Cav owners please help!

Racing Rice · 08-20-2001, 07:31 AM

My girlfriend has a 96 Cav. (the 2.4L I think) with about 106,000 miles on it. Yesterday we were driving down the street and the check engine light came on. The car is running fine but the light is still on. It did this to us a couple of weeks ago but went off after we turned it off and back on a couple of times. Is there anyway of finding out what check engine code its puttting out without taking to to the shop or have special tools. Honda has a way of hooking a couple wires to the wiring harness and itll flash the engine code.

Any websites that might tell me how to do this would be a great help..
Thank you.

DDFresh · 08-20-2001, 03:10 PM

Hi.. I have had that problem on my car also...

Mine is a 91 Z24 3.1L What you do to check the code is this:

You turn the ignition just to where the "Start the car" position is, So you are just turning it as far as you can with out actually turning the car on and you are goin to go back to the off position. Do that three times real fast and then keep it on the on position on the third time. The "Check engin" light should start to blink a code.. So if it flashed 3 times then pauses and then 2 more times than it would be 32 is the code.. and so on.. If it didn't start blinking you can try turning the key 4 times and if no go then 5. If nothing after that the car dosen't have that feature.

If that dosen't work you are goin to have to take it in and they will hook up a computer to it and it will tell ya.

Racing Rice · 08-21-2001, 08:04 AM

Ill have to try that nexy time it comes on.. I think it maybe some type of short or maybe a sensor messing up. She said she turned her head lights on last night and the "check engine light" went off. *shrugs* I dont know whats wrong with it.. But it runs so who cares..

olds88 · 08-21-2001, 08:38 PM

in 1996 the manufatuers went to obd 2 were u need a specal data tool/ or scan tool to acces the codes in the computer. with out these your prety much screwed on finding the prob.

Racing Rice · 08-22-2001, 07:31 AM

Stinking Chevy's...

Heres another thing you guys maybe able to help me on. When her car gets down to about 1/4 of a tank of gas her car starts missing and sputtering. Any ideas on this one?

We put new plugs, thermostat, water pump, valve cover gasket. (I know other then the plugs the other thing shouldnt have any affect on that.)
The plugs were correctly gapped..It runs fine when its above 1/2 tank of gas..

DDFresh · 08-24-2001, 11:52 AM

Well it could be that your gas gauge is set wrong meaing that the sensor in the tank could be reading the amount of gas wrong. And so when you are at 1/4 tank you are really almost getting to empty. I have had that happen before. U might want to check out the sensor in the dash and the tank it self.

DD

Cavalier guy · 12-17-2001, 04:49 PM

speaken of the code stuff how do you turn off the doors from lockin every fucken time i put it in drive god that pisses me off

DDFresh · 12-19-2001, 03:24 AM

Well I don't really know.. But the one place I think it would be is in the shifter. It might be a little trigger that locks the doors when it pasts the Drive section of the gears. Or it might just be in the computer.. But I doubt it.

There is a sensor somewhere you can just disconnect.

Hope that helps.
DD

ecotec02cav · 10-06-2002, 12:11 AM

1996 Cavy's had the "Gas Guage" Problem...My sisters 97 Z24 does this also Sometimes....If its under warranty it can be fixed at no charge for the dealer, obviously its not....just dont run it under a 1/4 tank

Check out www.j-body.org

TRDcavalier__O · 10-10-2002, 01:04 AM

Get into the zone. free engine diagnostics check, free!.

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