check engine! um. nevermind...
check engine! um. nevermind...
ok so... my MC is my first new car ever. my last car was a '93 plymouth duster (ok ok ok... sundance).
so i have no idea how common this is...
but saturday my engine light came on. she's only a year and a half old, with 13,000 miles. so i didn't expect to see that.
and then, on my way to work yesterday... i'm sittin' at a light and i realize... it's off. on for two days, and now gone.
is this normal behavior? should i still bring 'er in to see if anything's wrong?
so i have no idea how common this is...
but saturday my engine light came on. she's only a year and a half old, with 13,000 miles. so i didn't expect to see that.
and then, on my way to work yesterday... i'm sittin' at a light and i realize... it's off. on for two days, and now gone.
is this normal behavior? should i still bring 'er in to see if anything's wrong?
2nd Gear
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Yes, engine lights these days will turn on if the emissions computer detects something is wrong, for some value of "wrong". Loose gas cap is probably the most common. Had this same thing happen in my old Saturn. Tightened the gas cap and the light went out after a couple drives.
If it was anything serious, you'd probably know it by now, what with the smoke and flames and terrified screams of your passengers.
If it was anything serious, you'd probably know it by now, what with the smoke and flames and terrified screams of your passengers.
6th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,348
Likes: 0
From: Everett, WA
Originally Posted by Strife
If it was anything serious, you'd probably know it by now, what with the smoke and flames and terrified screams of your passengers.
Harbor Freight Tools has a cheepo OBDII reader & engine light clearing tool for like $20, for those who are interested in what alarm codes are being generated and causing the light, or for those whom just want to clear the alarm. It's a simple 1 button gadget, and works pretty well in my humble opinion.
yeah, i was hoping the MCs would have that slick feature where you do something akin to an old nintendo cheat code and the light blinks in some sort of morse-like code so you can look up what exactly is wrong...
but hey, twenty bucks ain't a bad trade-off.
...and for the record, i'm pretty sure it was the gas cap. i can rest easy now. thanks!
but hey, twenty bucks ain't a bad trade-off.
...and for the record, i'm pretty sure it was the gas cap. i can rest easy now. thanks!
6th Gear
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,585
Likes: 1
From: Augusta, GA
Also, AutoZone has OBDII readers that they will hook up and give you a reading of the codes for free.
I used them for my last car, a Nissan Maxima, and saved myself a $100 trip to the dealer just to tell me what was wrong...
-Paul!
I used them for my last car, a Nissan Maxima, and saved myself a $100 trip to the dealer just to tell me what was wrong...
-Paul!
6th Gear
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,348
Likes: 0
From: Everett, WA
A suggestion from someone 'in the know' 
Dan,
The SES light can mean any number of things, most of them are relevant. The beauty of OBDII is self diagnostics, so if it picks something up out of kilter, the light comes on. With each key stroke, the DWE runs a systems check & if all is well after a certain amount of strokes, it will go out. It will log the code, however, for about 2 weeks. If the light comes back on, I recommend getting it in because you may have an intermittent fault being logged. Knock sensors are notorious for this, as well as oxygen sensors. The gas cap will also do it, but it would usually be accompanied by another ligh: check gas cap. Good luck & hopefully it was just a fluke.
BTW, don't waste your money on the generic OBD scan tools, they don't give any specifics & can be misleading-I know because I had one.
The SES light can mean any number of things, most of them are relevant. The beauty of OBDII is self diagnostics, so if it picks something up out of kilter, the light comes on. With each key stroke, the DWE runs a systems check & if all is well after a certain amount of strokes, it will go out. It will log the code, however, for about 2 weeks. If the light comes back on, I recommend getting it in because you may have an intermittent fault being logged. Knock sensors are notorious for this, as well as oxygen sensors. The gas cap will also do it, but it would usually be accompanied by another ligh: check gas cap. Good luck & hopefully it was just a fluke.
BTW, don't waste your money on the generic OBD scan tools, they don't give any specifics & can be misleading-I know because I had one.
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Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: Glenwood, MD.
Obd2
It is not a good idea to clear codes as this also removes the freeze frame data that is a very important diagnostic tool for the technician. Trouble codes in themselves do not pin point the cause of the problem merely that there was a failure to meet certain test parameters in a specific area.
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