Ses
 

Hey everyone,
My 2000 Alero just dropped an SES on my wife while she was driving to work today. The light is still on tonight. My question is if there is a way to obtain trouble code information from the OBD II system without a scanner? I used to love the ol' paper clip trick with the OBD I system, but I read somewhere that this method can't be used with the OBD II. Is it true that the only way to find out what ails that 2.4 is to have it scanned with one of those special tools?
Thanks
JCRULZ

Wow the paper clip trick, haven't heard that one since 1995 :lol:

No, you NEED a scaner to get any SES or SVS codes. Do they ahve Autozones up there? They scan cars for free. There are other car part stores that do it too

Did you fill up anytime before this happened? Mine seems to SES everytime I fill up and I get the codes checked and its somestupid emissions or something :p They tell me its nothing. If that isnt the case then Id go to a local autoparts store they might have scanners :)

OK, i'll ask. Did the paper clip remove the codes or somehow fix them?

You just stuck the 2 ends of a paper clip in the OBD port and it would clear the code, but this was only on OBD I cars

The Paperclip trick didn't clear the codes on the car I used it on. I used to have an 88 IROC-Z Camaro. When you stick the ends of the paperclip in the top rightmost ports side by side, the check engine light would flash the identity of the trouble code. For instance, the MAF sensor trouble code is 34 The light would flash three times, pause, then flash 4 times to give the reader the identity of the engine issue. I never was able to clear my codes with this method though. Thanks for the info guys, I had a feeling that the OBD II system would be impenetrable without advanced tools.
JCRULZ

does it run? does it roll? drive? if it does DONT WORRY ABOUT IT!!! get the duck tape and cover the damn dummy light

No way man. I might let it slide in my daily driver, but when my wife is behind the wheel and driving over 100 miles a day back and forth to work, that car isn't getting duct tape to cover up a possible break down. I'd rather nip it in the bud and make sure all is well under the hood.
JCRULZ

Nate's just messing around, lol. Get the code read, let us know.

lol, my SES light has been on for over a month now and i keep ignoring it. in the mean time, i'm prolly killing my emissions system but oh well. one of these days i'm finally gonna meet up with C2 to get the laptop and have him scan my car....with my current schedule, that could take awhile.

OMFG.... try tightening your gas cap silly
or you have a hole in your tank.. unlikely..

Trouble code would be Gas Evap sensor..

i have a leak in my evap system...at least thats what i was told by my mechanic when i brought it in to him to see what it was...it throws off my ses but he says its really no big deal...just emissions

The next day, my wife said while driving, the SES turned off and it hasn't been on since. The only thing she did that day different was fill up the gas tank prior. The SES stayed on for a while after the fill-up and then turned off. I have a buddy at my garage that has his own personal Cornwell OBD2 scanning tool and he hooked it up for me to see if any code was stored, but it revealed nothing. Oh well, I'll just see if it becomes an intermittent deal. I'm not too worried if that's the case.