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Diagnosis needed on car trouble


Dottleshead

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Retrieve OBD2 Codes Using Your Ignition Key

Step 1

Turn the ignition key "On" and "Off" without cranking the engine. How many times you do this depends on your particular vehicle. Most Chryslers require five times; other cars require three. End with the key in the "On" position. Start the sequence anew if you accidentally crank the car.

Step 2

Watch the "Check Engine" or "Service" light on the dash. It will be lit, and will begin to pulse. Each pulse represents a number. A pause separates one digit from the next in a two-digit code. For instance, Code 23 will go like this: pulse, pulse, pause, pulse, pulse, pulse.

Write down the codes as they flash through the "Check Engine" light. Each code has a meaning, directly related to a problem in the engine. Look up the codes in a repair manual.

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23 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

Retrieve OBD2 Codes Using Your Ignition Key

Step 1

Turn the ignition key "On" and "Off" without cranking the engine. How many times you do this depends on your particular vehicle. Most Chryslers require five times; other cars require three. End with the key in the "On" position. Start the sequence anew if you accidentally crank the car.

Step 2

Watch the "Check Engine" or "Service" light on the dash. It will be lit, and will begin to pulse. Each pulse represents a number. A pause separates one digit from the next in a two-digit code. For instance, Code 23 will go like this: pulse, pulse, pause, pulse, pulse, pulse.

Write down the codes as they flash through the "Check Engine" light. Each code has a meaning, directly related to a problem in the engine. Look up the codes in a repair manual.

What if your car does not take a key but is push button start?

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Certain cars are notorious for false or bad-sensor-caused check engine lights turning on.

I had a 1997 Ford Taurus that was so notorious someone even wrote a haiku:

Please Check Engine Soon.

The red light that burns from hell.

Damn you, Ford Taurus.

I had one that was on for two straight years, I spent $250 at a garage - the minimum to get an emissions inspection waiver - that couldn't find the problem.

As the next inspection time approached, a Korean-American student of mine recommended her grandfather's garage.  He was excellent and found a hard-to-see cracked arm on a sensor and replaced it. That cured the problem.

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