[Guest]

My check engine light came on sat night. can't get it in to dealer til thursday. anyone who had their light come on give me an idea what their problem was til thursday? car still seems to be running fine, but just wonder what it could be. God knows it could be anything.

 

[Atckcat]

If you have gotten gas lately, they say that if the cap is not put back on tightly there is a sensor, that detects preasure in the tank, and this will cause the Check Engne light to come on.. We had this happen to us. If this is the problem... Tighten the cap and after 3-5 cold starts this would go away.

Jim

 

[Guest]

no, i think i had around a 1/4 of a tank left sat night. filled up last night though and have been a few places and its still on.

 

[FastCougar]

Without some type of code reader (AutoTap, etc.), it is almost impossible to diagnose the mulititude of possiblities. Sorry

 

[Shelly1]

Mine came on and I drove around like that for like 6 months, because my dealer said it was no cause for alarm. They fixed it when I went in for something else. Mine was just a bad sensor.

 

[Guest]

I suppose you are referring to the orange engine light on the speedometer cluster, that light deals only with emissions and your exause/intake. Ever since I got my after makret exaust mine has been on, I would check the sensor that plugs into your inrake pipe though. Unless you live in a state that tests for emissions don't worry about it, or move to a state that doesn;t.

 

[exigent]

Okay lets dispell some myths.... First, the CEL or MIL being on is NOT okay. Sometimes its a code from something stupid like the gas cap. Sometimes its more serious. When thta CEL is on your computer stops updating its air/fuel ratios table. It does continue to optimise to a degree... but not to the degree you would like if you want performance. There is no valid reason why you should live with a CEL. Andrew, unless your exhaust has somthing wrong with it, you should not have one. There are TONS of us on the board with aftermarket exhaust and no CEL. If youve gotten a CEL id say its because that custom dual exhaust is not correctly designed. So long as you disconnected your battery for 10-20 minutes to allow your computer to be reset after that mod you really should not have a CEL. As far as performance I have the same mods as you and have NEVER gotten a CEL. You people crack me up when you say its just there for emisions... Its there because SOMTHING is not working. It could be somthing like "Lean condition on bank BLAH" Well that means your engine is running MUCH hotter then it should and you are trashing it at an excelerated rate. Or it could be somthing like "EGR valve inoperable" Your gas milage will go to the toilet with that one! What Im trying to say is that there is more to the CEL then "too much poo poo is coming out your tailpipe". Buy a codereader or take it to the dealer. It cracks me up that you would all spend money on upgrades for your car and not take the time to be sure your car isnt on its way out! PS... there is also a way to pull DTC info from your car without a code reader. Actually there are several... one is so simple you only need a paperclip the others involve a multimeter... I dont have my manual handy so Ill let someone else explain the diagnostic self test process.

and honestly... I do think they took care of the gas cap problem years ago...that was like the first problem with obdii. Not only that but our gas caps dont tighten... they click into place! If you have to "tighten" you gas cap that is news to me.

 

[CougarGT]

Thank you, someone needed to say that! I have taken first place in Ford/AAA Wisconsin Finals last year, and 5th place in the National Finals. The Ford/AAA contest is a diagnose and reapair contest, so i learned the computer systems of a car inside and out. SO there is a reason for the little amber light......

********edited for spelling*********

 

[bzcat]

I disagee with exigent. there is really nothing to be alarmed here. The check engine light does not indicate any problem with the engine and you should continue to drive your car as normal for the next 3 fill ups until the light goes away. If the light still stays after 3 fill ups, then you should take it to the dealer to have it cleared or do it yourself by disconnecting the battery.

The check engine light is simply telling you OBD II has detected an occurance of abnormal emission condition or intake air mixture. Notice I say an occurance, that is because this type of situations usually only last a few seconds at the most. if you take your car to the dealer, they will just tell you the car is normal because the condition (caused by bad gas, water in the fuel line, very high intake temp, very low intake temp etc) no longer exists.

Even the owner manual tells you to IGNORE the CEL, and I quote:

"Light turns on solid:
... Temporary malfunctions may also cause your CEL to illumate. Example follows:

The vehicle has run out of fuel. (The engine may misfire or run poorly)
Poor fuel quality or water in fuel system.
The fuel cap may not have been completed tightened.

These temporary malfunctions can be corrected... After three drive cycles without these malfunctions... No vehicle service is required