Alright here's the deal:

A month ago I installed my CAI but forgot to reset ECU, so my CEL (check engine light) was on. I realized that I'd forgot to reset it so i disconnected the battery cables and put em back on. Started car and CEL was not on...problem solved right? NO :? I live in Seattle, f***in hills everywhere, and whenever I start from a stop on an incline (like at a stop light) the bastard CEL comes back on!! The light comes on EVERY time, exactly when i hit the gas after rolling back a little on the hill!?!? Then it stays on, the only thing i can do to make it go away is disconnect the battery again (and I'm a little tired of resetting my radio stations and shit over and over). I have learned to count on it, EVERY TIME I start on a hill, it WILL come on.
My question:
1.) I have no f***in clue why this is happening, I see no relation between
starting on an incline and the CEL coming on??? Figured I'd post this and try
to figure out what the hell is goin on, can someone please enlighten me?

 

go to autozone and have them scan your computer, and make sure you put your MAF back on properly

 

Doode, you don't have to take off your battery cables to reset your ECU.

Open the fuze panel under the hood and take out the ECU fuse for about 4 minutes.

 

It makes no sense to me why you would get a CEL when starting on an incline... does it only do it when your car is facing up the incline or does it do it facing down as well? I am thinking maybe a fuel problem...

I used to live in PA, at the base of the Appalacian mountains (the blue mountains to be exact) and used to have to drive up and in them all the time.. occasionally fast enough to get air on the crests.. NEVER had a CEL with my CAI... to this day I have only ever had one random CEL come on, left the car idling on a cold day on the side of the highway after driving for four straight hours so I could take a leak.. came back and the light was on, reset the comp and it has never come back... and that was three years ago.

 

shit when i put my cai on i didn't reset shit and never got one. so it probally more then the cai. you have a problem. which is why the f***ing light is there. see thats the problem people are afraid to do things the right way. you should get the cel's checked just blank the ecu. maybe you car will break down because you don't take care of it.

 

I took it to get the CEL checked. It's an emissions problem, I believe there is a problem with the IAT sensor. I have a knockoff cold air intake with the hole for the IAT sensor at an angle (about halfway between horizontal and vertical 45 degrees or so), i think the problem is that the IAT sensor is not air tight when it is in the air intake. (this would cause a CEL right?) I've tried everything to get it airtight (superglue, duct tape, numerous different-sized little black gaskets) but the CEL comes back on eventually (usually in a couple hours). Oh yeah the CEL coming on while i'm on a hill must've been a coisidence (pretty weird tho it happened lots of times...) I'm thinking engine vibration is not keeping the IAT flush w/ the intake, or maybe my IAT sensor is just fvcked up but I don't see why it would be. When I installed the CAi i did nothing to ruin the IAT and it looks fine to me (i don't know what it would like if it were broken tho??). Any suggestions?

 

okay, the CEL is because of an emissions leak. It could be a number of things...the EVAP canister checks for tiny leaks throughout the engine. When one is detected at .040 inches in diameter or greater, CEL comes on. My problem could be:
1.)any leak somewhere in the engine...
2.)gas cap not on all the way...I know it's not this one
3.)something may be wrong with EVAP canister:
-loose hose connection, valve stuck closed, no purge detected, etc.

My question to you is....where is the EVAP canister located so I can examine it and hopefully fix my CEL problem that has been plaguing me for almost 2 months (i'm a lazy person...)
I know in a neon it is hiding under the battery support plate, but i've searched the internet and can't find where it is located. Figured someone here would know what to do....thanks

 

on the early REV a tibs it is under the driver's side headlight.. on later models I believe it is in the rear below the driver's side taillight.. This is why you have such a hard time with A CAI on the early tibs.. the canister gets in the way.

Personally, I would start your check around the cai.. maybe you disturbed a hose or something.

 

that's most likely it, it started when I installed the CAI
I have a 97 so it's under the driver-side headlight right? I'll check it out and see if i messed something up...
thanks man, i really appreciate it

 

What kind of CAI do you have??
Obviously not an AEM