Graphs and information

Pulling data and information from a car is useless without being able to apply the information

The ECU isnt that smart

Your engines control unit or brain a some cal it isn't really smart.
It simply reacts to inputs and works on the basis they are correct nothing more

Full basic health check

how well is your engine running?
good bad,hard to start either hot or cold.
Starting issues are often the sign of  deeper issues developing,way before your engine  fault light appears.In  fact it may never illuminate and still the car will strand you.

A basic check is via the exhaust using a pulse sensor,and no bonnet lifting even needed 

Coil on plugs

These are way better than traditional caps and spark plug leads but,the continuous heat soak buried in the engine takes its toll on them.
Cheap ones are the worst culprits,and they can fail without warning
we recommend replacement of them all at 30 000 miles to avoid that

quick spark check

wont start  is there spark

Snap secondary testing

In a steady state engine running condition the ecu assumes full control.
A snap test  allows issues with certain components to reveal them selves.
As a subject its advanced and powerful one we will be entering in much more detail

patience

some car running issues  fight a hard battle to find,

fuel filters

Fuel filters are a vital part for regular maintenance.
A clogged or partially clogged  wil put a lot of strain on your fuel pimp causing it to fail.
for a few pounds it is false economy not to simply replace it .....dont skimp

The classic secondary ignition waveform

There is a lot of power diagnostics wise located in this  old art but it takes time and effort to learn

Run it tills it drops

Al well and good  from the point of view of running a car.NOt if it  breaks down in the middle of nowhere.
Even the best maintained car can and will  fail at some point,good maintenance wil make it far les likely