Glossary
DTC: Diagnostic Trouble Code
The umbrella term for a code a controller reports or stores.
Definition updated 2026-10-25 · Report a correction
What a DTC is
DTC stands for Diagnostic Trouble Code. It is the umbrella term for a code that a controller reports or stores. A DTC can be an SPN/FMI pair, a P-code, a manufacturer label code, or another module-specific format. The term describes the role of the code, not one fixed syntax.
In a powersports context, the same machine can have several controllers, and each controller can publish its own code list. The engine controller, the electric power steering module, the ABS module, the display, and a telematics box may all use different formats. The archive keeps the source chapter and the printed label with each row so the module and the table are visible.
DTC formats in this archive
The archive uses three key types. SPN / FMI keys pair a parameter number with a failure mode. P-code keys use the printed P-code, sometimes with an SPN/FMI cross-reference in the same row. Manufacturer label keys use the printed label code, such as an Arctic Cat C-code or a Segway module code. The code index shows the type for every key.
Some tables also print a fault-setting or fault-healing column. Those columns describe when the controller sets or clears the code; they are not a repair procedure. The archive preserves them when the source publishes them.
Active, stored, and history
A DTC can be active, stored, or history. Active means the condition is present at the time of the read. Stored or history means the controller kept a record of a condition that may no longer be present. Manufacturers use these terms differently, and some manuals do not use them at all. The active versus stored entry covers the distinction.
The archive publishes labels, not live code states. A row in a model table is a code definition from a manual, not a report from a connected machine.
Why the archive counts entries
The archive counts model-code rows, not unique DTCs. The same DTC can appear in several model-year tables, and the same key can carry several printed labels. That is why the code index has fewer keys than the total entry count, and why a single key can link to more than one model page.
Use the decoder for a direct lookup and the model-year changes page when the question is whether two years share a table.