aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
Offline
Note: this doesn't really apply to older Brit cars, but it *does* to most of our newer daily drivers.....
Sunday morning I'm driving the Oriental Elan out to get coffee and the Times. "Check engine" dash light flips on for no apparent reason. I pull over, wondering if Mazda has included a "Lucas effect" to make the car seem more Lotus-like. Oil, coolant, belts, etc. all OK. Keep going (I really *need* that coffee). At the store it occurs to me to check the gas cap.......sure enough, it's loose.....the Miata has been obediently warning me that it has a "fuel vent code". I tighten the cap.
[side note: here in NJ we are not *allowed* to put gas in our own cars.....most of the gas guys are courteous and efficient immigrants......but my last gas fill was done by an all-American slacker-dude-doofus......figures!]
Light is *still* on when I get home. We go shopping.....still on. We go to a family party 70 miles away. It's still on. Daughter #1 shows up at the party and tells me the same thing happened to her new Subie. Called the dealer and they told her to check the gas cap. She tightned the cap and the light went out in 2 minutes. My sister hears the story and recounts how she was charged $75 to "reset the computer" after her gas cap is left loose (I know this is bogus dealer gouging.......her Malibu will reset after about 5 "clean" restarts......found this out when I took a course in GM diagnostics a few years ago)
But I'm not sure about the Miata (and there's nothing clear about it on MiataNet). My two E.E. brothers tell me to clear codes by disconnecting the battery. I'm pretty sure that'll work, but it's a pain to get to the battery....and besides, it's *cold* out.
I drive home. Light's still on. I drive to work. Light is still on. I figure I'll disconnect the battery when I get home. As I pull up my street, the check engine light finally goes out. Figures.
Note to all: if the check engine light goes on in your modern car, examine the gas cap......if it's loose, it make take up to 200 miles of driving to clear the computer codes.....also: don't let any "slacker-dudes" near your gas cap.
Sunday morning I'm driving the Oriental Elan out to get coffee and the Times. "Check engine" dash light flips on for no apparent reason. I pull over, wondering if Mazda has included a "Lucas effect" to make the car seem more Lotus-like. Oil, coolant, belts, etc. all OK. Keep going (I really *need* that coffee). At the store it occurs to me to check the gas cap.......sure enough, it's loose.....the Miata has been obediently warning me that it has a "fuel vent code". I tighten the cap.
[side note: here in NJ we are not *allowed* to put gas in our own cars.....most of the gas guys are courteous and efficient immigrants......but my last gas fill was done by an all-American slacker-dude-doofus......figures!]
Light is *still* on when I get home. We go shopping.....still on. We go to a family party 70 miles away. It's still on. Daughter #1 shows up at the party and tells me the same thing happened to her new Subie. Called the dealer and they told her to check the gas cap. She tightned the cap and the light went out in 2 minutes. My sister hears the story and recounts how she was charged $75 to "reset the computer" after her gas cap is left loose (I know this is bogus dealer gouging.......her Malibu will reset after about 5 "clean" restarts......found this out when I took a course in GM diagnostics a few years ago)
But I'm not sure about the Miata (and there's nothing clear about it on MiataNet). My two E.E. brothers tell me to clear codes by disconnecting the battery. I'm pretty sure that'll work, but it's a pain to get to the battery....and besides, it's *cold* out.
I drive home. Light's still on. I drive to work. Light is still on. I figure I'll disconnect the battery when I get home. As I pull up my street, the check engine light finally goes out. Figures.
Note to all: if the check engine light goes on in your modern car, examine the gas cap......if it's loose, it make take up to 200 miles of driving to clear the computer codes.....also: don't let any "slacker-dudes" near your gas cap.