Hey all,

So the "Check Engine" light popped up on the Miata today. Am I right that OBDII is on all cars more recent than 1996? Is there a consumer/prosumer reader that is cheap and reasonable quality? Can I actually use said tool to reset the "check engine" flag when I figure out WTF is going on?

Last time this happened the car had been driven with the gas tank lid not tightened properly and it cost $100 to have the flag reset.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

QUOTE (fiid @ Mar 24 2006, 09:11 PM)

Hey all, So the "Check Engine" light popped up on the Miata today. Am I right that OBDII is on all cars more recent than 1996? Is there a consumer/prosumer reader that is cheap and reasonable quality? Can I actually use said tool to reset the "check engine" flag when I figure out WTF is going on? Last time this happened the car had been driven with the gas tank lid not tightened properly and it cost $100 to have the flag reset. Thanks in advance for the advice!

Who charged you $100???

They should be shot.

The law is anything 1996 or new is suppose to be obdii. A few manufactures
did a few models a little early. Some manufactures got a little extra time (pickups, etc..)

I would say 98% (just a wag) are obdii in 1996.

Post your link with specs of your reader and I will check it out for you. Some of the cheaper
ones just read codes. That is it. Since your on this board with an old car, I am going to
assume you like to work on your own car. If that is true I would pay more money and
get a scanner that can datalog and get streaming data. It will help you solve many
drive ability problems latter.

I have a reader made by Autotap you can reset the CEL , and diagnose many problems

I bought mine years ago, and have kept up with the upgrades, It now is can read CAN bus on the latest cars etc..

there are other readers out there as well

Fiid, I can clear your code but I won't have my equipment with me tomorrow (if you're coming to breakfast).

If it's the gas cap that caused the problem (again) try driving the car for a while with the cap on and the light might go out (called a soft code). It's basically just telling you "hey there's a huge leak in the evap system." There are other soft codes that might correct themselves too; but we can at least get your started looking in the right direction (which is the whole point of a scan tool in the first place).

Jon

Hi

Code readers are made for the DIYers. Problem is that they do not read P1,P2 codes. P0 codes that the code reader will find, would work well for your needs.
The therory behind it is if the reader doesn't pick up a flag, you need a qualified garage.

Check Ebay, they have some on the cheap
Ebay Reader

Good luck

Autozone reads ODBII codes for free. My 2000 Dakota flipped the CEL on, I drove over there and they read the gas cap was loose (it wasn't). They cleared the code and I was on my way.

Can't beat that.

Tom

If you are scheduled to have your car smogged soon, wait a few weeks (of driving). Apparently, you will fail the test if the computer has been cleared within a few days priot to the SMOG test (and I'm told that reading the codes will clear it).

QUOTE (Brian Mifsud @ Mar 25 2006, 06:40 AM)

If you are scheduled to have your car smogged soon, wait a few weeks (of driving). Apparently, you will fail the test if the computer has been cleared within a few days priot to the SMOG test (and I'm told that reading the codes will clear it).

This is in correct. Reading codes does not clear codes.

The reason you will fail you smog test if you clear your codes by
disconnecting your battery before the smog test is, you car has to
go through all its "obdii drive cycles".

I don't know why they have us do it in this order. Reading the obdii output
from your car is one of the last steps. So, all your can information would
have been sent to dmv/sac. Even it passes all the other test if it does
not pass the drive cycle part you failed the smog test. It is not the mechanics
fault. All he can do is hook up the machine and run it in the order machine
is programed to run it in.

If you recenently replaced your battery and your due for a smog test I would
ask them to hook up a scanner and see if all your drive cycles have completed
before you take the test.

I've used this one on my 2000 Tundra, worked fine. Diagnosed two failed oxygen sensors (common problem on early Tundras). If you do some Google searching you can find the model/manufacturer specific codes for your vehicle. It works fine and will clear codes too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=46030

I have an Auto Xray system. It's a bit more than a code reader and IMO well worth it. It will display error codes but also shows sensor states (O2 sensor voltage, throttle position, RPM, ..., bunch of other stuff I don't remember).

Later,
Kevin

What the hell are you guys talking about? Most of my cars are too old to have this problem.
Cheers, Elliot

QUOTE (jonwatts @ Mar 24 2006, 10:34 PM)

Fiid, I can clear your code but I won't have my equipment with me tomorrow (if you're coming to breakfast). If it's the gas cap that caused the problem (again) try driving the car for a while with the cap on and the light might go out (called a soft code). It's basically just telling you "hey there's a huge leak in the evap system." There are other soft codes that might correct themselves too; but we can at least get your started looking in the right direction (which is the whole point of a scan tool in the first place). Jon

OBD 2 will clear gas cap codes after like 40 drive cycles (assuming you've got a good cap and it's on tight). The Cap'n