In article >,
"Happy Traveler" > wrote:

> In most, if not all states that require emissions inspection, turning the
> CEL off won't help you. The reason is that the moment you do that, something
> called a 'monitor' in the computer changes status to 'not ready'. It becomes
> 'ready' again when the vehicle has been through a driving cycle, which
> requires a mix of city and highway driving etc. Assuming that the problem
> which caused the CEL to turn on in the first place did not somehow
> miraculously cure itself, by the time the monitor is ready, the CEL will be
> on again. Sorry to rain on your parade -- you really need to fix the
> vehicle. And when you do, please pat yourself on the shoulder for doing your
> part to keep this earth green.
>
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > How do I turn off the check engine light? The car won't pass inspection
> > with it on. I tried disconnecting the battery but nothing happened. I
> > found some check engine code readers/erasers on EBay here
> > http://stores.ebay.com/OneSmartMove
>
>

The problem with your statement "fix your vehicle" is that very often
the vehicle meets emissions criteria with the check engine light on. I
have had this happen to me on two different vehicles--a '97 V8 Explorer
and a 2000 Avalon. Using the car's computer to give the answer instead
of doing a true emissions test is bad politics.