I had a bit of a scare friday...
 

Alright so, I picked my little sister up from school friday, and on the way home my SES light came on. I've never had it come on in my car before, so it really threw me off. The car didn't drive any differently at all, the light just came on randomly. So when I got it home, I thought to myself "I'm gonna make sure my intake is still all together." I popped the hood, and sure enough it had come apart in one place. The good thing is it came off after the MAF (it was just the last part that came apart) so that screen in the MAF stopped anything big from getting in. But yeah, so I put it back together, tightening it until I couldn't move it anymore this time (side note: as I was tightening it I got a call from auto zone, I have an interview on tuesday to get a job there :yahoo:). The SES light was still on. So I took it to auto zone.

Well I had taken my car there to get a code read before (an ABS/Trac Off code), and the scanner just said error and wouldn't read it. The same thing happened this time. It wouldn't read the code. So I thought maybe their tool just didn't like my car, so I went down the street to O'Reilly's, scanned it... it said it was connected, but it was unable to read or clear the code. I'm told it could be the wiring in the plug? Anyone have any ideas? I kinda want to know what codes are going off in the future ya know? sucks. But shortly after I started the car the SES light went off, and hasn't been on since.

Hope you guys like to read.

weird

yeah, i guess my car just takes after me... it's SO hard to read.

I used to work at AutoZone, nice place. The scanners that they use will only check the computer for the check engine light, not the SES or ABS lights. You need a separate scanner for those. Only place that can really read them is the stealership, or maybe a local shop if they have the equipment.

my guess is the light came on when it fell apart, then when you put it back together, it "realized" that nothing was really wrong and the light turned off. so you actually already fixed what was wrong.....perhaps.

OBD regulations only require that emissions codes can be read with a generic scan tool (which is what you'll find anywhere but a Tech-II at a GM dealership or someone who used to work at GM). The SVS light is NOT the check engine light that comes on when emission codes are set. If it is the SES light and it won't read, it's probably something that's no big deal.

ahh awesome, thanks guys. i just didn't wanna be screwed later down the road when something goes wrong and the code can't be read. but sounds like it may have just not really been an issue.

i have a question...my SES light is on and its an emissions system code. i got a new gas cap but nothing changed. i had the code cleared at Advance Auto by my cottage and its back on again. so i went to Auto Zone and its the same code. i asked the guy to clear it and he said "absolutely not! thats totally illegan in Michigan!".. is there any truth to that or was he being lazy? after all, he told me that my car was too old to be scanned.

Advance Auto Parts is so better

i doubt it's him being too lazy to push the clear button. i don't know michigan's laws, but i don't see how it's illegal to simply clear a code. if something is still wrong it will surely reappear again.

truth.

Edge...don't know what to say...if your code is a loose gas cap, then you probably have air flow into the gas tank somehow. maybe there is a hole in the fuel feed pipe where it wouldn't really affect how gas goes in the car, nor would it leak out...it just gets air. Only way to know for sure is to have somebody top it off (all the way, not just first click...even though it can be dangerous or just bad for the performance) at the gas station while you look for a leak under the car (which is where you can see the pipe go from door to tank.) beyond that, it could be a shot sensor.

yeah...its an evap code... i had it scanned to see if i still had a trans error code after changing a fuse...i'm not too concerned about the evap code cause i still get 20-25 mpg

If the problem is corrected, couldn't she d'c the battery to reboot the computer and see if it self-corrects?

FAIL

i'm free all week noob hit me up. come by Midas on Wootward friday and KenshinZero will be there too. hell we can have itsbmw show up too to have a mini meet

I didn't catch that "too old to be scanned" bit. That is EPIC FAIL on his part. any car built 1996 and later (which HAVE to follow OBD-II emissions) can be scanned for those codes.

The EPA considers it to be "Tampering with emissions equipment" if it's not a technician/mechanic clearing the code after the problem has been repaired.

Oh, and if they weren't able to read codes on your car, it's possible you have a problem with power or ground going to your DLC.

hmm, noob here. what's the DLC? ha.

DLC = Data Link Connector
The plug where you put the scanner on, it should have a 12v on the pin #16 IIRC.
There should be also two separate ground and one signal wire, I did not remember which pin# are those..

If those are all ok, one time I got a car at my job that I was not be able to communicate with the scanner.... after hours of tracking the problem, I found out that the driver side fusebox had corrosion in it and it completely stopped the communication signal wire to the DLC...

Data Link Connector

The wires are...

Pin 2 - Class 2 Serial Data
Pin 4 - Ground (interior)
Pin 5 - Ground (underhood)
Pin 9 - Uart serial data (for the SDM, not on all models)
Pin 16 - +12v