Check Car Light

It would happen on Labor Day that the Check Car light came on
on my 1996 Honda Civic CX.

Ordinarily, I would just call a Honda place but that's not
likely today.

Can you tell me specifically what I am looking for as a
problem as a result of that light coming on?

Regards,



Fred Atkinson

 

Without the trouble code, no!

The check engine light means simply that... Get it checked. Any of the
auto parts places open? Many of them will check the code and decipher
it for you.

Without the code it could be anything from a) you left the gas cap loose
last time you filled up to z) you're about five minutes from a
catastrophic mechanical failure or something in between.

Likely it's something leaning towards the "A" end of the list, but...

 

Thanks,

How does one acquire the 'code'?



Fred

 

Fred,

He answered you.

Go to an auto parts store, Auto Zone is one, and they will read the code for
you.
I would call first to make sure they do offer that service.

 

I see. There's no way to retrieve the code yourself, then?



Fred Atkinson

 

You can if you want to spend money to buy an OBDII reader. They cost some
$$$.

 

I road down to the corner to pick up some dinner. As I rode
by our local AutoZone, I noticed that they were open.

I stopped in. They ran the test. It's the O2 sensor. They
said I could continue to drive the car for a bit.

That's a relief. That's not cheap but not terribly expensive,
either.

Regards,



Fred Atkinson

 

Did they reset the light? (turn it off?)

If not, go to the fuse panel under the hood and pull the 7.5Amp fuse labelled
'Backup' for about 10-20 seconds. Then put it back in.

See if the same code comes back.

t

 

There is. It involves using a paper clip to short the 2-pin Service Check
connector behind the passenger kick panel, turning the ignition to "II",
then reading the blinks of the MIL ("Check Engine" light).

The problem with this method is that the returned code will only be an
approximation of the actual ODB-II error stored by the ECM. This means it's
not actually of much use.

AutoZone, PartSource and many other chains will read the OBD-II code for
you for free. (AZ in CA will not do the code read for some reason.)

Once you have the code, diagnosis is possible. Right now it is not.

 

What was the /actual/ error code number?

There are some two dozen ODB errors involving the oxygen sensors, some of
them not actually having to do with the sensor at all. On your model, some
errors can arise that appear to point to one thing, but are really due to
other things that are wholly unrelated.

The code will be something like "P0135", where the zero might actually be a
one, and the other numbers may be different.

 

AZ in CA?

I always knew those sneaky Arizona buggers were looking to annex some
California land...

 

Usng cntractns cn gt y in trbl.

 

Hey, at least you didn't leave your home in Tuscon, Arizona, to buy some
California grass