Ok, now I'm stumped

I have a '92 EB 4.0

I know I have a strange beast but how bad can it be?

Jim, or anybody, I have the check engine light coming on telling me that
I need to "Check Engine"
Since it requires an OBD I reader, I buy one. I should be set, right?
Puh-Leaze!

2 digits or 3..... How do I know for sure.

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 19:34:03 -0600, "John Riggs"
> wrote:

> I have a '92 EB 4.0
>
> I know I have a strange beast but how bad can it be?

How bad can *what* be? Do you have any symptoms beside a CE light?
A CE light can mean a minor problem, or a harbinger of a new vehicle.
And anywhere in between.
>
> Jim, or anybody, I have the check engine light coming on telling me that
>I need to "Check Engine"

Yup, that's what the "Check Engine" light means all right.
>Since it requires an OBD I reader, I buy one. I should be set, right?
>Puh-Leaze!

Puh-Leaze! what? What's the question?
>
> 2 digits or 3..... How do I know for sure.

If the car will put out 3 digit codes, why would you buy a 2 digit
model?

From the questions you're asking, your best move may be to take the
thing to a mechanic.

--
Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"

It's OBD-I, it beeps out the digits, Bill.. You have to count them and
write down the number. Of course, now thinking on it, there are both two
digit and 3 digit codes it spews out. The numbers I was getting didn't match
anything I have a list of Doh!

Okay
Anyway, I cleared all of the codes in memory and figured if something
was wrong it would come up again. So far so good. No idiot lights.
I can't test the hard acceleration, as it's raining and the tires spin, but
that's okay, there will be other days

"Big Bill" > wrote in message
...
| On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 19:34:03 -0600, "John Riggs"
| > wrote:
|
| > I have a '92 EB 4.0
| >
| > I know I have a strange beast but how bad can it be?
|
| How bad can *what* be? Do you have any symptoms beside a CE light?
| A CE light can mean a minor problem, or a harbinger of a new vehicle.
| And anywhere in between.
| >
| > Jim, or anybody, I have the check engine light coming on telling me
that
| >I need to "Check Engine"
|
| Yup, that's what the "Check Engine" light means all right.
| >Since it requires an OBD I reader, I buy one. I should be set, right?
| >Puh-Leaze!
|
| Puh-Leaze! what? What's the question?
| >
| > 2 digits or 3..... How do I know for sure.
|
| If the car will put out 3 digit codes, why would you buy a 2 digit
| model?
|
| From the questions you're asking, your best move may be to take the
| thing to a mechanic.
|
| --
| Bill Funk
| Change "g" to "a"

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 17:12:20 -0600, "John Riggs"
> wrote:

> It's OBD-I, it beeps out the digits, Bill.. You have to count them and
>write down the number. Of course, now thinking on it, there are both two
>digit and 3 digit codes it spews out. The numbers I was getting didn't match
>anything I have a list of Doh!
>
> Okay
> Anyway, I cleared all of the codes in memory and figured if something
>was wrong it would come up again. So far so good. No idiot lights.
>I can't test the hard acceleration, as it's raining and the tires spin, but
>that's okay, there will be other days

Still have no idea of what the problem is/was.
>
>"Big Bill" > wrote in message
.. .
>| On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 19:34:03 -0600, "John Riggs"
>| > wrote:
>|
>| > I have a '92 EB 4.0
>| >
>| > I know I have a strange beast but how bad can it be?
>|
>| How bad can *what* be? Do you have any symptoms beside a CE light?
>| A CE light can mean a minor problem, or a harbinger of a new vehicle.
>| And anywhere in between.
>| >
>| > Jim, or anybody, I have the check engine light coming on telling me
>that
>| >I need to "Check Engine"
>|
>| Yup, that's what the "Check Engine" light means all right.
>| >Since it requires an OBD I reader, I buy one. I should be set, right?
>| >Puh-Leaze!
>|
>| Puh-Leaze! what? What's the question?
>| >
>| > 2 digits or 3..... How do I know for sure.
>|
>| If the car will put out 3 digit codes, why would you buy a 2 digit
>| model?
>|
>| From the questions you're asking, your best move may be to take the
>| thing to a mechanic.
>|
>| --
>| Bill Funk
>| Change "g" to "a"
>

--
Bill Funk
Change "g" to "a"

Nope, but this light only started coming on when the weather changed, so
I wonder about that. When it gets dry I will get out and try again to see
what the thing decides to tell me


"Big Bill" > wrote in message
...
| On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 17:12:20 -0600, "John Riggs"
| > wrote:
|
| > It's OBD-I, it beeps out the digits, Bill.. You have to count them
and
| >write down the number. Of course, now thinking on it, there are both two
| >digit and 3 digit codes it spews out. The numbers I was getting didn't
match
| >anything I have a list of Doh!
| >
| > Okay
| > Anyway, I cleared all of the codes in memory and figured if something
| >was wrong it would come up again. So far so good. No idiot lights.
| >I can't test the hard acceleration, as it's raining and the tires spin,
but
| >that's okay, there will be other days
|
| Still have no idea of what the problem is/was.
| >

A note to everyone (and all the regulars will tell you the same thing)....
that check engine lght holds valuable clues. Even if the CEL isn't
illuminated, you MUST check for codes - and you address them in the correct
order.

When you first scan, you will (depending on the scanner and the vehicle) get
either On Demand codes, Continuous Memory codes - or both with a separation
indicator. If we get a KOEO On Demand code, we service that right away -
this is a problem that exists at the time the PCM is doing the self test.
The first step is to look close but don't touch..... if the problem is
wiring related, pushing and shoving can make the problem disappear
(temporarily) and turn the diagnostic process into a time consuming and
possibly fruitless adventure. The idea is to fix it the first time out......
well, that's the idea, anyway.

Continuous memory codes get jotted down and erased because we need to run
the KOER BEFORE we use CMDTCs as a diagnostic aid. Codes retrieved dring the
engine running test are generally On Demand codes...... many sensors and
actuators need to have the motor running before the PCM can accurately test
them... these ill be things that the PCM sees as being wrong while the test
is running.

If there are no KOEO On Demand codes and no KOER codes, we can then refer to
our list of Continuous Memory codes as a diagnostic aid. Since we have
already cleared the codes, smart money is on a drive cycle to see what
code(s) set first. These things are getting very, VERY complicated... we
need to use all the information available to us and we need to look at it
logically to see what it is trying to tell us.

As a side note... it is important to realize that some codes are
"causal"..... they may lead you straight to the malfunction - other codes
may be "symptomatic" and only alert us to a malfunction that can affect a
particular reading. Much of the self test routine can only indicate whether
there is a problem with the electrical side of a device..... if an actuator
hangs up or is slow to respond is something that can be impossible for the
PCM to test. It s up to us to find this through logical pin point testing.
Pattern failures are a no brainer..... oddball stuff will test the mettle of
even the best minds.


"John Riggs" > wrote in message
...
> Nope, but this light only started coming on when the weather changed,
> so
> I wonder about that. When it gets dry I will get out and try again to see
> what the thing decides to tell me
>
>
> "Big Bill" > wrote in message
> ...
> | On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 17:12:20 -0600, "John Riggs"
> | > wrote:
> |
> | > It's OBD-I, it beeps out the digits, Bill.. You have to count them
> and
> | >write down the number. Of course, now thinking on it, there are both
> two
> | >digit and 3 digit codes it spews out. The numbers I was getting didn't
> match
> | >anything I have a list of Doh!
> | >
> | > Okay
> | > Anyway, I cleared all of the codes in memory and figured if
> something
> | >was wrong it would come up again. So far so good. No idiot lights.
> | >I can't test the hard acceleration, as it's raining and the tires spin,
> but
> | >that's okay, there will be other days
> |
> | Still have no idea of what the problem is/was.
> | >
>
>