Service Engine Soon LIght - Am I Doomed?

[thebroken]

Well today I started to trust my new (used 95) firebird a little more so I went for a hour highway drive. Everything seemed fine, temp was normal, no breaking problems, oil seemed fine and out of the blue the SERVICE ENGINE SOON light came on and stayed on.

I made it home fine and checked the ground where I had parked and I may of lost some fluild of some kind under the car overnight but not enought to really know what it was or where it came from.

I did have a oil change about a week ago and I was leaking some oil from the oil pressure seror unit and I had that replaced and I seemed fine after that.

Any ideas where to start? Does this light come on for non major problems or am I looking at a costly repair?

Again I did make it home and it drove great and seemed fine...Im scared my new purchase may have additional problems.

Any advice or tips are very welcome - thanks in advance

[Mr. Luos]

First step....

Go to the nearest AutoZone and have the code read.

[thebroken]

I have a napa and a discount auto parts but no autozone here in town - nearest one is atleast 3 hours away. We do have a dealer but Im sure they would charge top dollar.

They are the ones who wanted to charge me $470 to change the window motor.

We have some mom and dad places (goodyear tire) that do engine work but not sure if the have a computer to read error.

ideas?

[Mr. Luos]

Zip code??

I have no idea where to start without having the code.
Since it seems to be running okay, it is probably a minor issue with a sensor or something.
Blinking light (I am used to this one ) is bad news though.

[thebroken]

33040

The service engine soon light was solid - not flashing or blinking. Does it flash for serious problems or?

[Mr. Luos]

You weren't kidding. Nothing close.

Stealership can read them...but they charge a decent amount.
I would just try calling some local auto parts places and see if any of them can read codes for your year car.

[thebroken]

Ok final questions on this.

1. you mentioned a blinking light - can the service engine soon light blink for serious problems?

2. Can I rule out some fluid just being low?

3. will the light posibily go off if whatever it was isnt happening next time I start the car? ( will get checked out either way)

4. could something like plugs or wires do it? Or is it (service engine soon) more engine sensior only related?

Thanks - I only had this car for 14 days and Im going to feel like I was taken if it needs a major repair

[Mr. Luos]

1. Yes, a blinking light is most likely a serious misfire. Much more serious issues. Shouldn't be driving the car if it flashes/blinks.
2. Yes. Shouldn't come on for low fluids. Different dummy lights for that.
3. It could. There is also a way to reset the computer, which turns the light off until the fault happens again. Not sure on your car how to do that though.
4. I wouldn't think plugs/wires can cause a light. Unless they aren't working period. Then it could cause a misfire code to be thrown.

Good luck!! Light might not be on next time you start the car.
If nothing else...disconnect the negative battery terminal for 10 minutes and then reconnect it. Light should be off then.

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by thebroken

I have a napa and a discount auto parts but no autozone here in town

Discount Auto Parts can read your codes for you too. But when you go there, they're probably going to tell you that they can't read your car for codes because you have OBD1. This is the part where you get to make them feel stupid and tell them that you have the OBD2 connector, and that it is possible to pull codes from it. I had that experience the first time I went to go get my car ran for codes, so just don't be suprised if it ends up happening to you as well.

As for the light, it could just be going off because of something small. I know mine goes off every now and then because one of my solenoid in my EGR sometimes sticks. I really don't worry about, because I hate my EGR and I'm eventually going to get rid of the thing anyway. And if your car is running fine and normal when the light goes off, then you could be having the same problem.

[driftinggrifter2]

I thought i read somewhere that not all of them got the obd 2 connection in it.

[blindeyed]

That's 94 and below. 95 was the hybrid year where they converted to the new OBD2 connector, but retained the OBD1. The only 95's that had OBD2 were the ones that came with the new 3.8 towards the end of the year. 96 and above were all OBD2.