[The Burning Rom]

Originally Posted by Retardo

Couldn't you just use the OBD-II interface to find out what the code is?

Under the dash in front of the gas pedal, there's gonna be a small black box with some holes in it. Get a paper clip and straighten it out. On that interface, stick one end of the paperclip into the top right hole. Make sure it goes in there good and snug. Then stick the other end of the paperclip in the hole next to it on the left. Make sure the ignition is OFF during this. Once the paperclips are in there snuggly, turn the key ON, but do NOT start the engine. You should hear the 2 cooling fans in the engine compartment kick on. Watch the service engine light.

What it will do is, it will blink a certain number of times, then a pause, then blink a few more times. It will repeat this 3 times before moving on to the next code. The first blinks are the first digit for the code, then the pause, then the second blinks are for the 2nd digit on the code. 3 blinks, pause, 6 blinks mean to look up code 36. Could be a bad O2 sensor.

If it blinks a 12, it means the engine is running normal and nothing is wrong.

It depends on what year the car was made. Some are not ODBII. Some are ODB1.5. That's why it's just better to go to Autozone and have it scanned. They can also tell you right there what the code is.