"Michael Quigley" <michael9@michael9.com> wrote:
: All...
: I need your advice... When I was driving to work this morning the engine light
: on the dash came on. Nothing noticable happened and everything seems to be
: running fine.
: I'm supposed to be taking a trip, towing my boat to the coast this weekend.
: Should I worry about this engine light? Some minor code?
: It's only got 11,200 miles on it!
See if you can pull the codes using the key on-off method described here:
http://www.dakota-truck.net/codes/
If so, check them out at that same URL and that'll give you an idea
of what you're dealing with. If the key on-off method doesn't work,
you'll need to take it to a dealer to hook it up to the scanner. Or,
another alternative is some auto parts stores (Autozone is one) will
read your codes for you for free - that might be easier than trying
to squeeze into the dealer's schedule before the weekend.
I would definitely worry about the "check engine" light in that I
would find out as soon as possible what code was stored. The
computer thought it was important enough to tell you about it, so you
really should see what happened. Once you have the code, you can
make a decision as to how important it really is. Just an FYI, if you
take it to an auto parts store, don't take their word for what the code
is telling you - write down the codes (they will be in the form of a
P followed by 4 numbers, for example: P0441, P0500, P0301, etc.) then
go to the URL above and look them up.
It might be something that you don't have to worry about like a
faulty downstream O2 sensor or a loose gas cap. But it might be much
more serious, in which case I would want to know before having to
rely on the truck for getting your boat to the coast and back. Wouldn't
want to get stranded or damage the truck. :-(
---Jon-
.---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com ------. | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | | 70 Cuda, 90 Dak 'vert, 92 Ram 4x4, 96 Dak, 96 Intruder 1400, 96 FireFly | `------------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com ----'
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