It happens to everyone. You are tooling along in your finely tuned automobile, and the check engine or service engine light comes on. What exactly does this mean? Should I be alarmed? Will it hurt my auto? These questions and some other valuable information will be discussed here.
 Check Engine Light |
The check engine and service engine light are what manufacturers of autos call maintenance indicating lights or M.I.L. What triggers this light to come on can be many things. Something as simple as not tightening down your fuel cap, to a major component failure, and everything in between. If the light comes on and goes out after for a short while, this usually means that a component or sensor on the engine failed a self test by the electronic control module or E.C.M., and has been stored as an inactive code. If the light comes on and stays on, the component at fault has an active code and has failed several times. Some things that will happen when the light comes on are varied. Sometimes you will not notice any performance issues, other times the auto will be sluggish, and could even possibly die and will not restart.
If the engine does start running poorly, then you should have it checked at the earliest possible convenience. Believe it or not, a check engine light is a good thing to have when you visit your local repair facility. The technician can scan the E.C.M., retrieve the code, and start troubleshooting a specific system rather quickly. After locating the faulty component and replacing it, the code or codes are cleared, and the vehicle is taken for a test drive. If no other issues are present, your auto is ready for pick up.
If not going to a repair facility, the weekend mechanic car owner can retrieve these same codes. Consult a good repair manual, such as a Haynes manual, and follow the steps to retrieve the flash codes and translate them into what they represent. If a scan tool is available, you can even delete all inactive and active codes.
If the check engine light is on in your own auto, it is best to have it checked out. You could be doing more damage to your engine than you realize. Keep it running, keep it reliable, and keep it on the road.
