...I failed emissions...

So I took my car to inspection this morning...and it failed. It failed the bulb check portion of the inspection, which hasw something to do with the Malfunction Indicator Light(MIL), which is the "check engine" light. Does anyone know how to fix this? :banghead:

OBD2 FTL. You need to find out what kind of code is stored in the ECU and got from there.

OR, <and i'm not saying this> you can remove the gauge cluster from the dash, remove the bulb for the CEL, then you won't have a CEL. however, once hooked up to the OBD II computer, it will still most likely read that you are throwing a code, even though the light isn't on. so you might as well just get the code read, and fix the problem.

^Probably not a good move. Unless he wants to take it all apart once the test is over and put the bulb back. CEL's are a good thing to have.

Unless he wants to take it all apart once the test is over and put the bulb back.

take it all back apart? if you've ever pulled the gagues before, you'd know it takes all of 10 minutes. but i agree, CEL is a good thing AND the OBD II computer will still be able to tell that the ECU is throwing a code. HOWEVER, this is a good process to know and be aware of if ever a dash light comes on that is annoying and won't go off. for example, my SRS light came on (very annoying, wouldn't go off, common problem, very expensive to simply diagnose, won't appear as a DTC) and so i just removed the two bulbs. annoying light problem solved.

^Never have taken it off on my 3/s. I did on my old truck and it didn't take real long. It was just kind of PITA. But different make, different model.

ive had mine out a few times. its like 5 screws, thats it.

anyways...what exactly does the SRS mean if its on? it stands for safety restraint system or some BS like that right? So if its on, does that mean your seatbelts are broke or something? (mines not on, but when i was 3/s shopping, a looked at a number of cars where it was on, and no one could really explain it)

I beleive the srs is something to do with the airbag on the drivers side!?!

srs can mean a LOT of different things. basically, sometimes it can come on for no particular reason at all. the only way to turn it off is to take it to the dealership and have them hook it up to a special computer. the srs light is not a simple CEL light that can be cleared with a datalogger or a diagnostic computer. it requires a whole different computer to do this. and basically its not worth the trouble, time, or money to take it to the stealership. so a lot of ppl just remove the bulbs. if you do a search on you know where, you'll find a lot of info regarding this.

Yes, usually the SRS is in relation to the airbag/s. And it like linebckr said, it can come on for no reason. A car I used to own had the "Air Bag" light on it the entire time I had it. Sold it to a guy who crashed it about 2 weeks later and the air bag deployed.

Well on my sister's Eclipse, the CEL has been on for over two years now and we still can't figure out what's wrong with it. Even mechanics can't figure it out. So if she has to do emissions then she fails automatically because of the CEL so what we do is just reset the ECU and take it in for testing right away. It usually takes about 3 days before it comes back on so as long as we do it before the 3 days then it passes emissions with flying colors. :)

What year is the Eclipse? In all honesty resetting the ECU prolly wont help pass if its a 96+ The scanner will read that its been reset within the last 100 starts and that right there could cause a failure.

She has a '97 GS. Hmm...that's interesting... It worked last year so I dunno... The CEL says that there's some type of gas leakage or something. Every mechanic keeps saying that she needs to replace her gas cap but she already replaced it and it still comes back. It doesn't affect the driveability of the car so we eventually just gave up on it since no one could figure out what was wrong with it. exterra3000gtsl mentioned something about the fuel vapor valve or something with his car and I think he has the same issue. But again, he couldn't figure it out either and his mechanics were having a hard time as well so he just left his alone too. Hehe Weird huh!?!

check the vac lines going to the evap canister and the evap canister itself. It could even be the fuel pump itself isnt sealed correctly against the tank.

unplug the battery right before you go to the emissions so that it resets the car computer. or....go to a black neighborhood and tell em you really need to pass. you'll get hooked up

check the vac lines going to the evap canister and the evap canister itself. It could even be the fuel pump itself isnt sealed correctly against the tank.

Interesting that you mention the evap canister because the first code that I pulled did mention some type of "evap leak." However, I don't know anything about the Eclipse engine so uh....what/where's the evap canister? You also mentioned the tank and well, we did try pushing harder when we were closing the fuel cap but uh...didn't really help... Hehe

go to a black neighborhood and tell em you really need to pass. you'll get hooked up

That wasn't necessary. Don't do it again

Evap canister looks like an ugly coffee can under the hood. It has a few va lines coming from it. Check it, check the vac lines. If those all check out then the only other thing I can think of is the fuel pump housing isnt sealed properly against the tank. That may cause stalling issues though.