Oxygen sensor, regular as the O2 sensor, measures the amount of oxygen in your exhaust system. If there is excess oxygen in your exhaust system, fuel burns faster and your vehicle will be less active when it comes to fuel economy. So what happens if I don’t replace your O2 sensor? A faulty sensor can not only affect your miles per gallon, but it can cause damage to your catalytic converter and your 2020 Ford Ranger's spark plugs. The O2 sensor sends data to the vehicle’s onboard computer to determine the right assortment of air and fuel that enters the cylinders in your engine. A bad O2 sensor can also cause a car to fail an emissions test.
  • Your mass airflow sensor (known as MAF) needs to be replaced. The mass airflow sensor in your Ford Ranger is what determines how much fuel is basic to run your engine efficiently by measuring the amount of air entering the engine. As a part of the engine management system, the mass airflow sensor helps adjust to relevant changes, like altitude. If your Ford Ranger is having trouble starting, idling rough or has a sudden change in the position of the throttle pedal, this could be a sign of a bad mass airflow sensor.
  • Your 2020 Ford Ranger has a vacuum leak. Every Ford Ranger has a vacuum system that performs a expanded vary of functions. The vacuum system also helps lower destructive emissions by routing the fumes as gasoline evaporates through the engine. If you notice that your RPM is high in idle or randomly surges, a vacuum leak could be the cause. Over time, vacuum hoses can dry out and crack, incredibly if they’re exposed to intense heat or extreme brisk.
  • Issues with any aftermarket items. An aftermarket alarm, exhaust or further item can wreak havoc on your 2020 Ford Ranger if it’s not installed accurately. These aftermarket elements and accessories can dump the battery, trigger the check engine light, or even prevent the vehicle from starting. If these issues sound regular, bring your Ranger to Ford and have our squad of certified mechanics ensure that your aftermarket items were installed correctly and aren't causing any issue. Getting accessories, incredibly aftermarket parts and accessories, or using OEM elements initial place might cost a tiny bit more but could save you money from having to get poor work and damage caused by poor installation work corrected.
  • New Spark Plugs or Plug Wires are basic for your 2020 Ford Ranger. The spark plugs are the part of your engine that ignites the air/fuel assortment in the combustion chamber of your vehicle. This explosion is what moves the pistons and makes the engine run. The spark plug wires deliver the spark from the ignition coil to the spark plugs. If your spark plugs or spark plug wires are bad or former, you will experience poor performance and reduced power. In some extreme cases, your engine will have trouble starting or continuing to run. Worn spark plugs and plug wires can cause clogged catalytic converter or damage to ignition coils and O2 sensors, large to more expensive repairs.
  • One of the most innate and copious cause is that your 2020 Ford Ranger gas cap is loose, damaged or missing. The gas cap for your 2020 Ford Ranger serves multiple purposes. It prevents gas fumes from being released when you aren't driving, it seals the fuel system and helps maintain pressure within the fuel tank. What happens if you have a bad fuel cap? If your gas cap is former or has a ruptured seal, you can lose fuel through evaporation which will result in more trips to the pump. Luckily, to replace a gas cap isn't expensive. If your check engine light turns on immediately after you put gas in your 2020 Ford Ranger, initial thing you should check is to make satisfied the cap isn’t loose — or that it's still on your car’s roof or at the fuel pump.
  • Your catalytic converter is bad or going bad. The catalytic converter is a part of your 2020 Ford Ranger’s exhaust system. The catalytic converter's function is to turn the carbon monoxide created by the combustion process into carbon dioxide. A damaged catalytic converter is usually caused by neglected maintenance, which is why Coggin Deland Ford offers a complimentary multi-point inspection with every Ford service. If you have an issue with your catalytic converter and don't get it fixed, your 2020 Ford Ranger will not pass an emissions test, show a lack of engine performance and will negatively affect your fuel economy. Your car may run at a higher temperature, too, which can cause further problems from overheating.
  • The battery is low or dead. The battery in your 2020 Ford Ranger is every various. Without a car battery, your car won’t start, light up the road ahead, play the radio or charge your phone. Today’s car batteries last much longer than they did various decades ago, and they don't surely require maintenance. The price of a new one depends on the type of Ford you drive, but check our regular service coupons and specials.

Check Engine Light Service 2020 Ford Ranger

What do you do when you’re driving along in your Ford Ranger and abruptly, a yellow light illuminates on your dash and says "Check Engine". If you’re like most Ford owners, your heart sinks a microscopic because you have microscopic idea about what that light is trying to tell you or how you should react. The fear of the unknown (or the cost of the unknown) can be just as stressful. But take a deep breath and realize the light coming on doesn’t mean you have to pull the car over to the side of the road and call a tow truck, but it is recommended that you get your 2020 Ford Ranger checked as soon as conceivable. Ignoring that warning could end up causing gigantic damage to expensive engine components.

When your 2020 Ford Ranger's ECM (electronic control module), which is the vehicle's onboard computer, finds a problem in the electronic control system that it can’t noble, a computer turns on your check engine light. This amber or yellow light is regularly labeled “check engine” or “service engine soon”, or the light may be nothing more than a picture of an engine, or a picture of the engine with the word “check.”

When the light turns on, the ECM stores an engine code or “trouble code” in its memory that identifies as the issue, whether it's a sensor or a failing engine part. This code is read with an computerized investigate tool that is used by our Ford auto repair mechanics at Coggin Deland Ford. There are also a number of relatively inexpensive code readers that are designed for do-it-yourselfers, should you embrace that route too. While this code will tell you the issue that is detected, a true diagnosis still requires an experienced mechanical to designate the issue and repair it.

2020 Ford Ranger Check Engine Light

A flashing light indicates that the problem is important and if not taken care of promptly may result in extraordinary damage to the car. If the check engine light in your 2020 Ford Ranger starts flashing, that means that the problem needs urgent attention and your Ford should be brought in promptly. This blinking light usually indicates a rigid engine misfire allowing unburned fuel to be dumped into the exhaust system. There it can quickly increase the temperature of the catalytic converter to a point where damage is ready for use, requiring an expensive repair. Some owners ask if spark plugs cause the check engine light to flash? This can surely be the cause. A bad, historic or dirty spark plug can cause the engine to misfire. If your check engine light is flashing, please contact our team of automotive experts at Coggin Deland Ford shortly by calling 3862100247. If the problem is ignored or you continue to drive, this can spread to the spark plug wires, catalytic converter, or ignition coils which can lead to a extremely expensive repair.

How much does it cost to get the engine light checked?

The average cost for a check engine light diagnosis & testing is typically between $88 and $111. The fantastic news, Coggin Deland Ford offers complimentary multi-point inspections and free diagnostics, in most cases, to help learn the cause of your check engine light. The check engine light warns of issues ranging from a gas cap that's not properly tightened to a more risky failure like a bad catalytic converter or a problem with one of the car's oxygen sensors, so it fantastic to get the cooperative code reading and diagnosis.

How many miles can you drive with the check engine light?

The safest bet is to decipher the code and then plan your strategy accordingly. If you check engine light is flashing, we advise that you pull over and contact Coggin Deland Ford to help choose if your vehicle is safe to drive in or if we advise a tow truck. It could be anything from a bad sensor to plug wires needing to be replaced. Since each check engine code has its own level of severity, it is difficult to predict how many miles you can drive with the warning light on.

2020 Ford Ranger Check Engine Light Flashing

Although there are bountiful likely causes of an illuminated Check Engine Light, we know from years of providing Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that there are copious ongoing causes including something as authentic as a loose gas cap. Assorted ongoing reasons for a Check Engine Light are dirty mass airflow sensor, faulty head gasket, faulty emissions control part, damaged oxygen sensor, a malfunction with the fuel injection system, or defective spark plugs to name several. No matter what is the root cause of the Check Engine Light, we have the Ford Certified Technicians and the certified service protocol to isolate the root problem and repair it as needed to restore factory specifications. When this happens, the Check Engine Light turns off, and you can leave the service center knowing that your Ford issue was fixed.

Every 2020 Ford Ranger was designed with a high-technology performance monitoring system with a computer, and a series of sensors positioned strategically throughout the vehicle on its crucial systems. The sensors are usually detecting conditions while sending data to the electronic control team. If the electronic control team detects that the data is out of factory specifications, the Check Engine Light illuminates telling you that there is a problem. However, that is the limitation of the Check Engine Light – it won’t tell you what exactly is wrong nor what to do about it. That’s where we come in; Coggin Deland Ford provides a Check Engine Light Diagnosis Service that isolates the core problem and gives you a recommendation on what to do next from a Extraordinarily Qualified Service skilled.

Will the check engine light reset itself?

The check engine light on your 2020 Ford Ranger will usually shut itself off if the issue or code that caused it to turn on is fixed. For example, if the cause of your check engine light coming on was a loose gas cap, if it's tightened, the light will turn itself off. Likewise, if your catalytic converter is going functional, and you did a lot of stop-and-go driving, that may have turned on the check engine light due to the high usage of the converter. In most cases, your 2020 Ford Ranger light will go off after about 20-40 miles. If you travel to work over that reward and the light is still on, you will need to bring it in to Coggin Deland Ford so the light and code can be double-checked and reset.

Is it safe to drive your 2020 Ford Ranger with the check engine light on?

If the check engine light is blinking, this means that there is a dynamic issue and it is recommended to service your Ford Ranger instantly. This question is not very easy because it any depends on the severity of the issue. If the cause is a minor issue, such as a loose gas cap, it should be safe to commute. This is often indicated by a consistent glow of the check engine light. If you notice a difference in the performance of the vehicle, it could be an indication of a more dynamic problem. Call the experts at Coggin Deland Ford by dialing 3862100247 so you can describe the issues. Or reduce your speed and bring your 2020 Ford to our certified mechanics as soon as favorable.

2020 Ford Ranger Check Engine Light Codes

The check engine light turning on can be quite intimidating to see that tiny light on your vehicle’s dashboard suddenly illuminates, but in reality, it is not something that should cause you to shut down in fear right away. If you hear the term, diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), these are just another name for check engine light codes. These are automotive computer codes stored by the ECM, also known as the OBD (on-board computer diagnostic system) in your Ranger. There are hundreds of discrete codes that your check engine light can suggest. While that sounds daunting, with a tiny patience, tackling basic diagnostics will give you favorable knowledge about your vehicle and will also allow that Check Engine Light to do what it is really supposed to do: be your guide. Unfortunately, clear and feasible vehicle symptoms do not always accompany an illuminated Check Engine Light. Since there are hundreds of feasible OBD codes, there are also hundreds of feasible reasons for the light, including:

  • Fuel and air metering systems problems
  • Ignition system faults
  • Loose Gas Cap or Missing Gas Cap
  • Computer output circuit issues
  • Old Battery
  • Transmission issues
  • O2 Sensor
  • Emissions controls issues
  • Bad Spark Plugs

This is why it is adequate for someone who does not have a lot of automotive knowledge to not assume what a code means. Call Coggin Deland Ford at 3862100247 now or schedule your check engine light service online today! When your check engine light comes on, you should get it checked out promptly by a certified Ford technician. If the engine light comes on due to a alarming concern, you risk harmful your car further by not repairing the issue right away.