Some vehicles have a light that says “Check Engine”. Others have a light that says “Service Engine Soon”. And some have a light that looks like a cartoon drawing of an engine. They all mean the same thing. Something is wrong. It needs to be properly diagnosed and corrected.
You may know that your vehicle is run by a computer. The main job of the computer is to figure out how much gasoline to feed the engine. It does this by reading information from sensors and controlling motors and valves.
You probably heard of an oxygen sensor. That's just one of many sensors. There's even a sensor that tells the computer how hard you're stepping on the gas!
You've heard of fuel injectors. Fuel injectors are just electric valves that the computer opens to let the gas spray into the air that is being sucked into the engine. It's not much different from the valve that lets the water into a washing machine, just more accurate.
What Turns on the Light?
The computer is programmed to tell when a sensor isn't talking, when a sensor is stuttering or when a sensor isn't making any sense. It also knows when a motor or valve isn't responding correctly and when the results it gets from the engine are just plain wrong!
When the computer finds a problem, it does two things. First, it stores a message in its memory telling the technician where the problem is. It doesn't tell him what's wrong. It just says the problem is over here, not over there. Second, the computer turns on the light. The light is just like the flag on a mailbox that says there's mail for the technician. If you turn off the light without fixing the problem, the light will just come back on.
Driving with the light on
What's wrong with driving with the check engine light on? When the computer detects another problem and then another, the light doesn't get any brighter. It's like the boy who called “WOLF”! When the wolf came, nobody believed him.
Have you had the light checked and they said that there's nothing wrong? BULL! If there was nothing wrong, the light would be off! Did they say it was just a sensor not working correctly? If the sensor wasn't needed, the engineers wouldn't have put it on the vehicle in the first place!
The Parts Store “Free” Scan
Going to the auto parts store for a “Free Scan” is no help whatsoever. They may be able to tell you the code but they can't tell you what's wrong. At best, they may be able to give you a list of possible causes. It takes a technician to figure out what's really wrong. Remember that the job of the parts store clerk is to sell you parts.
A Proper Diagnosis and Repair
Here's what we do. First we test drive it, then we do a visual inspection to look for obvious problems like disconnected connecters and mouse-eaten wires. Then we hook up a computer to your vehicle's computer. This allows us to see the information coming from the sensors, see what the computer is doing with that information and see what messages are stored in the computer. In some cases, our computer is able to send commands to your vehicle's computer so we can quickly test certain functions. Sometimes, to pinpoint the problem, other tests are needed. The result is that your vehicle will be properly repaired and the warning light will be off.
When the Check Engine light or Service Engine Soon light comes on, bring your vehicle to Clearview Tire and Auto Service on North Main Street in Hopkinsville, Kentucky and get your vehicle proper diagnosed and repaired. That's another reason so many people say “TAKE IT TO CLEARVIEW!” See our Coupon page for discount coupons.