GreatWhiteTibby

Alright guys, had the car for three weeks now, and no problems, then all of a sudden I glance down at the dash on my way to school, and the Check Engine Light is on.

Are there any stupid things that cause this? The reason I ask is normally when that light comes on, something is broken or not right and you can feel a difference in performance or hear a strange sound, smell something etc

There was no change in engine sound, performance, idle speed, engine temp, or anything else that I could think of checking, mainly coolant, and engine oil (havent checked that yet because engine was warm, but I will check it after the engine cools off)

I guess at this point is it safe to drive home from school (20 minutes or so) if the CEL is still lit when i start the car up again.

Thanks for any and all info/suggestions

landshark16

There could be a number of things wrong. First go to your local autozone and get your car scanned for free, then come back at tell us what the code it is giving. After that we can help you with your problem.

rallyman

If it is a serious problem the check engine light will flash and you will likely notice a big problem with the performance of the car. It should be safe to drive for now but get it scanned as soon as you can to see what the trouble code is. There are dozens of things that could cause the CEL to come on so it is very helpful to have it narrowed down by retrieving the code.

GreatWhiteTibby

I realize that pullung the code is neccesary, just wanted to see what others thought about driving it home, I am hoping that when I go back to the car after class the light will go out (I can dream right)

Just nervous/upset, seeing as how I've owned the car for only three and a half weeks

Thanks for the input

blacktibby

Even if it goes out get it checked .. They come on for a reason ..

rallyman

It's possible that the previous owner disconnected the battery to make the CEL go off prior to selling it. It takes two or three consecutive trips with the same error happening before the ECU will turn on the CEL.

I had the CEL go off on my Tib a couple of years ago and I checked the code with my scan tool and reset the light. The code was related to the downstream O2 sensor and never came back again so I didn't do anything about it.

But do get the code read. Even if the CEL goes out the code will still be stored.

funkypc

Just be happy the CEL came on after 3 1/2 weeks.
The guy I bought my car from had torn apart the dash and removed the CEL bulb so I had no idea there was a problem. I found out about 6 month later that I had a bad TPS and MAF.
I also had one come on for a bit about an O2 sensor.
Generally though, its not a big deal to drive with the CEL on unless its flashing.

DTN

gas cap is likely. check to make sure it's on and tight. it will cause a CEL with no other problems.

GreatWhiteTibby

If it was the gas cap does taking it off and putting it back on solve the CEL, or does something else need to be done with it?

Thanks guys

rollwitstyle

autozone will answer all your questions for free (or atleast give you the code so we can tell you). go get it scanned it will save you alot of thinking about it lol