Maybe I should recruit you to track down the reason why my car's "Check Engine" light has recently decided to to show up at some very inopportune times, but, of course, not when my dealer is watching it!
I recently discovered that by turning my Dodge's key on and off 3 times (ending up with it on) I can read a code out on the dash that describes what the onboard computer has complained about recently via the Check Engine light.
I got a good laugh out of that, because the repair facilities would have us believe they hook into the car with a giant, expensive diagnostic system to determine what's wrong.
Maybe your car has a similar capability.
-Noel
@ Crashman
I had something similar the engine warning light would come on - if I pulled over and switched the engine off and shortly after restarted it would be off again.
This was found to be a sensor (lamda sensor or something like that) in the exhaust (tail pipe) system, so your idea of talking to the tail pipe might not be too far from the possible problem.
Thanks, guys, for the input!
DavidR, I think you're sensor idea is on the right track. My service adviser thinks that maybe once the new fuel level sensor began reporting the tank level correctly, the ECU saw that information and thinks that more gasoline is being pumped to the engine than actually is (since
it had learned based on a too-high fuel tank level being reported before). So, the new sensor starting reporting accurate tank level data, but the ECU is reacting to that based on old learning using data from the faulty sensor, and it thinks it's running too rich when it really isn't. Or, something like that... I'm giving myself a headache...
NoelC, once we get all the onboard chips reflashed/reset and stand on our heads and sing the South Korean national anthem
or whatever we end up doing to clear this up, I'll try poking around to find a neat trick like yours. Nice to know that a repair shop has a way to find this stuff out that doesn't require the expensive equipment that customers past their warranty pay a nice penny for using!
At least I have a new game to play: Which will get ironed out first, the "avast! UI popping up" thing or my "Mixture too rich" thing?
Thanks to both for sharing your experience...