Drove wifes former explorer with it in for about 6 months but then fixed before selling (EGR valve). My truck came on right after and fixed that one asap (priorities???) lol

Chris

 

It came on- I checked under the hood- yep, the engine's still there.

 

Thnks my family thinks I am crazy for laughing at the computer.

Chris

 

I do that with my dad's work trucks. And tell all the new employees to do the same thing!

-Matt

 

Oh man, thats great.

 

I am really surprised almost half of you people have your check engine light on. I guess sensors and stuff cost money and can sometimes be hard to diagnose.

-Matt

 

thats what i love about not havin a sensor, i dont have to worry about it starin me in the face, and i just learn to listen to compensate

 

Hello Guys,

The light went out again, after I cleared it with the scan tool. Maybe it will stay our for good.

I never worried much about it, until the enhanced emission law just went into affect.

CEL on means automatic failure. If you can get it to shut off, you can keep your truck or car registered. If not you have to spend a certain amount of money to fix it, then you get 1 waiver of close to a year. After that they pull your registration. This is fairly new, the hard azz policy. I hear it's coming to your state pretty soon too. If not already.

I'm going to buy the lousey sensor, but I don't like these tactics. If the sensor doesn't fix things, I'll have to get creative.

Also, if you flunk, you have to bring it to an authorised RMV repair center too get a good hosing. Meaning you can't fix it yourself. You need a repair slip from that shop...stating what work was done and how much you got hosed. They won't re-inspect without it.

This would be a good time to start buttering up your local inspection station. I know I'm switching gas stations to one that does inspections.
Don't want anyone saying the only time you come hear is for an inspection sticker.

I was just reading the directions on the new scanner I bought, and it has a feature that will tell you if you'll pass emissions or not. I was surprised to read that your car or truck can take up to a week. to become ready to pass the test. This is after you disconnect the battery to turn off the CEL. I'd heard, and read ten or twenty minutes.
Guess not!

Anyone remember that book "1984"? I think they were off by about twenty years.

I'll bet alot of inspection stations will be cleaning up. Oops, you flunked!! Give me a nice fresh hundred, and I'll see what I can do for you.

 

My check engine light story is related to why I now drive Fords and not Dodges--besides my beloved and reliable '78s, I had an '86 W-100 (4x4, slant-six, NP435+NP208). The check engine light on it was nothing more than a timer set to come on when engine running time was somewhere around 52,500 miles. In my case it was a little sooner because the truck spent a lot of time either idling or at low speeds. Dealer wanted $100 or so (this was around 1991-92) to "fix" it. "Fixing" it meant nothing more than removing the glove box, pulling out a little black box, and pushing a pin through a little hole to reset the thing. Nothing more than a money grab, IMHO. Found out about it somewhere, took a bent paperclip and about twenty minutes to "fix" it myself.

OTOH, the check engine light on our '99 Escort came on shortly after coming back from Mexico this past January. Turned out Jiffy Lube, after selling me a PCV valve that it might or might not have needed, proceeded to put on the wrong one, just before the trip.

 

For some "1st grader mentality" reason, plastic parts are used to make up very crucial parts to various things on newer Ford trucks. Case in point, my radiator. What do you know, in AZ its hot and my truck runs even hotter, so what turned to crap? My plastic junk rad. Truck over heated, engine light is ON. A+ job Ford. Just like the heater core a few months back, Ford seemed to cut cost for a much lower quality part. So once again I am searching for an after-market replacement vs. the stock component.