PLEASE HELP! Check engine light

[Alec]

So about a mile after I left the movies tonigh, my check engine light came on. I pulled over and checked under the hood. No smoke, smell, loose anything. Everything checked out and the truck ran perfectly for another 10 miles until I got home. My friend who was in the car says sometimes the light might come on due to change in the weather. This week the temp has been ranging from 40 to 95. My truck has never done this before, though. The only other time I've gotten the c.e. light was when my computer chip was loose. But then the truck died, so I don't think that's the cause. I'm going to crawl around and check everything in the morning, but any ideas?

 

[arsoul]

I had the same problem when the engine temp. gauge went out. Unfortunatly I didnt realize this until I overheated. It's a 3 dollar part at autozone, 2 minutes to replace, 5 if you have trouble opening the hood.
Hope it helps...

 

[Alec]

The temp reading on the dash seemed to be fine, though. It read at "C" when I started up and was reading halfway on the highway. That's normal. Could this still be the problem?

 

[JM Dookie]

Well, your temperature guage seems to be operating normally, but no matter how hard you look under your hood trying to find why your check engine light is on, you are not going to have much luck without a diagnostic test. You are going to have to hook it up diagnostic scanner to find out why you are getting an error reading. Your check engine light usually comes on when you have a problem with one of your electronic engine control components. (i.e. emmissions control devices) Most of the time your vehicle will still run fine even with the check engine light on. My check engine light was on last week and I tested all of the EEC components manually and could not find the problem. I had to take it to the dealer to get it fixed. Wouldn't you know it was my mass air flow sensor which they had replaced two months prior. You could start replacing parts without the diagnostic but they could get expensive unless you know how to talk to your cars' computer. The diagnostic usually costs $50-80 depending on where you go. If you don't have the money you could always keep driving with the light on and what until your problem gets worse. I am sure it would be easier to find then. Good luck!

 

[Alec]

I FOUND THE PROBLEM! A couple of stupid wires were loose in the engine bay. I fixed them and poof! No more check engine light!

 

[TimR211]

do your own diagnostic

Before going to the dealer and plunking down big bucks for a diagnostic, go to Autozone (or your parts house of choice) and buy a diagnostic scanner for yourself. It should cost around $30. Then, every time that pesky c.e. light comes on, you can figure it out yourself. I had that problem in my Ranger for a while. I bought the scanner...it told me my O2 sensor was bad...I bought a new one, and poof! no more problems. I've used it many times since for c.e. lights on my Explorer...a very handy tool.

Later,
TimR><>
'93 Explorer XLT 4x4
'93 Ranger Splash

 

[Alec]

Thanks Tim, I didn't know the scanners were that inexpensive. Trip to Autozone tomorrow!

 

[Robert]

Originally posted by Alec
Thanks Tim, I didn't know the scanners were that inexpensive. Trip to Autozone tomorrow!

You won't find one at Autozone for $30 that will read the codes from your OBD-II vehicle. The ones for $30 are for EEC-IV, before OBD-II became the standard. The cheapest scanner I have seen for OBD-II is about $100 and requires that it hook up to a laptop to get the results (or a garage mounted PC). I don't remember the link for it though. The cheapest hand-held OBD-II scanner is about $150 and is sold through Actron.

 

[Alec]

Thanks Robert. Maybe no trip to Autozone tomorrow then