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    •

    That Scary Check Engine Light

    By Tom Bassett

    WHEN IT LIGHTS... You're driving along enjoying the nice day, when...BLINK, the "CHECK ENGINE" light pops on. Great, what do you do now? After you stop swearing and your heart rate slows down, the next thing to do is make a decision. Can this be serious or a simple problem? Should I keep driving? Call a tow truck?

    SERIOUS... On current automobiles, all the SERIOUS engine functions that could lead up to a possible engine failure are monitored with INDIVIDUAL lights and a water temperature gage. We have a low oil pressure light, usually behind an image of an oilcan, and a battery low charge warning light behind a battery icon. Any of THESE lights and the water temperature gage can pre-warn the driver of a possible engine malfunction that requires IMMEDIATE dealer attention to prevent causing engine damage or being stranded.

    OR SIMPLE... I'm just old enough to remember that cars had real gages in the dashboard. There was a temperature gage, an oil pressure gage and a battery gage to monitor the engine functions. With these gages you could be aware of a potential problem that may be creeping up on you as the gages slowly changed from normal. Now we have a silly "check engine" light that is either on or off, and tells us nothing about the problem. But, other than the INDIVIDUAL warning lights in the above section, the "Check Engine" light is usually used to indicate an environmental emissions problem. Could be a loose gas cap, faulty fuel mixture, inefficient engine idle, one of the dozen monitoring sensors that is out of spec, or another simple, correctable item.

    WHAT TO DO... If your car is running smoothly with no indication of a major problem, bring your vehicle to your dealer and they will plug your vehicle into an error code reader, probably a diagnostic computer, to identify the problem. Usually the fix will require a new gas cap, a filter, a new sensor, a leaky hose piece, or other corrective item. If you want to avoid any excessive dealer charges for the diagnostic test, you can have the error code read for free at one of a few new auto parts stores. Call them to see if the service is available.

    FOR THE INQUISITIVE... If you are curious about the reason for the "Check Engine" light, you can purchase a simple handheld error code reader from any number of companies for around thirty or more dollars. In minutes, using the reader and its error code manual, you can zero in on the problem and, many times, effect a simple repair economically. Having an error code reader is a big plus if you have a few vehicles in the family. But REMEMBER, if there is ANY doubt about the cause of the "Check Engine" light going on, get thee to the Car Dealer.!

    To find information on this and most any other subject, visit my web site at http://www.ebookperson.com, where you can enter your subjects of interest in the CBmall Search Engine box. The search engine will retrieve the ten most popular ebooks on your subject for your review.

    Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Bassett
    http://EzineArticles.com/?That-Scary-Check-Engine-Light&id=1833337

    Note: This article and the ideas and opinions expressed in it belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the ideas and opinions of GasPredictor.com. Inclusion of this article on the GasPredictor.com Web site does not necessarily indicate endoresement or recommendation by GasPredictor.com of any ideas, techniques, or products mentioned or described in the article.

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