Turning off the damn "check engine" light?

Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out nothing
is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there any cheaper way to
get it turned off? I need that indicator in case something were to
*actually* go wrong with the engine.

--
Please reply to: | "One of the hardest parts of my job is to
pciszek at panix dot com | connect Iraq to the War on Terror."
Autoreply is disabled | -- G. W. Bush, 9/7/2006

On Apr 5, 2:43 pm, (Paul Ciszek) wrote:
> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
> the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out nothing
> is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there any cheaper way to
> get it turned off? I need that indicator in case something were to
> *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>
> --
> Please reply to: | "One of the hardest parts of my job is to
> pciszek at panix dot com | connect Iraq to the War on Terror."
> Autoreply is disabled | -- G. W. Bush, 9/7/2006

Spend about $100 one time and get a OBDII reader. Check Ebay or your
local auto parts store. Even the basic ones have a "reset" button
that will erase the codes and turn off the light. Are you sure there
isn't something wrong when the light comes on?

--Jeff

Paul Ciszek wrote:
> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
> the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out nothing
> is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there any cheaper way to
> get it turned off? I need that indicator in case something were to
> *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>
---------------------------------

Why not tell us the CODE? If you paid for it, it's on the work order.
Your computer is trying to tell you SOMETHING. In my country there's
several places that will read codes for free, just to get you in the door.
Without the CODE, wait 6 days and repost on Psychic Wednesday and we'll
see if the good guessers can take a shot at your 'cure'.

'Curly'

Disconnect your battery for a few minutes. This will reset the ECU and
clear any CELs unless the problem that caused the CEL hasn't gone away.


--
Gohan Ryu
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(Paul Ciszek) wrote in news:ev3g0a$aun$1
@reader2.panix.com:

> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
> the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out nothing
> is wrong and get the light turned off.



Only because you don't know you can pull the Backup or Backup/Hazard fuse
to erase the ECM's memory.

But simply doing that would be extremely foolish.



> Is there any cheaper way to
> get it turned off?



See above.



> I need that indicator in case something were to
> *actually* go wrong with the engine.



Generally speaking, something *has* gone wrong -- with the emissions
controls.

The alphanumeric code behind the MIL illumination is significant and should
not be ignored, but investigated.

What codes did your $80 reveal?



--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

In article >,
motsco_ > wrote:
>Paul Ciszek wrote:
>> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
>> the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out nothing
>> is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there any cheaper way to
>> get it turned off? I need that indicator in case something were to
>> *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>>
>---------------------------------
>
>Why not tell us the CODE? If you paid for it, it's on the work order.
>Your computer is trying to tell you SOMETHING. In my country there's
>several places that will read codes for free, just to get you in the door.
>Without the CODE, wait 6 days and repost on Psychic Wednesday and we'll
>see if the good guessers can take a shot at your 'cure'.

I don't have a code, but I was verbally told "oxygen sensor". I'll bet
the oxygen sensor is calibrated for sea level.

--
Please reply to: | "One of the hardest parts of my job is to
pciszek at panix dot com | connect Iraq to the War on Terror."
Autoreply is disabled | -- G. W. Bush, 9/7/2006

(Paul Ciszek) wrote in
:

>
> In article >,
> motsco_ > wrote:
>>Paul Ciszek wrote:
>>> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high
>>> altitude, the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to
>>> find out nothing is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there
>>> any cheaper way to get it turned off? I need that indicator in case
>>> something were to *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>>>
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>Why not tell us the CODE? If you paid for it, it's on the work order.
>>Your computer is trying to tell you SOMETHING. In my country there's
>>several places that will read codes for free, just to get you in the
>>door. Without the CODE, wait 6 days and repost on Psychic Wednesday
>>and we'll see if the good guessers can take a shot at your 'cure'.
>
> I don't have a code, but I was verbally told "oxygen sensor".



Which covers about twenty different specific alphanumeric OBD-II errors.



> I'll
> bet the oxygen sensor is calibrated for sea level.


Nope.

You paid money, they owe you the code.
You posted here looking for advice, we cannot give any without knowing what
the dealership saw. Cough it up now, young fella, or go dry for advice.

By the way, you may want to give your year and model. This is quite
relevant, believe it or not.

--
Tegger

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 00:42:42 +0000 (UTC), Paul Ciszek > wrote:



>In article >,
>motsco_ > wrote:
>>Paul Ciszek wrote:
>>> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
>>> the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out nothing
>>> is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there any cheaper way to
>>> get it turned off? I need that indicator in case something were to
>>> *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>>>
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>Why not tell us the CODE? If you paid for it, it's on the work order.
>>Your computer is trying to tell you SOMETHING. In my country there's
>>several places that will read codes for free, just to get you in the door.
>>Without the CODE, wait 6 days and repost on Psychic Wednesday and we'll
>>see if the good guessers can take a shot at your 'cure'.

>I don't have a code, but I was verbally told "oxygen sensor". I'll bet
>the oxygen sensor is calibrated for sea level.
You'd lose that bet.

Paul Ciszek wrote:

>
> In article >,
> motsco_ > wrote:
>>Paul Ciszek wrote:
>>> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high altitude,
>>> the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to find out
>>> nothing
>>> is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there any cheaper way to
>>> get it turned off? I need that indicator in case something were to
>>> *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>>>
>>---------------------------------
>>
>>Why not tell us the CODE? If you paid for it, it's on the work order.
>>Your computer is trying to tell you SOMETHING. In my country there's
>>several places that will read codes for free, just to get you in the door.
>>Without the CODE, wait 6 days and repost on Psychic Wednesday and we'll
>>see if the good guessers can take a shot at your 'cure'.
>
> I don't have a code, but I was verbally told "oxygen sensor". I'll bet
> the oxygen sensor is calibrated for sea level.
>

If it's throwing a code, you probably have a problem that should be
addressed. It is not "nothing".

The Oxygen sensor will not likely affect your driving experience, and won't
likely hurt your car, but it will hurt your efficiency, and will keep your
car from being inspected.

And it is cheap to fix, relatively. Give the code here, and I am sure you
will get a pretty definitive answer. One thing you can be pretty sure of,
the Oxygen sensor is NOT calibrated for anything. Hondas work perfectly
well in the mountains, just as they do at sea-level. Many of the Oxygen
sensor problems involve difference in O2 levels between the 2 sensors.
This can indicate a failing sensor, or perhaps a failing cat.

Tegger wrote:
> (Paul Ciszek) wrote in
> :
>
>> In article >,
>> motsco_ > wrote:
>>> Paul Ciszek wrote:
>>>> Every time I start my Civic on a steep downhill slope at high
>>>> altitude, the "check engine" light come on. It costs $80 bucks to
>>>> find out nothing is wrong and get the light turned off. Is there
>>>> any cheaper way to get it turned off? I need that indicator in case
>>>> something were to *actually* go wrong with the engine.
>>>>
>>> ---------------------------------
>>>
>>> Why not tell us the CODE? If you paid for it, it's on the work order.
>>> Your computer is trying to tell you SOMETHING. In my country there's
>>> several places that will read codes for free, just to get you in the
>>> door. Without the CODE, wait 6 days and repost on Psychic Wednesday
>>> and we'll see if the good guessers can take a shot at your 'cure'.
>> I don't have a code, but I was verbally told "oxygen sensor".
>
>
>
> Which covers about twenty different specific alphanumeric OBD-II errors.
>
>
>
>> I'll
>> bet the oxygen sensor is calibrated for sea level.
>
>
> Nope.
>
> You paid money, they owe you the code.
> You posted here looking for advice, we cannot give any without knowing what
> the dealership saw. Cough it up now, young fella, or go dry for advice.
>
> By the way, you may want to give your year and model. This is quite
> relevant, believe it or not.
>
indeed it is. especially if this is an obd0 vehicle. obd0's rely on
exhaust gas to reach working temperature. starting, then coasting down
a mountain will mean the exhaust stays cold [zero fuel injected], so
after a while, it'll throw a code as the sensor won't test properly.