"Check Engine" light: is it scheduled?

I have a 2000 Honda Civic DX. It is close to 109,000 miles. I had
the timing belt done at 75,000 miles and the 105,000 mile service
done at a garage that specializes in Hondas, but is not affiliated
with any dealership. Yesterday, the "Check Engine" light came on
when I started it. It is running at the usual temperature, there
is oil in the engine, it seems to be running fine. Is the "Check
Engine" light scheduled to come on at some point, just to make you go
to a dealer?

 

no, it means the ecu's detected a fault that you need to rectify.
buy/borrow a code reader and find out what the ecu thinks is wrong.
then fix it!

 

If it is the "check engine" light and not the "maintenance" light, then no,
it does not come on at a specified interval. It means some sensor has
signaled an out-of-spec condition to the engine computer and you will have
to get the stored trouble code retrieved from it to find out what the
problem is. If you are in the US, most Autozone stores will read the code
for free and tell you what it says.