I have a 98 Honda Civic Hx. Im original owner with 73,500 miles on it. The check engine light just went on and I'd like to take care of the problem myself, if I can. Is there a list somewhere of what it could be so I dont waste $250 for a mechanic to tell me that a spark plug wire is loose. by the way the car seems to be running fine. no problems what so ever. I recently (2 weeks ago) had the oil changed by a professional. maybe they forgot something?????
Thanks

 

Most auto part stores will scan the computor and may be able to tell what it is.

 

No, there not techs so they can't tell you what it is but the can retreive the code number and you can post it here for some professional opinions. I think the only auto parts store doing it for free is AutoZone.

 

The light doesn't have anything to do with the oil change unless they touched/disconnected something while they were under the hood.

You might want to check your gas cap and make sure it's tight - at least 3 clicks.

"Check Engine" lights come on when there's a fault recognized by the ECU (computer). It means one or more of the parameters that monitor engine performance is out of spec. All the sensors work in combination with each other to optimize engine performance based on preset specifications in the ECU.

If the car is running OK, schedule a shop visit when you can. If the "Check Engine" light is flashing about once per second, it means there's a catalyst-damaging misfire occuring and it needs to be addressed IMMEDIATELY!

OBDII vehicles (1996 and newer) require a scan tool to reset the computer. Unless you've got a friend with one you'll have to take it to a shop and have them reset it. At the same time they can pull the codes and tell you what's going on.

HTH

Matt

 

I went to Kragen on Saturday evening and an employee had a monitor and offered to check it for me. the code was a PO141 (generic). PO141 is-- O2 heater sensor circuit malfunction. That all being said, the light went off yesterday (Sunday) and has not come back on. So now what?

 

Don't worry it will come back on. It's saying there is a malfunction in the heater circuit for the O2 sensor. More than likely to have an intermittent open in the heater inside the sensor.

Next time the light goes on use an ohm meter to check the resistance of the heater wires by unpluging the sensor and checking the two black wires.

Just make sure the wiring for the O2 sensor isn't frayed, loose or melted against some thing.