Engine Light Help

sinhron · Post by **sinhron** » December 4th, 2005, 12:08 am

Hello there, I have sort of a problem, Every once in a while, my engine light comes on for about five seconds, and than it goes off. There is nothing really that happends to the car, the light just comes on and off.
Has anyone experienced this ?

P.S.
I fix it by goin on the highway and driving for 20 kms:)

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » December 4th, 2005, 12:13 am

You can find the process of retrieving codes from the FAQ's (I think) or the online shop manual.

den · Post by **den** » December 5th, 2005, 12:11 am

Ya happened to me before. Used my friends diagnostic computer and the result was PING. I just did a reset to the ECU and it never came back.

GQ084 · Post by **GQ084** » December 5th, 2005, 1:54 am

Hey I recently started having that same problem also.
I dont have a ob code reader and cant get code...and they charge to use equipment.
Now, when you say it is because of PING, do you mean engine knock?

den · Post by **den** » December 5th, 2005, 7:40 am

Yup! That's what the ob code sez on mine. But I knew my engine was alright so I tried resetting the ECU by unhooking the positive from battery and pressing the Brake for a few seconds and it never happened again.
I also unplugged the wire connected to the knock sensor just to check if it is clean. I just blew the dirt of with high pressure air. (There's nothing wrong in trying.)

Sometimes the light comes on for like half a second but happens only if I make a mistake on the first gear when I dont press the accelerator hard enough when quickly releasing the clutch.( usually happens when I'm kinda tipsy)

GQ084 · Post by **GQ084** » December 5th, 2005, 5:20 pm

Well the light comes on then when you shift, because the s--- bout to stall out.

den · Post by **den** » December 5th, 2005, 6:16 pm

I know that...

sinhron · Post by **sinhron** » December 10th, 2005, 1:14 am

thanks for the imput, it sounds like my car has got a ping too

as my engine mounts are pretty bad. I'll try and reset the ecu.

relisys_3200 · Post by **relisys_3200** » December 10th, 2005, 9:54 am

reseting the ECU will not clear your car of any codes if you have them. If your car is OBD1 the process takes literally 3 minutes to check the codes with a paper-clip.

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » December 10th, 2005, 2:35 pm

Just a wild guess if the CEL is coming on at initial start but later goes away after driving for 20 minutes or so - a wild guess is that the O2's are being saturated with stronger than necessary emissions which could be signs of other issues - clogged air filter, incorrect TPS setting, gummed up intake tract, unserviceable ISC etc. Find the codes and treat the symptom.

Big D · Post by **Big D** » December 11th, 2005, 3:57 pm

yea, check your 02's ... I had a similar problem, had the left going bad....check your codes with the paper clip trick in the FAQ and shop manual

Custom_V6_Limited_SE · April 3rd, 2006, 2:47 pm

I had my CEL come off and on several times for about 5 or 10 seconds. I checked the codes and I used to have a 16, 17, and 24; now, I just have a 5. Other than the revs dropping too low sometimes when braking with the clutch in, everything seems fine. Any ideas? Another thing, I was washing the under side of my hood right before this happened so a lot of water got all over the engine bay. Could this be related to it?