Anyone know if the check engine light is supposed to turn on when the ignition is on?
Does the car have to be running in order for it to flip on?

As it sits now, all the other idiot lights pop on but the check engine light(MIL).

I'm just wondering if I have a blown ecu..

 

maybe just a blown bulb?

 

I would say a blown bulb too. You can take apart the idiot cluster pretty easily and just use the "overheat exhaust" light to test and replace it.

 

Similar problem. Im trying to get my 7s title changed from texas to cali (not easy). Had to add in the pre cat, then find a carb legal intake cause the apexi doesn't have a C.A.R.B. number. Do a tune up, change the spark plugs, oil, oil filter etc. I warmed the engine up got both cats warmed up. Drove up to the test station let the car idle while I waited. I drove my 7 upto the bay and the tech inserted the sniffer, I held my breath. Air intake, carbon canister, 2 catilytic converters all good even the sniffer came back good. YAY!! Then the tech walks around to the drivers side and turns the key off. Then he turns the key on, then off, then on. The tech looks over to me and says "Wheres your check engine light?", AAAAAHHHH!!!! failed because of a frickin check engine light. It wasn't the bulb, the guy let me check that right there. Maybe I'll get around to fixing that, first I have to fix the 2000RPM idle problem. That one just came up after the smog test.

 

hahahaha.... I'm trying to get my title transfered from florida to texas..... and right now I have MAINE tags, go fig.

 

If you ground the single wire, green test connector in the engine bay, will the light come on? Should.

If you ground that single wire, green check connector in the engine bay, then turn the key OFF then to ON, the MIL light should light up for three seconds. See FSM

 

i dont think i have a check engine light.

 

Hey fixed the 2000 RPM Idle, throttle cable was too tight. On top of that I figured out why the check engine light doesn't come on. My FD has a Power FC without the commander. Anyone know if there is some sort of setting/hack on the PFC that I can change so the check engine light functions as normal?

 

Only S5 and up do

 

got it solved.

 

what was it? If you're going to be a part of this forum you should thoroughly post WHAT the problem was and HOW you fixed it so the noobs of tomorrow will find via search. via search!


seriously, what did you do?

 

Okay, the fix for me revolves around needing to get my car past smog. When the tech turns the key to the on position, he wants to see the check engine light come on. When the tech starts the car he wants to see the light go off. In my case, I had the original ECU changed out for a Power FC w/o the commander. According to what I've read, with the PFC the check engine light is an over limit light and the system overheat exhaust light is the check engine light.

With the previous in mind, I decided to just hook the check engine light into the overheat exhaust light, maybe even throw in a diode so the check engine light doesn't cause the over heat exhaust light to come on (remember the check engine for the PFC is an over limit light). Now instead of instead of ripping out the whole center console to get to the over heat exhaust light. I wanted to find the overheat exhaust light's wire further back. Closer to where the check engine light sits. In short, I couldn't. I even blew my meter fuse trying. At this point I was thinking I'm going to have to take apart the whole console and do it the more straight forward way. It was then I had a great Idea, it was then I realized the solution to my problem: There are other lights that act just like the check engine light on start up. For instance the add water and the oil pressure lights both go on when the car is switched on and go off when the car is started. That is just what I need. So I turned my check engine light into a low oil pressure light. Here are the directions, if you want to do this down and dirty fix:

1. remove the triangular panel on the drivers side the one with the air ducts.
2. remove the bottom panel below the steering column.
3. remove the plastic cover on the steering column.
4. remove the 2 screws holding the gauge pod and pull the gauge pod lose.
5. disconnect the raise headlight switch on the d-side of the gauge pod.
6. use a paper clip (or any kind of solid wire) to connect the positive side of the oil light to the positive side of the check engine light. This is the tricky part to explain, so read carefully.

6a. On the connector furthest to the drivers side, the pin you want is the one that sits closest to the ground. Don't over think that. The connector sits at an angle so there is one pin that is closer to the ground than all the others. I believe the wire is black with a white strip. that pin on that connector is the positive to the check engine light.

6b. On the connector second furthest to the drivers side (should be sort of below the first connector) is the pin for the oil light. I believe it is orange with a black strip. but incase it isn't. Find the uppermost pin, now look at the three pins that are surrounding that uppermost pin. now think of all four pins as forming a square, you want the pin that is opposite of the uppermost pin. kind of like this

XX <- if this is the upper most
xX
XX
XX
XX

you want the first X on the second line (the lower case one).

run a wire between those two and you have a check engine light that functions just like an oil light. don't you feel like a hick?

 

whats so funny about 'via search'?

 

Because people don't.

About half the threads I've read so far today ask questions that could have been answered in the FAQ, never mind a search.

It drives the old-timers nuts, because the more threads there are on the same (common) topic, the harder it becomes to search for the definitive thread in the first place.