the check engine light came on this morning and stayed on. car still runs normally as far as i know. i know there are a lot of things that can make it come on from minor to major. will the handheld diognostic at autozone read the codes? whats the most common thing that makes the check engine light come on? Will disconnecting the battery reset the light or will it just come right back on? I'm trying to avoid the dealership as much as possible!!! 1996 xj6 vdp

 

Mine has been on for a month now with absolutely no change in my car's performance.

I, too, would like to know the answer to jagman96's questions. :-)

 

get the codes read. I got mine read at Advanced Auto. They'll tell you how to use it. Just ask. Post the codes here, and hopefully someone will be able to tell you what's wrong.

For me, it was an O2 sensor, but it could be other things.

 

o.k went to the advance auto and did the obd. the codes was p0441. it read evap emissions, control system purge, flow fault. is this the egr valve on top of the engine? i turned the light off, and put a bottle of lucas fuel injector cleaner in the tank. maybe it will stay off

 

Make sure your fuel cap is tight. And, if the lucas seems to help, it is only an illusion. The code refers to the evap emissions system self test. Its valves, hoses, sensors or leaks.

 

so you are saying that it was just running a self check and there could be nothing wrong? I reset the light

 

Well, the ecu thought something was wrong in the system that purges the fumes from the top of the gas tank. It might have a leak (or the cap is not tight) OR one of the sensors or valves is malfunctioning. If you care about releasing toxic vapors into the air we all breathe, then worry about it if it comes back. Otherwise it will not affect the performance.