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I thought that when a car's check engine light came on it was a signal to stop the car and figure out what is going on.
My manual makes it sound like it's emissions related issue- and mentions nothing else. If this is true, I just plan to keep driving it and set up a time to have it checked sometime soon.
Thought I might ask if there are any other thoughts on this.
Pull the codes via your DIC, that will give you some information and you can make an informed decision based on which code(s) are current.
Search YouTube or this forum for instructions, it takes just a couple minutes. Record the process on your phone, then you can scroll through the video easily rather than stepping through everything in the car again. Flashing-bad, on steadily-less bad
P.S. Did you sell your Harley and switch to a Corvette? I gave up motorcycling and switched. Still have the bike for now but need to get it running and sell it.
Thanks for the message
I forgot to mention that I did check the codes and had nothing current except a defogger something.
It's a steady on light for check engine.
I did check the codes and had nothing current except a defogger something.
It's a steady on light for check engine.
Originally Posted by HardcoreABN
if it is on there HAS to be codes present.
When the CEL comes on a code is stored. But the CEL doesn't always go away even if the code that turned it on goes away. It often takes multiple drive cycles of NOT being detected before the CEL will go out. I don't know if the code will show as current until the CEL light goes out or not, I'm guessing it will show as historical even if the required number of drive cycles have not been completed.
What codes are in the history?
I don't know if a scan tool will show when the code was set, that might be something to check into. @C5 Diag would probably know.
I thought that when a car's check engine light came on it was a signal to stop the car and figure out what is going on.
My manual makes it sound like it's emissions related issue- and mentions nothing else. If this is true, I just plan to keep driving it and set up a time to have it checked sometime soon.
Thought I might ask if there are any other thoughts on this.
The MIL will illuminate for anything affecting the emissions of the car…a flashing MIL is a cat damaging misfire and that you don’t want to drive the car without getting that taken care of…you know what code you have to see what steps are needed to fix it.
Any chance you filled up shortly before the engine light came on? It could be something as simple as a loose gas cap. A steady light is not a reason for panic. A flashing one, as C5 Diag mentioned, is a misfire and could cause an issue. Follow the instructions provided on how to pull codes and list the module and code along with the C (current), H (history), or HC (history and current). If the issue resolved somehow, the code should still show up as history code and the light may turn off after a number of key on cycles.
C 5 check engine light meaning
