1999; 104,000; Engine Light On When Warm

[ElantraHack]

Ok, I'm stumped. I have 1999 Elentra with 104,000 miles on it.

Car ran until 2 weeks ago. It died while idling at light. I waited 10-15 minutes and it fired up. I got off freeway and it died at stop sign (died out on decelleration). Towed to dealer, said it was bad camshaft sensor. Had it replaced. Still died after 15 minutes of running - on way home from dealer! )

So, it has sat for one week. Started it last night and engine light no longer comes on (ran it for about 20 minutes in driveway). Hmmmm.

Friend suggested it might be bad 'control module' that gives out when warmed up, but that didn't happen last night. Hmmmm.

I changed plugs and wires last week. It needs a new timing belt soon (haven't replaced it yet).

I'm hoping engine light comes on so I can take it to Action Auto for free diagnosis.

Any ideas as to what the hey is happening?

It's been a great car since day one (just bought a minivan, but I misss driving my trusty old Ele') and I'm not ready to give up on it yet.

Thanks for your help.

[joymac42]

Strange.

My 1999 Elantra has 110k miles on it. I drove it to Buffalo (7 hours)... which I've done many times before. However, I noticed once I hit hour 6 1/2, my Check Engine light came on.

Before I left home, I noticed that while idling, the car skips.. like it wants to stall out. It got worse the more I drove it and by the time I was idling at a light in NY, it was skipping a lot more. (I was literally praying for it not to die!)

However, when I'm going high speeds, it seems fine.

I haven't yet taken it into the shop. But when the car sat overnight, the light went off.. Now, it's back on.

Seems we have a similar problem. Unfortunatley, I have no answers either!!

Mac

[nippjas]

This happened to me also. On my Elantra a coilpack died. The fault code stored did indicate this as well. If your check engine light is on have the codes read and see what they say.

Jason

[joymac42]

I don't know anything about the codes you guys are talking about... unfortunatley, I'm somewhat car stupid. Do I ask the guy at the shop to check my codes... and it will tell him what's wrong?? How much was this coilpack thing?

[nippjas]

Originally Posted by joymac42

I don't know anything about the codes you guys are talking about... unfortunatley, I'm somewhat car stupid. Do I ask the guy at the shop to check my codes... and it will tell him what's wrong?? How much was this coilpack thing?

If the check engine light is on...the fault code that triggered the light is stored in your ECU. This is a function of your cars OBDII software.

Yes...Just take it to the dealer or your Hyundai mechanic and tell him your check engine light is on and that you want the codes read. Report back here what your code (numeric) is before servicing the vehicle so we can gut check the fault code against what he is telling you is wrong.

If your car is out of warranty expect to pay for this.

Coilpack $...My car is an 04 and is under warranty. I'll check if they listed a cost on the paperwork...I image it wasn't cheap.

Jason

[andrew348]

the vechicle was sputtering and running rough
i would check the spark plug cables . take the plastic cover on top of the cylinderhead off and one at a time pull the cables out of the holes . Inspect the end of the cables for white burn marks or lines if i was a betting man i would say that cylinder number 4 spakplug wire has white arcing marks on them .

[joymac42]

Originally Posted by andrew348

the vechicle was sputtering and running rough
i would check the spark plug cables . take the plastic cover on top of the cylinderhead off and one at a time pull the cables out of the holes . Inspect the end of the cables for white burn marks or lines if i was a betting man i would say that cylinder number 4 spakplug wire has white arcing marks on them .

Not that I know what a cylinderhead is... buuuut, say I were to find out where that is and do find white burn marks or lines on one. Would I need to take it into the shop to fix that??

I try to do as much on my car myself as I can... but I'm no mechanic.

[andrew348]

if money is an issue i would try and tackle this myself .
try going to hmaservice.com click on service info , enter your year make and model using the pull down tabs in the left hand colm select the following engine electrical , ignition systen , spark plug , spark plug cable test .
use the pictures as a guide . before pulling the wires out with the engine running i would pull them out with engine off and inspect them for the white arc marks . if the cables are bad i would simply replace them , the parts can b found at the dealer or any autoparts store let me know if this helps

[joymac42]

I get to the part about putting in my make and model and year. I do that... but I can't search for any of those things, let alone all of them. It says the query is too large... too broad.

I'll keep trying -- any more hints, please let me know!

I love this site... and all of you!

Mac

[joymac42]

I think I found it I'm going to go look.