Ok, so I'm driving home the other night and all a sudden my Service Engine Soon light kicks on. So I pull over and shut off the car, get out and look around and smell to see if anything is burning or sumthing. All is well, so I get back in and turn on the car and light is off. So I take off down the road and all a sudden it kicks back on. I was like what the hell?!? So I pull over and pop the hood and look and all looks, smells, and seems fine, so I get back in and start her up and the lights off again. Then about 2 miles down the road it kicks on AGAIN! I was like FOCK THIS BULLLSHIEST and finished driving home. When I got into town I shut it off, turned it back on, and cruized around to see if I could get it to kick on...nuthin. I drove around town for an hour and it didnt kick on, so I hit the highway to go out to a friends house. About a mile outta town, BAM there it is again. It kicks on when Im highway drivin but not in town. I starts kickin on about 60 MPH on the highway after a few miles or so. Any idea what the hells wrong with my car?

 

This would be best posted in the 'Electronics' forum but, until you pull the code(s), it's all a guessing game as to what's causing the SES light to come on.
If I were to guess I'd say it may either be CTS or o2 related but, I'm not Madame Cleo

 

Damn, does she drive a third gen? maybe I should give her a call lol. I'll take it by the local mechanic and have him pull the codes. Hope its nuthin serious :S.

 

BTW, I posted this in the Electronics, thanx for telling me, I wasnt sure where to put it.

 

u can check the codes with a paperclip and then count the blinks...
then check the number on the net

 

my MAF sensor was cracked and it did that for awhile before it stayed on for good.
New MAF is I think $200, but there is a relay there that could be shorted.
I got a new MAF, but it was under warrenty so I didn't care
biker

 

buy a chitons and pull the code... this happend to me, i pulled the codes and it came up as maf. the maf wasnt bad though it was a vac leak. check all your vac. lines, my friend had the same thing it was his egr. then his maf went. then his smog generator. he has problems...

 

I have an 86 T/A with the LG4 and it did that to me continually.

On mine it was the vacuum sensor on the rear firewall that comes from the intake manifold. It was 30.00 brand new, but I got one from the boneyard and it works fine now......no light. The performance of the car never seemed to be affected.

I can't remember the code, but it was not reading input from the sensor, so just replacing it seemed to help. Sorry, don't have any of my data with me here. Thats the best I can do.

 

Go by AutoZone (if you have one near you) and they will pull the codes for free. I used to do that until I got an Auto Xray. They have helped me more than I can tell you. Hope this helps, later. T

 

donnot waste time going to autozone... trust me.. they dont know ****. Theres so many trouble codes, just by saying it kicked on at 60 cant mean anything. could be a vacuum problem, maf problem, air problem.. anything.. its not like your gonna pop ur hood and smell what it is and go ah ok thats simple.. lifes harder hehe. Id recommend checking up on how to read codes. you just count the first blinks.. like for instance for code 28 it will blink 2 times, pause for a second, then blink 8 times, and pause for longer, indicating the code is over. etc etc. try it out, and go on the net and look for codes for your year/make.

 

I tryed pulling the codes and all I got was the 12 blinks that it first does before displaying the codes. Any ideas?

 

i think the car is telling u to Swap Engine Soon i dunno if that the problem with ur car but u could try it and see if the light goes out

 

It sounds like you are getting what is called a soft code. When your codes flash 12, it is a good sign...anything else is a problem. Sometimes if you are ripping around with your car and then drive really calm all of a sudden you can set this "soft code"...once you shut the car off the ses light is gone. Unless the car is running like a real bag of crap, it is most likely a O2 sensor, or something simple...HTH

Keiran

 

are you checking it when the light is on? I think if it sets a soft code, it will display the next time the key is turned on. I don't think you can put the computer into diagnostic mode when the car is running, but try to check it right after you shut the car off next time it comes on. BTW, I always keep a spare U-shaped paper clip in the console for just that reason.
Good Luck
Jon

 

Ok, so I sat there and ran that 12 cod for like 15 min to see if it would change, and it didnt. So I figured that if I cleared the codes and the problem still persisted, then teh light would come back on, even though I disconnected the battery for 30 sec. to clear the codes. So I disconnect and reconnect and sure as ****, it didnt come on once today . Hope it was just my comp goin lil nutty from all the funky kansas weather or sumthin

 

Soft code...see you fixed it. LOL! Good job! Glad you got it figured out.

Keiran

 

Thanx! Me too, I really dont have the money to fix anything right now, and when it has sumthin to do with the SES light, ya know its gotta be expensive .

 

My "service engine soon" light has been on ever since I ripped out the computer, cat, smog pump, charcoal canister, and replaced the V6 with a 383. I think it might just be a faulty light in the dash. Maybe I'll re-screen it to say: "atmosphere depletion system operational".

 

HAHA LMAO thats funny!

 

Hey T.C. ......kind of off the subject, but did you ever get that spring I sent you installed in you ashtray??

 

Ya, and I got it in there easily. I really apriciate it! When I get my switches mounted I'll make a new post for all to see...I've been workin on my stereo right now, have you seen my post in car audio bout my new box?

 

The 12 code prior to the trouble code, just lets you know that the system is working. Then your trouble codes will follow, with 12 again letting you know that is the end of the sequence.

 

The symptoms you describe sound like an EGR temp sensor or the EGR itself. I'm surprised that you can't pull the code from it though. I had the same problem and it rears it's ugliness at 50mph after 5 mins of driving. Thru town it would be fine, but highway driving would set it off.