1996 Aerostar with a check engine light.

[jimmyd1350]

Hi jimmyd1350 here, I'm a first timer so be gentle with me! I used to work on cars alot in the 60's and 70's but don't understand a lot about cards that have thier engines put in sideways and that kind of stuff. Back then we just changed the spark plugs, points and condencers, brake pads and we were off down the road. I have a 1996 Ford Aerostar, and the engine light will not go off. Every year before I can register it I have to have a mechanic reset the light. I have ask several to fix the thing but they say there's to many emmission things on it,it would cost to much for them to find which one it was. Had one guy say he fixed it, and charged me $300 and come to find out he just reset it. Is there a way I can reset this myself, and could this be caused by loose connections? We love the van, its been good other than that. thanks

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Go to an auto parts store such as Autozone, and have them scan the computer for free. Don't let them talk you into buying any parts. Post the code numbers here. Don't disconnect the battery either.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Your thread was renamed, and moved into the Aerostar section. Did you have a chance to find out what the code numbers are?

 

[Jose A.]

Aerostars do not have the engine sideways, are you sure you have a Aerostar or is it a Windstar which has the engine sideways?

regardless of which model it is, it could be the EGR Valve that sets off the CEL light, the EGR Valve is around $50.00 at Autozone. The Aerostar came with 2 different engines, the 3.0 liter and the 4.0 liter. If it is a 3.0 it will have "3.0" in raised letters on the air filter cover. You need to know which engine it is to get the proper parts for it.

when the EGR Valve is bad, Code PO-401 will appear when a Code Scan is done.
if you get a code PO-401, replace the EGR Valve. some people go through the trouble of trying to clean this valve and resetting the CEL light, but it is not worth the trouble, you can't really "clean" all the passages of these valves. The EGR Valve is a maintenance part, just like a fuel filter, oil filter, brake pads, etc. If your mechanic charged you $300.00 to do this cleaning job, I don't blame him, it's a pita to remove this valve and then try to clean it, then reinstall it with a new gasket, might as well have installed a new one. When you buy a EGR Valve at Autozone, it comes with a Limited Lifetime Warranty, so if it fails, you get another one.

Resetting the CEL light is as easy as disconnecting the Negative Cable at the battery for 30 minutes, but that doesn't mean the problem dissappears, in any case it can make the problem worse and the high emmissions do not go away because the CEL is off temporarily. Fix the problem.