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View Full Version : CEL coming on and off, need help


civexspeedy
05-15-2008, 07:43 PM
so yeah, my CEL has been coming on and off a couple times these past couple days. it first came on this tuesday when i was leaving school. turned the car on and let it sit idle for a couple mins since i was on the phone. after a couple mins the CEL came on. turned the car off a few seconds after it came on then turned the car back on and the CEL went away. drove off and a few miles down the road it came back on, turned the car off and back on and went away, drove home about 10 miles and didnt come back on. wednesday it came on randomly as i was driving down the road, turned car off and back on and went away till i got home a while after. today it did the same as tuesday but insted of shutting the car off, i drove it home with the CEL, sprayed some injector cleaner, o2 sensor cleaner, and throttle body cleaner thru the manifold. shut the car down, turned it back on and no CEL. i have a feeling it will come back on again tho.

i've checked everything and nothing appears to be wrong. car still runs just fine, nothing different. anyone know what may be causing this?

my friend said that connecting this 2 prong clip, found under the glove box, with a paper clip might be able to reset the code. not sure about this, never heard of it, but i trust he's not making shiz up since hes not completely dumb when it comes to working on cars.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a158/civicexracer/IMG_0001-5.jpg

any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

12.8:1 Ls/vtec
05-15-2008, 10:31 PM
Why drive a car with a check engine light and not even know what is wrong with it. That is telling you that something is wrong. Just get a paper clip and stick one side in each of the prongs. 1 long blink =10, 1 short blink =1. Say it was 3 long blinks, and 2 fast ones which would be a code 32. If there is more than one code, then it will go through them and then start all over again. Just make sure to write them down and look up what is wrong right now. Of course the check engine light is going to turn off after you turn the car off, unless you have a hard code like the tps being unplugged, or speed sensor. But I'd check it right away, unless you like replacing engines b/c of being lazy.

civexspeedy
05-15-2008, 10:37 PM
Why drive a car with a check engine light and not even know what is wrong with it. That is telling you that something is wrong. Just get a paper clip and stick one side in each of the prongs. 1 long blink =10, 1 short blink =1. Say it was 3 long blinks, and 2 fast ones which would be a code 32. If there is more than one code, then it will go through them and then start all over again. Just make sure to write them down and look up what is wrong right now. Of course the check engine light is going to turn off after you turn the car off, unless you have a hard code like the tps being unplugged, or speed sensor. But I'd check it right away, unless you like replacing engines b/c of being lazy.

thanks for the help. i figured it out, code 41 primary oxygen sensor heater. only reason i drove it with the CEL is because i know my engine is sound. i've taken very good care of it and theres not one thing wrong with it nor has anything ever gone wrong with it. this is the first time i've had the CEL come on and this motor has 188k miles on it. if it blows up, o well ill get another motor, not that big of a deal.

12.8:1 Ls/vtec
05-15-2008, 10:44 PM
Time for a new 02 sensor then. Try and get a used one if you can.

92h22eg
05-16-2008, 05:19 PM
o2 sensor....?

12.8:1 Ls/vtec
05-16-2008, 07:08 PM
o2 sensor....?

You have an h22 cx hatch, and you don't know what an O2 sensor is. Seems like you need the people at mainstream to work on your car.