'Check Engine' Light On Dashboard

[xhundredproofx]

The 'Check Engine' light for my '96 Integra LS comes up. Its been on there for a while. So my mom went to take the car the 2 different mechanics. They said that there's nothing wrong with the engine. How do I get rid of the yellowish light? Is there really something wrong with my engine?

I heard that once a car gets to a certain mileage, that light automatically comes up. Is this true? My car has 127,000 miles on it.

Also I heard that I could go to AutoZone for a OEM II check or something like that. And then take that report to the mechanic, and then he could find out what's wrong with the engine, and then he can turn off the light. Is this true?

Also, I heard that I could just unplug the positive wire to my battery and the light will turn off. Is this true?

I'm sure this isn't all of the methods, and I'm sure some of them even work. Please give me your insight. THANKS A GRIP!

[tran_nsx]

just because the light is on, this doesn't always mean they is something wrong with the engine. it could be many things like your sensors, and valves. u can have a mechanic shut the light off which is illegal but this isn't reccomend because what if there is something wrong.

with some cars, yes the light will come on but to the best of my knowledge not with the integra.

yes u can take it to autozone, but not every store has this. in some, they had to do it manually. i went there, and they couldn't even find a code

by unplugging the battery, yes the light will come off. but after 30 secs this will come back on. i heard that this worked, although i tried it on my 92 teg and it didn't for me.

the final resort if u can't find the problem is to take it to an acura dealer and have them look at it, they should have the answer. the problem is where i live they charge i think it was 140 for the diagnostic as flat rate, ouch. if they find something wrong, they will deduct the 140 from the parts and labor. when i was in southern ca. i swear they told me only $75 dollars for the diagnostic, bue these guys said the rates are the same everywhere .

[whtteg]

Ok look under the dash on the pass side and you will find a 2 wire harness' that are pushed into a green plastic cover thing. Take these out, one will have 2 wires, you want to insert anything you can find that will connect the 2 wires, then turn the ignition on, do not start the car. The MIL (check engine light) will blink. You need to count the blinks. They will go something like this Blink Blink (pause) Blink Blink. You have 43 different codes that can come out this way so codes 1-9 are a series of short blinks and codes 10-43 are a series of long and short blinks. The long blinks equal the first digit and the short blinks equal the second digit for 10-43. And then for 1-9 the short blinks equal that. ie: you get 3 short blinks that will be code 3 say you get 2 long blinks and 5 short blinks that would be code 25 etc. After you find that out post back and i will tell you what the code is for.

[xhundredproofx]

woahh...is there an easier way to do this...yea yea ima newbie

[xhundredproofx]

i think i mite just take it to autozone...and get the code or sumthing? and then take it to mechanic

[boosted k20]

hey man. u should listen to what dat dude was tell n u earlier. even though ur a noobie, this trick aint too hard to follow. As stated earlier, get in the passager side of ur vehicle. Look under the dash towards the passenger side of the vehicle. use a flashlight to see better. u'll see like 2 sets of wires and a plug which is inserted in a green rubber holder. pull it out a little so u can work with it but dont try to pull it outta the vehicle or anything. (theres enough wire for it hang like 4 to 5 inches) oki now remove the green rubber holder. u'll see the plug now which has 2 wires attached to it. using a piece of wire or a paper clip, insert it into this plug so that u connect these two wires. once u did this, turn the igniton on to the "accessories" position but dont start the car. Once u do this the check engine light (CEL) will begin to flash. U will have long flashes and short flashes of the CEL. Long flashes are the first number of the trouble code and short flashes are the second number of trouble code.
EXAMPLE: if you have something like this- Long FLASH Long FLASH Short FLASH Short FLASH short FLASH this is engine trouble code 23 (because we have 2 long flashes and 3 short flashes) if u start off with short flashes but no long flash like SHORT SHORT SHORT this is equal to code number 3.
If u have more than one trouble code the first code will be displayed followed by a pause then the second code will be displayed and so on. the codes will repeat itself after they all have been shown.

it may sound confusing but read it over and ask us if u have n e questions. write down the codes you see and i'll tell u what the problem is for ur car.



AFTER u have found and fixed the problem with the CEL, u will want to turn off the cel light. to do this, open the hood and locate the Fuse box which is located in the right side of the engine compartment (by the passenger side). open the fuse box cover. U will see a fuse marked BACK-UP fuse from the fuse box. i thinks it's the 7.5 amp fuse. take this fuse out for at least 10 seconds and then reinstall it. i would keep it out for about 15-20 secs if i were u. (take n out this fuse will cancel the raio preset stations and the clock settings. so ur gonna have to reset em once u do this)

[JDMDB7]

IIRC, it could also be a service interval reminder. If that's the case, there's a small button under the dash on the driver's side. Try resetting that before you go to all the trouble of pulling the codes.

[xhundredproofx]

Aite thanks guys...ill try tuh get back to yall with wutever happens...

[xhundredproofx]

any more advice would be appreciated too..thnks

[whtteg]

Originally Posted by JDMDB7

IIRC, it could also be a service interval reminder. If that's the case, there's a small button under the dash on the driver's side. Try resetting that before you go to all the trouble of pulling the codes.

This would cause the maintance required light to come on. You need to make sure it is the light that has the little outline of an engine. If it is not the one with the engine that is red in color then it must be the orange maint light. If it is the orange light follow what JDMDB7 said. If it is the red light go with what I said to do.

[xhundredproofx]

its the yellowish light....ok now im confused...i think its the light on the top left...

[JDMDB7]

I think they're both yellowish.
If it's an engine outline it's the CEL.
If it says "MAINT REQ'D" it's the maintenence reminder.

[xhundredproofx]

its an engine outline...and it has the word 'check' on it

[ematrixLS]

I have had the same problem for months and it is really getting to me, i have the one that supposedly is shut off by the button at the bottom of the dash. However, i can't find the damn button no matter how long i look. When i look in the manual it says it is at the bottom to the left of the accelerator and it shows an automatic car. MY car is stick though and i don't see any any buttons where the diagram in the owners manual says. If anyone could tell me exactly where this button is and what it looks like I would really appreciate it.

[JDMDB7]

On a G3 Integra... Lightly curl your fingers around the edge of the trim panel under the steering wheel. If you start in the middle and slide your fingers to the right you will feel a box mounted flush with the edge of that same panel (If you're gripping the edge tightly you'll feel a screw mount and then the box). On the edge of that box there is a square button that is inset (doesn't stick out). That's it, push it!