OBD II? This is just getting out of hand and I think I'm being ripped off...

I have a 98 SLS with OBD II (argh!). So I can't extract my own codes to do my own repairs, which has to be one of the most frustrating things on the planet for a guy like me. Are OBD II scanners expensive used? Here's the deal, I bought the truck maybe 2 months ago in total. The steering wheel was upside down due to the idiot that saftied it (out of town) and I ended up bringing it to the dealership to fix the wheel because I didn't want to mess around with the airbag system. Well they "fixed" the wheel for an atrocious amount of money (over 300$). Mysteriously enough in the following weeks a wander showed up in my front end, PERFECT, now my 98 jimmy with low miles steers as well as my 92 jeep YJ that had a half broken tie rod end.

So a short time after that the check engine light comes on. WTF? Check engine? I've owned vehicles with 500,000 miles on them, trucks that were beat to junk, etc etc, and never once in a vehicles life have I seen a check engine light show up. So I "wait" for it to go away, it doesn't. Which brings me to my first question:

Do Check Engine lights in OBD II systems "self clear" if the problem fixes itself or do they just STAY lit so you have to bring it in no matter what?

Needless to say it DOESN'T go away, and I can't get the codes myself, so I again have to bring it to the dealer. They scan it and tell me it's a horrifying problem with the gas tank and it needs to be fixed asap. ODDLY ENOUGH they found probably the most expensive part to change out! The valve ontop of the gas tank, cost me over 400$ to fix! That's almost as much as putting a new clutch in my truck! I pay it out because I -need- to go on a business trip the next day. I stop and think to myself, "damned check engine light, I've NEVER even had one come on before, WHY does it do this on my NEW truck and WHY does it cost me the MOST!".

So here I am not even a few weeks later and the DAMNED CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON AGAIN! 1 random CE light I might buy, but htf does it come BACK on not even a few weeks later? Are these trucks prone to being lemons that "check engine" all the time? I did a ton of research and found everyone who owned one of these swearing by them, so why do the check engines keep coming on????? BEST PART IS I'm supposed to take a 200mile trip today! OH YEAH! Great day to be alive.

PS I've done some searching and found OBDII scanners from 500$ USD to 40$ USD. Here's a cheaper one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PROFESSIONAL-OBD2-OBD-II-Code-Scanner-Code-Reader-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ43989QQitemZ4607140 252QQrdZ1

Or this one for only 60$ http://www.auteltech.com/code1.htm

For the price of either one of those scanners I could get 1 scan done in town. Seems to me if they work as advertised it would be stupid of me to pay someone the same price to just scan it once.

Is there a big diff between expensive and cheap? I mean if it supports my truck then why pay a ton more for another unit when they both only read and spit out a stupid error code number?

Well I found a decent scanner at walmart for the same price as the ebay ones so I bought it. I just did a scan and got the code:

P0147

Which shows up in the guide as a:

"O2 Heater Circuit (Bank1, Sensor 3)"

Strange error. Heater circuit for the O2 sensor huh. Kind of vague, anyone else get this type of error? The engine idles fine so the O2 sensor itself should be working ok (normally when I've had o2's blow out on me the engine idles erradically and runs like garbage).

Well I found a decent scanner at walmart for the same price as the ebay ones so I bought it. I just did a scan and got the code:

P0147

Which shows up in the guide as a:

"O2 Heater Circuit (Bank1, Sensor 3)"

Strange error. Heater circuit for the O2 sensor huh. Kind of vague, anyone else get this type of error? The engine idles fine so the O2 sensor itself should be working ok (normally when I've had o2's blow out on me the engine idles erradically and runs like garbage).

That is the one on your passenger side down pipe, the heater portion of it is shot, replace it and clear the code.

That is the one on your passenger side down pipe, the heater portion of it is shot, replace it and clear the code.

The last vehicle I changed O2's on didn't have a "heater portion" that I know about. Is this all part of the O2 sensor or is it an element that fits around\on it somehow? Thanks for the reply!

As far as I know the codes do not auto clear. Just disconnect your battery for 5 minutes and that should clear it though. As for scanners, I bought a 60 cheap at Checker and it works for what I need. Heck most Checkers will do the diagnostic for free. It pops out basic codes and I can figure it out from there. I'm sure some of the more expensive code readers will give more detail, but I'm not spending $200+ on something I'll use maybe two times.

The last vehicle I changed O2's on didn't have a "heater portion" that I know about. Is this all part of the O2 sensor or is it an element that fits around\on it somehow? Thanks for the reply!

Almost all chevy's from 90 to current are heated 02 sensors...It's integral to the 02 sensor itself, it can not be replaced seperately... I believe the yellow wire is the heater circuit (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Just let them know at the autoparts store what bank/sensor it is and they will give you the correct one

Thanks for the replies guys, I dumped the code 2 days ago just to see what would happen, I figured it couldn't hurt since my truck was showing NO signs of a "broken" O2 sensor at all. CONVENIENTLY ENOUGH I just did over 300 miles of city and highway and the code has not returned, isn't that just a luck co-incidence or what lol. Everytime the dealership touches my truck a code shows up in the exact same amount of time. I erase everything in the computer related to codes and WHATEVER else they've installed for me and the code doesn't return. If that O2 sensor was actually broken the code should have returned within about 10mins of starting it up again. Nice.

Cars are more complex these days, I'm amazed everytime I drive to Los Angeles and can't see or smell the air. 25 years ago you couldn't see the mountain that ring the LA basin, the air smelled really bad and was a strange greenish-brown.
Today, your can see the mountains, their uguly but impressive, the air while not as sweet as some places is breathable, now maybe they can work on the water.
The reason is the tight computer control we have on our cars these days, and even though their a pain now and then, the better fuel milage and air quality makes it worth while.
OK, enough for the soap box, OBDII is a really good idea for those of us who want to do it ourselves. It's also a great way for less then honest/competent mechanics to stick it to you. The best way to be protected is to have the info. This can be done with a laptop or PC computer and an OBDII decoder. Unlike code checkers, these read all of the sensor data and display it for you so that you can diagnose the problems then determin if you want to do it yourself or let someone else do it.
Check out:

http://www.scantool.net/index.htm

Their newer unit at about $150 will read the data and codes on all cars built with OBDII(there are three systems). If that seems steep(cheaper than one repair at the big guys shop) chip in with some friends or family and get the decoder. Pack it up with an older Laptop and you got a system. Remember it's only 3-4 days to mail something anywhere in the US so you don't have to live on the same block.
Yes OBDII codes will reset by themselves in 30-40 engine start cycles with out a repeat code.
The O2 sensor feeds info to the computer about your fuel/air ratio, it's a good idea to change it from time to time but not more than evey 50K miles. If they go bad the engine performance will suffer which means lower fuel mileage. At $3.00/gal it doesn't take long to pay for one.
Good luck.
94

Cars are more complex these days, I'm amazed everytime I drive to Los Angeles and can't see or smell the air. 25 years ago you couldn't see the mountain that ring the LA basin, the air smelled really bad and was a strange greenish-brown.
Today, your can see the mountains, their uguly but impressive, the air while not as sweet as some places is breathable, now maybe they can work on the water.
The reason is the tight computer control we have on our cars these days, and even though their a pain now and then, the better fuel milage and air quality makes it worth while.
OK, enough for the soap box, OBDII is a really good idea for those of us who want to do it ourselves. It's also a great way for less then honest/competent mechanics to stick it to you. The best way to be protected is to have the info. This can be done with a laptop or PC computer and an OBDII decoder. Unlike code checkers, these read all of the sensor data and display it for you so that you can diagnose the problems then determin if you want to do it yourself or let someone else do it.
Check out:

http://www.scantool.net/index.htm

Their newer unit at about $150 will read the data and codes on all cars built with OBDII(there are three systems). If that seems steep(cheaper than one repair at the big guys shop) chip in with some friends or family and get the decoder. Pack it up with an older Laptop and you got a system. Remember it's only 3-4 days to mail something anywhere in the US so you don't have to live on the same block.
Yes OBDII codes will reset by themselves in 30-40 engine start cycles with out a repeat code.
The O2 sensor feeds info to the computer about your fuel/air ratio, it's a good idea to change it from time to time but not more than evey 50K miles. If they go bad the engine performance will suffer which means lower fuel mileage. At $3.00/gal it doesn't take long to pay for one.
Good luck.
94