CARS.COM — The check engine light on the dashboard is a warning that many vehicle owners dread. The check engine light is a signal that the onboard diagnostics system (or OBD II) has detected a malfunction in the vehicle’s emissions, ignition, fuel or exhaust systems. It could be caused by something as simple as a loose gas cap or a faulty oxygen sensor or spark plug or something as severe as a faulty catalytic converter or major engine problems, so you shouldn’t ignore it. All cars and light trucks have onboard diagnostics that are supposed to detect engine-related problems that affect the emissions control systems.
If the check engine light turns on and you start noticing problems with your vehicle's performance, take it to an auto service shop right away. In some cases, a yellow check engine light may indicate that a problem exists, but it's not very urgent. Other times, a red check engine light or a blinking check engine light. Cars are equipped with electrical systems that monitor how the car is working. When something's wrong, a little light comes on your dashboard that says 'Check Engine.' Below are a few things you can do to reset the check engine light. Jul 13, 2007 Could a car being in need of a tune-up make the engine light turn on? Like your going to have to have that part of it done anyway,and then you,ll have to get the light cleared off of it,auto zone or advance can clear the check engine light off for you,good luck hope this helps.
The check engine light (typically a yellow or orange outline of an engine with the word “Check” or “Service Engine”) should come on for a few seconds every time you start the engine with other warning lights. If it stays on, that means there is a problem. If your check engine light is flashing or blinking rather than staying illuminated, it indicates a serious problem that needs to be dealt with right away. Many of the common causes of an illuminated check engine light are simple and easy to solve, but sometimes, an engine light means something serious has gone wrong.
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If the check engine light is flashing or blinking, that usually indicates a misfire or other serious issue that requires prompt repair and should be dealt with quickly at an auto repair shop. Ignoring a flashing light increases the chances of additional problems, including damaging an expensive catalytic converter (which costs more than $1,000 to replace on some cars). If your engine light is blinking, take your vehicle to your mechanic right away.
If the engine light is illuminated but isn’t flashing, before rushing to a mechanic, you should first tighten the gas cap because a loose gas cap can trigger a check engine warning. See if the light goes off after several engine starts over the next day or so. Replacing a worn gas cap that doesn’t fully seal may also solve the problem.
/how-to-use-rand-in-dev-c.html. If that doesn’t do the trick, an auto technician will need to diagnose the problem by electronically tapping into an OBD II connector under the dashboard to read diagnostic codes that will help isolate what tripped the check engine warning, such as a bad spark plug, oxygen sensor or another sensor. Many auto part stores also offer free diagnostic testing. While they will not repair your vehicle, they will read the code and let you know what the problem is. If it’s a spark plug or an easily accessible sensor, you may be able to pick up what you need and replace it yourself without making a trip to a repair shop, if you prefer the do-it-yourself approach to car repair.
Check Engine Light With Auto Tuner
Even if your vehicle seems to be performing well and your mileage isn’t dropping, it’s a bad idea to just ignore a check engine light. Something is wrong, and it’s likely to get worse. In addition, if you live in an area where vehicles have to pass periodic emissions tests, an activated check engine light usually means your vehicle will automatically fail. Depending on what’s causing the light to be illuminated, some problems, like a misfire, bad spark plug, faulty sensor or even bad fuel could decrease fuel economy.
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Cars are equipped with electrical systems that monitor how the car is working. When something's wrong, a little light comes on your dashboard that says 'Check Engine.' Below are a few things you can do to reset the check engine light.
Check Engine Light With Auto Tune Car
- Fix the problem triggering the light If your check engine light came on, the computer detected a problem that needs fixing. If you don't know how to check the codes from the computer and how to repair your car on your own, bring your car to a professional mechanic and have it fixed. Once the problem is resolved, the check engine light will go off and stay off [source: RepairTrust].
- Have a professional reset the on-board diagnostics computer If you just don't want to fix your car, and you don't want to deal with the complications of a hard reset, you can have someone with a Check Engine Light Code Reader reset the tripped code. You can ask someone at your local service center to reset the computer without charging you for diagnostics. Many auto parts stores also have this machine and will perform this task free of charge if you ask nicely [source: RepairTrust].
- Do a hard reset If you don't want to try either of the above options, you can reset your check engine light the hard way. Disconnect the car battery. The on-board diagnostics require some power to save the memory of the fault codes it's picking up to trigger the check engine light. Leave the lights on and press the horn for several minutes to drain the last bit of electricity. The downside of this method is that you will lose all the data from the computer. Also, your check engine light is likely to come on again once the computer comes across the problem that tripped the check engine light in the first place [source: Gittelman].