Check Engine light on out of the nowhere and nothing seems wrong!!!

[dj_pipes12]

I have a 1995 Dodge Ram with 318. Never given me any big problems til now. Everything runs great, nothing wrong but lately CHECK ENGINE light comes on out of the nowhere. Will turn off it truck is turned off. Why I haven't hooked a diagnostic machine to it is because it always comes on late night when noone is open or am getting home and live 60 miles from nearest town and wont turn back around. Any ideas?

[BleedDodge]

If the light comes on, that means there are codes to be read. Do you know the procedure for reading codes? I assume that you don't, so I will go through it with you.

The way I do it, I sit behind the wheel with pen and paper, in case there are many codes. That's lots of flashes to remember. Once you have this ready, you can start.

Begin with the key in the ignition, in the off position. Now, turn the key on, off, on, off, on. Three "ons" is what you want to do. Leave the key in the on position, and watch the check engine light. It will flash in sequences. For example, a code 35 would be 3 steady flashes, short pause, and then 5 steady flashes. If there were any codes after that, there would be a noticeably long pause, and then more sequential flashes. I usually go over this key test sequence two or three times, just to make sure I have read the codes correctly. Once you get a code 55, that's the end of it. You can either tell us what codes you find, and we can tell you what it means, or you can go here and scroll to the bottom of the page where it says "The code lists" and take the appropriate link for your truck. I believe it would be under the 1980's-1990's codes, as the 2001 computer code list also covers late 1990's vehicles, but since your truck is a 1995 I would venture to say that your list is the 1980's-1990's list. Either way, your truck needs servicing. The check engine light doesn't come on for no reason, although it does come on for some pretty dumb reasons. Maybe your fuel cap isn't on tight enough for the truck's liking or something. Let us know what you find, we're here to help.

http://www.allpar.com/fix/codes.html

[BleedDodge]

...I'm pretty sure it would be under the 1980's-1990's codes because your truck is 1995 meaning it has no OBDII. It has to be the 1980's-1990's codes, I'm sure of it...