About a month ago I was driving and the "check engine" light lit up yellow. It stayed lit for a month whenever I drove but I never got around to taking it to the repairman to see what was wrong. Now since yesterday the light stays off when I drive. I know the light is still working, as it lights up with all the other lights when I turn the key to the "on" position. Also I know that a warning light sometimes occurs for even the slightest problem in a car's detection system. Is there a chance that the problem that caused it to light up went away on it own? It's a 1999 Acura Integra LS. I could ask a dealership but they will probably lie to get a buck out of me. So maybe one of you grease-monkeys knows the answer.
I actually had a similar problem twice. The first time, it was a moisture sensor going off at my gas cap. Gas cap needed to be replaced. The second time, a sparkplug was randomly misfiring. It's probably nothing to worry about, but I'd mention it the next time you take your car in for regular service.
Yeah it is possible for them to be rectified without you knowing it. I had it happen on mine and it turns out the gas cap wasn't fastened enough.
My newest car did the same thing for about a month, and then it just disappeared. I never looked into it, and it hasn't come back on for months. One of my other cars did it for 10 YEARS, did it since the day I bought it. I ignored it, and nothing bad ever happened. My advice? Forget about it and put some tape over it if it comes back on.
That sounds like the kind of advice they give on cartalk, which is sound advice in my book. Heck chances are if his car blows up he won't be close enough to his comp to yell at us.
You can go to Auto Zone or Pep Boys, or whatever car parts chain is near you, the ones around here offer free diagnosics for the check engine light, because they want you to get the part you need from them (usually a O2 sensor, or various other emissions crap) Like said though, it could have been as easy as a gas cap not being tight. The smallest things can set those off. Good luck, man.
Yeah, happened to my car too. My mechanic told me it was the gas cap, and when it is tightened the car's computer looks for a pattern of driving 100 miles, resting for several hours, driving another 100 miles, and resting... i think he said 3 times before it would go off. But I don't drive like that, can't imagine a whole lot of people do... It went away after like a week and a half.
On ODB II systems it takes several starts before the trouble code is reset in the computer. It's happened to me before on 96 GMC truck I used to have. The OBD II systems are pretty sensitive.
Well, I believe only when the light is on, you can read the code. So, like Optimus Scourge is saying, you can go ot AutoZone, and they will hook it up to a code scanner and tell you what code its throwing FOR FREE! lol. Hey who doesn't like free stuff haha. Probly an O2 sensor, (oxygen sensor) very easy to replace.
Go the Pep Boys/Autozone path if it shows up again. And buy a Haynes book for your car. All but one time that I've had the check engine light, I've been able to rectify it myself for little to no cost.
