check engine light?

[superdave8]

ok first thing i bought a cold air intake for my vibe gt of course i bought the injen brand. after 2or 3 weeks went by the check engine light came on. still runs good i have about 18,000 miles on it what do you all think it might be would it be a simple oxygen sensor went bad or is there any other conclusions u guys could think of? if so that cold air intake would not negate the factory warranty? whats this i hear about a supercharger from gm for it any prices and ithought with the variable valve timing it could not be done and how much would i gain with my vibe gt? thans

[joatmon]

welcome to genvibe A CAI won't woid you factory warranty on anything except the stock air intake that you took out when you put the CAI in. If the CEL is related to the CAI, then you probably won't get it corrected under warranty. If it is something else, then you should be able to get it covered by the warranty. (might have to argue a bit, but you should win)If you still have the stock intake, you could put it back in and see if the CEL goes away. Some people posted that they had to clean the MAF sensor to clear a CEL after a CAI install I also have seen people mention some place, maybe Autozone? where they can get the trouble code read out of the cars computer for free. That might help people figure out what is causing the CEL without having to go back to a dealer.The supercharger is only for the base models, so since you have a GT, you would not be able to use one. There are a ton of threads about superchargers. Try the search function, not sure which of the many ones would give you the best background on it.

[superdave8]

thanx! joatmon

[superdave8]

what is the MAF sensor?

[joatmon]

MAF= Mass Air Flow. It's a sensor in the intake or CAI that lets the car computer measure the intake air flow. If it gets dirty, then the readings will be off and the air/fuel mixture won't be right. There was a thread on CAI maintenance that might be useful, check out http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5833

[superdave83]

would a bad gas cap have a check engine light on? checked like u said at autozone and code lead to a code P0441 which said evaporation emission control system purge flow fault incorrect purge flow they looked that up in a code book and guy said it was a gas cap problem. does this sound right? thanx for any input.

[joatmon]

I guess I got distracted by the CAI stuff. Not putting the gas cap on tightly can cause you to throw a CEL. Check out http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=3999 and see if that helps.I thought you were 8 before, now you're 83!

[superdave83]

gas cap is sealed ok but can the inner part of the gas cap go bad without a seal problem to cause a CEL?

[joatmon]

If it was the gas cap causing the CEL, then it will probably go away after the cap is put on good and tight and you run it for a while. Supposedly you can also disconnect the battery for a couple of minutes, and that is supposed to clear the error. If it doesn't go away and the error code was with the EVAP system, then it is probably not the gas cap. I guess it could break, but I wouldn't suspect a broken gas cap unless I knew it had suffered some trauma/abuse. With a fault description of "evaporation emission control system purge flow fault incorrect purge flow", I imagine there are lots of things that could be causing the problem other than the just the gas cap. a loose gas cap is probably the most common and easiest to fix though.So, I'd try disconnecting the battery for a bit. Maybe the problem is already fixed but you just need to clear the error code. If the CEL comes back then you can try the dealer to see what they say. If you're worried that they won't cover it under warranty because of the CAI, you could put the stock intake back in, disconnect the battery for a bit to see if the CEL comes back, and if it does then try the dealer for warranty service. That way you can rule out the easy things before going through the hassle of taking it in to the dealer. That's what I would do, but I'm a self proclaimed non-expert.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5420 is one of many threads here about mods and warrantiesHow do you like the injen CAI? Did it make a noticeable improvement, install it yourself, etc. Other than the CEL, how's the vibe doing after 18000 miles?

[superdave8]

there was noticeable performance boost. im at 19,300 miles and had only the problem of the CEL

[threekrows]

Might double check vacuum hoses under the hood.Service info says its most likely evap purge solenoid related,but the way I read it,it could be a gas cap too.The PCM turns OFF the MIL on the third consecutive trip cycle during which the diagnostic has been run and the fault condition is no longer present. A DTC will clear after 40 consecutive warm-up cycles have occurred without a fault. A DTC can be cleared by using the scan tool Clear Information function. I don't think the battery cable unhook works on much anymore,since everything went to obd2.

[superdave83]

just took it to the dealer and they said it was theflow control solenoid. of course they have to order the part but at least its getting fixed thanx!

[joatmon]

(MIL = malfunction indicator light = CEL = Check engine light, right?)I haven't had a CEL or MIL in mine yet, so have had no chance to try to clear it. Other people have said that they tried the battery disconnect to clear the light, but can't remember now if anyone actually saw it work.So the code stays in there for 40 warm up cycles, after fault is cleared, but the CEL/MIL will go away after "third consecutive trip cycle during which the diagnostic has been run and the fault condition is no longer present" So, what's that mean to the owner? Suppose I get a CEL, and I think maybe my gas cap wasn't tight enough so I tighten it down, and now I want to do three trip cycles with diagnotic runs to see if the light goes out. How do I do that, or know that it has been done, or when can I assume that the CEL wasn't caused by the gas cap?

[threekrows]

After three consecutive trips with a pass-well,the criteria for some tests to run are different for most codes.Some have to be a certain speed or throttle angle for a certain amount of time,things like that.The conditions for p0442(one of the gas cap codes) is this:The barometric pressure (BARO) is more than 75 kPa. The fuel level is between 25-75 percent. The ECT sensor and the intake air temperature (IAT) sensor are near the same temperature at engine start. The ECT sensor is at least 74°C (165°F) after engine warm up. The vehicle has been driven for at least 20 minutes. The EVAP canister purge valve has been open and the fuel tank pressure (FTP) sensor indicates a negative pressure in the fuel tank. So,it might be about as easy to go by the dealer and have them clear it,just tell them you may have left your cap loose.They can also tell how long since the first failure,the last failure,and how many times it has passed or failed since the last time codes were cleared.Hope this is understandable....lol

[joatmon]

Oh well, I was hoping for something easy, like "start the car and let it run for five minutes, turn it off, do that two more times". Instead it is let the engine completely cool, pull out a barometer, run the car for twenty minutes with the right amount of gas in the tank, making sure that the engine coolant temp hits the right temp, turn it off and repeat the process at least two more times. Does sound like it might be easier to have someone clear it if you were in a hurry to find out, otherwise drive it for three spaced out 20+ minute trips and hope the light goes out. Would be nice if the disconnect battery worked, but I don't feel like deliberately loosening my gas cap to cause a CEL in order to test the battery disconnect CEL clear rumor. I see now where the info is in the service manual, I guess I didn't understand how to interpret it until you explained it.Great info, glad you're here What other codes indicate a possible loose gas cap as the problem?

[superdave8]

dealership said loose gas cap was a code 40

[satur9]

my check engine light came on today and i was all pissed so i look under the hood to disconect the battery and the terminal is covered in blue crust i clean t off and let it sit for a 20 min put in back on and ran it for 5 minutes.no cel. could that terminal have caused a light.

[threekrows]

There is a multitude of things that turn on the light,but low voltage(bad connection from corrosion)can cause all kinds of wierd things,including setting false trouble codes