One of the most hated phrases by our customers is the dreaded “check engine light” (CEL). It causes such pain and uncertainty. The check engine light may come on if anything, yes—anything, is not working 100 percent under the hood of your car. Can you imagine just how numerous the actions are that take place under the hood of your car?
· Shouldn’t this light be caused by one thing going wrong?
· Was the CEL created by the vehicle manufacturer as a conspiracy to get you in the shop?
· Wasn’t I just in the shop for a CEL two weeks ago?! How can this be!
· The light pops on at the most inconvenient times, doesn’t it? Sometimes, it comes on and stays on, other times, it comes on and blinks, yet other times, it just pops up intermittently.
· That light is also usually a bright orange or red which really frightens some drivers into calling immediately from their cell phones while driving.
· While, some clients don’t see the blinking red and orange as important but simply a nuisance and instead of calling right away—they wait a few days, weeks, or yes, even months.
Please, allow me to shed some light on the mysterious CEL.
Your CEL may come on and stay on, come on and blink repeatedly, or it may come on and off intermittently. Each may have different meanings and/or causes. What is important to know is that when your CEL comes on, bring it in to have it diagnosed. There are hundreds of causes for the CEL and the only way to know what is triggering the light is to have it diagnosed. Many times, clients come in with the CEL on and have been driving with it on for a while. Some have covered it with black tape, pictures of their children or something else just so they don’t have to see the orange monster. Doing this will only allow the problem to continue and potentially make it worse and/or multiply. Then at the time that you bring it in you may have multiple causes for the CEL.
