check engine light

[semi_sane]

so about 3 weeks ago, my check engine light came on for some odd reason. not exactly sure why, but it did. i stopped, popped the hood and took a gander. nothing seemed to be amiss and about a week later it went off while i was driving. anyway, about a day later, i was pulling out of a parking lot on to a main road and that sucker pops up and on again. no idea why its on, but it is. any ideas? i know you guys dont have a lot to go on, but here's what i can tell you: car starts well now that i put a new batt in. the alt was checked and said it was charging just fine. the light was blinking when my sparks were missing, now that i've changed them and my wires, it just stays lit as it had before. there is no black smoke comming out of the exhaust, so it shouldn't be the o2 sensor or the mpa.... so if you guys have any ideas, any at all, post them and that would be great. thanks for the help

-ryan

[JFryauff]

Is it a VW?
There is your answer, enjoy.

[White rabbit]

Yeah, VW's and CEL's are quite fond of eachother.

[semi_sane]

so what your saying is, chances are, there is nothing wrong with my car, its just a damned error in the elec system's readings.... God have mercy on those that have made my car's sensors...

-ryan

after thought here... what the hell is up with the pic of a guy holding that giant cat?

[White rabbit]

Yea, that's why my car is smog illegal. I eliminated my cat conv., my airpump, and removed my CEL bulb. Screw it, I say.

[semi_sane]

finally fixed the problem... i kicked my fuse box accidently... whatever works i guess. thanks for the help

-ryan

[Davzing]

haha, I have kicked so much crap out of my fuse/relay panel by mistake... I wish my father didnt throw away the cover for it

[JJ]

Might be a good idea to see if anyone near you has VAG-COM stuff so you could at least read the code and find out what it was.

[98a4]

Originally Posted by White rabbit

and removed my CEL bulb. Screw it, I say.

And what you gonna say when the car dies?... After the cel has been blinking for a week when you shouldnt have been driving it... Your taking a risk there. I Hope you own a vagcom...

[veedubgolf97]

out of the 140k on my 97..... i would have to say i have had my CEL on for the last 15k atleast..... granted it has sometimes gone off for a day or 2 but always comes back on the next time i start her up..... although i do know what mine is..... i would suggest atleast finding out whats going on under your hood...... or you could end up with a large bill!

[White rabbit]

Originally Posted by 98a4

And what you gonna say when the car dies?... After the cel has been blinking for a week when you shouldnt have been driving it... Your taking a risk there. I Hope you own a vagcom...

I don't, but i'm trying to find where I can buy one. I don't drive my golf enough for it to be a hazard anyways.

Do you know where I can get a vagcom for cheap? I looked at ross-tech's site but it costs like $800.

[GTIDubber]

Get your car over to the stealer or autozone etc. and get that code read. Post it here and i will tell you what it may have been. I have heard stories of bad gas doing this to a chiped car, but you need to get it read.

Don't pay the dealer 100.00 just to read it, you can buy the obdii reader for 100.00 @ pep boys.

Trouble codes are not trivial, you should not just make believe you don't see the CEL. This is for you and your cars protection and in the long run will save you money. Anyone who tells you otherwise is most likely driving a Sh*t piece with a xmas tree for a dash board.


JM

[semi_sane]

last night on my way home, my check engine light came on again. its been off for lets say a month now. any ideas other than whacking my fuse box a few times to get it off?

thanks ahead of time
-ryan

[VWFordAliance]

same thing happened to my sisters jetta, take it somewhere and just have them read the code, itll probably be something like idle air at limit or some stupid assed thing like that, the CEL's are very easy to piss off and not easy to be rid of, good luck


bob[/i]

[perv]

everyday my cel is off, the day feels so much better. anyone agree?