'01 Ram Engine light
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Elder User
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 542
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From: Milpitas, CA; Tyler, TX
'01 Ram Engine light
My Dad's '01 Ran 1500 5.2l Auto had its check engine light come on a little while back. It still runs fine with no change in power or smoothness (too bad - I half-hoped it would get a little torque when whatever it is broke), and for a while the gas mileage stayed the same as well (ca. 20mpg freeway). However lately, the gas mileage has dropped way off (ca. 15 hiway), still with no change otherwise in how it runs.
I don't have much experience either with fuel injected or with smogged vehicles, so what's probably to blame here? These check engine lights are usually emissions-related (my Dad was relieved to hear that - we thought when that light came on it was actually something important!), so I was thinking maybe the EGR went haywire?
I don't have much experience either with fuel injected or with smogged vehicles, so what's probably to blame here? These check engine lights are usually emissions-related (my Dad was relieved to hear that - we thought when that light came on it was actually something important!), so I was thinking maybe the EGR went haywire?
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,940
Likes: 2
From: Eastern WA
A CEL (check engine light) means a fault has been detected in the electronic engine management system. Some vehicles have an engine management system that will detect other problems as the computer may manage/monitor several things (like electronic shifting, cruise, fuel pump, etc etc). Begin by visually inspecting for loose/damaged vac hoses and damaged/loose wiring. Next, pull the codes. Anything short of actually doing this prior to attempting a repair will be just pure speculation concerning what's wrong. Dad might be relieved to know it's just emissions system related but if that fault is causing it to run rich (a hint is in the gas mileage) and it's burning up/plugging the converter, he will discover it was something important after all.
