check engine light is on ??

[William Schumacher]

all of a sudden,this light came on. did nothing new but put in a radar detecter (wired to igtn),however,the after market locking gas cap that I bought from Explorer Express,
broke last week,(still waiting for a replacement from them)
I can't tighten the cap,it ratchets when I try,so it is loose,affraid to fill the tank.
anyway,can this make the light come on
thanks,

 

[98/92EB]

Try this suggestion from my owner's manual:

What you should do if the check engine light illuminates
Light turns on solid:
This means that the OBD II system has detected a malfunction.
Temporary malfunctions may cause your Check Engine light to
illuminate. Examples are:
1. The vehicle has run out of fuel. (The engine may misfire or run
poorly.)
2. Poor fuel quality or water in the fuel.
3. The fuel cap may not have been properly installed and securely
tightened.
These temporary malfunctions can be corrected by filling the fuel tank
with good quality fuel and/or properly installing and securely tightening
the gas cap. After three driving cycles without these or any other
temporary malfunctions present, the Check Engine light should turn off.
(A driving cycle consists of a cold engine startup followed by mixed
city/highway driving.) No additional vehicle service is required.
If the Check Engine light remains on, have your vehicle serviced at the
first available opportunity.

 

[ERIC]

I'm betting your gas cap is the culprit.

However, regarding clearing the code and getting the warning light to shut off: I have an Explorer that does NOT clear its own codes after a malfunction occurs but is then fixed....so i have to do it myself. The quickest way to do this does not involve the dealer...just pull your negative battery cable off and then hook it back up maybe ten minutes later. If the check engine light comes back on, you still have a problem and will need to either use a diagnostics tool and read the code and then fix the problem...or have the dealer do it.

Good luck.

 

[William Schumacher]

check engine light

My new cap should be here in a few days,I will give that a try first,then reset the computer.

thanks guy's,

 

[William Schumacher]

it was the cap !!!

turns out it was the cap,I did a computer reset,after the new cap was installed,and the light never came back on !!!
thanks,