Hi everyone,

Yesterday while driving the Service Soon light came on solid. I took it home and looked through the Owners manual to see if it would shed some light on the situation. It was not alot of help. So I come to you guys.

The car still runs very smooth and has no problem accelerating through the gears. I took it up a heavy incline in cruise at 65 and it held it all the way through. I do not recall running through any puddles or any water for that matter. I have just recently put my 3rd tank of gas in it (Texaco Premium is all I use). After looking through the manual I checked the gas cap. It had alot of pressure behind it. It was the first time I came across this on the car. I drove it around a little more and checked to see if it had built up again and it was back to normal.

The only other thing I can think of is a sensor gone bad but I'm very new to this.

Any suggestions?

TIA


[Modified by beedub, 10:30 PM 4/7/2003]

 

You are being "told" that a trouble code(s) has/have been set. You, or someone, will have to access the codes to determine the problem. Here is a link to help with the codes:
http://www.c4vettes.com/indepth_launch.htm

 

There should be a code or two stored that will give you (and us) more information. Pull the codes and post back.

I'm not sure how to pull them on a 96, but go here and find out
http://www.c4vettes.com/

 

Unless you have a scanner (Tech 2, etc) or diagnostic software (i.e. AutoTap, etc), you can't pull PCM codes from a '96 like you could with earlier years. OBDII PCM codes are 5 digits long... Pxxxx ...but the speedo can only display 3 digits. Without the above tools or software, a trip to the dealer is in order.

If the light is no longer illuminated, I wouldn't worry about it unless you're curious.

 

Some notes...first, I am a relatively new LT4 owner (~6 months) but my car has ~ 85K miles.
You can go to AutoZone and possibly other auto parts chain stores, and they will pull your code(s) and give you the "short" answer. I ordered a factory shop manual from the Corvette Mall here, and it has more detail of the codes.
My experience with the SES light in December. It came on coming back from dinner with the wife, I think I was sitting at a stop light. I noticed no difference in the performance, idle, etc. Went to AutoZone and they pulled the code, something like right hand air pump failure. Posted the code and number here on the Forum, responses indicated it was the right hand air pump check valve, which evidently fails more often than the left. So I bought a $12 check valve from AZ, had them clear the code, and it's been smooth sailing since.
Hopefully yours is something as simple. Check the code first (AZ can also clear the code for you, helping you determine if it was a freak error or a true malfunction). If it persists, post here, these guys have ALOT of experience. If all else fails, put it in a trustowrthy shop with Corvette experience. This sounds like something fairly simple, hope it works out OK for ya.
Jeff

Oh yeah, about the gas cap. My '96 tends to pull a vacuum pretty hard if I gas up with a mostly empty tank right after I have put a few miles on her. Doesn't do it if hasn't been driven for awhile or has a full tank. Something with vapor recovery system I guess.


[Modified by no_radio, 10:07 PM 4/7/2003]

 

:thumbs:

Thanks all. I will head up to a shop and see if I can get the codes. When I get them I'll let you know what I find.

Thanks again

 

Took her up to AZ and got the codes. He cleared them and within 10 miles it was back on. We pulled 2 codes from it a P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected and a P1416 Port Air Circuit Malfunction/ (AIR) System Bank 2

Any ideas? Sounds like a trip to the fix it shop to me. :crazy:

Thanks again

 

I'd bet a soda the 1416 is the air injection valve:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=219440

Mark

 

Probably the passenger side check valve (actually the bank 2 valve is at the back of the intake).

Random misfire could be related to the valve (likely since they started at the same time). If not, then it's usually one or more of the following...plugs / wires / Opti

 

Similar, though not identical codes on my '96 in January...check passenger check AIR check valve first. $12 for me and no light since. Definitely at leat part of your problem.
Jeff

 

Without going to my 96 service manual to check this out, could it be that your oil monitor was not reset when the oil was changed?

 

Nope. That won't set hard codes.

 

Thanks all!

When I get home tonight I will see if I can find it and replace. Will let you know what happens.

Again thanks for all the help! :thumbs:

 

Brian,

If worse comes to worse you can probably soak the old one in Berrymans or Carb cleaner and get it to work again.

 

Good Grief!!

Ok, well I was able to find a replacement, 'bout $15 here locally. But I can not get the old one to budge! I'm afraid I'm going to kink the line it is attached to. I started by trying the side where the rubber hose comes in. I thought I had started loosing it but all it was doing was turning within the other side of the check valve. So I moved over the the passenger side of the valve and can not get it to budge.

Did anyone one else run into this?

 

Sounds illogical but I used an open end on the pipe and a 1/2" impact gun on the valve side. Just a little "bump" was enough to get it loose.

Mark

 

Well, it has been a few days and I wanted to let you know how it all ended. I was finally able to work on it again yesterday. I took it out for a few minutes and let the engine warm up. When I pulled up at home I popped the hood and was able to get the original Check Valve off. I put the replacement on and within 4 miles the light went off.

I wanted to thank everyone for their help! You guys are the best! :hurray:

 

I missed your post the first time or I would have suggested Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster to get the valve off. Mine was stuck too.

Glad you got it fixed, never thought about using engine heat.