QuestionQUESTION: Hi, Roland
I have 1999 chrylser sebring lxi 2.5 v6 I wrote before about check engine light on you suggested spraying wd40 egr valve I tried spraying wd40 with the extender straw on what appeared was egr valve the car ran a little better but every so often after car sit after going shopping it have problem restaarting I leave it sit for 5-10 minutes it starts right up.
I recently stopped at Advance auto to check car with their scan check the guy could not get reading with the wire cord I asked him to check again he said their was someting wrong with where the cord wire fits in there he could Not get reading I guess I had em check it too many times before & they stripped It or broke it. The advance auto guy said it was the service engine soon light not check engine light on.
The car had oil changed almost 800 miles ago the check engine
light remains on All the time & every so often it not want to start after driving letting car sit then it not want to start let it sit 10 minutes it starts fine.
Advance auto can't erase the service engine code light since they can't check it with their wire.
Any idea what to do now since the service engine light on all the time & can't check it at advance auto? The wd40 might have worked a little before but it the service engine light on all the time. I baby the park it in shade away from other ars so not get door dings has 99,000 miles might want to sell it future any ideas on how to get service engine soon light off? Please let me know what you think.
thank you,
Michael
ANSWER: Hi Michael,
The code reader will not work unless power to operate it is available on the socket that is under the dash. That power comes from fuse #10 (10 amp) in the fuse box under the dash so check to see if that fuse is blown. If it is ok then you will need to determine whether the 5 wires to the socket are continuous or which one is disconneted. Getting the readout and correcting the fault is the only way to deal with the service engine light in a permanent manner.
On the egr, did you actually put a secrewdriver tip into the rod in the flange area of the valve and move the rod back and forth? Try spraying the rod and then promptly 'exercise' the rod to be sure that it is free to move back and forth, and that it closes to a dead stop by means of the built-in spring action.
Roland
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QUESTION: Hi Roland,
After I wrote you I went out to the garage & the car would not start I charged it up for 2 hours with battery charger drove it to advance auto along the way the service engine light was off & stayed off could the low battery triggered a reset of the service engine code? The battery was bought at end of 09 advance auto said battery was good I must have left the interior light under the rearview mirror on for 2 days & not notice it.
a month ago I sprayed wd40 on what appeared to be egr valve in very back of engine toward midddle is black round circular piece on top is wire attached to white plastic switch with little black piece with black hose attached to it. I did take very small screwdriver put it in slot on the white plastic switch & moved it a little bit then sprayed 40 around the whole area & hoped that would work. I did not see a rod or other place to put screwdriver. If I spray wd40 on the white plastic switch with the wire coming out of it could that hurt the part? please let me know what you think.
thank you,
Michael
ANSWER: Hi Michael,
If the battery voltage drops low enough the codes will be erased, but I am not certain how low the voltage has to drop to for that to occur. But I thought you told me that the Advanced Auto couldn't get the reader to work, rather than it worked but there were no codes. So which is it?
There are two parts to the egr system: the transducer with the wire attached to it and vacuum hoses, and the egr itself which is mounted on the intake manifold and is attached to the transducer by a vacuum hose (no wire on the egr valve itself). The part that gets sticky is the egr valve so look for that and find its valve stem with the slot. I don't believe you would damage the transducer. The only way to be sure would be to use a hand-operated vacuum pump to suck on the hose that actuates either of those two devices. But first check the egr valve itself for its 'action'.
The question of the fault code readout situation is the first thing to deal with. Did you check the fuse #10 under the dash? It also operates the power door locks so they wouldn't work either if that fuse were blown.
Roland
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QUESTION: Hi, Roland
The service engine light erased after the battery went low I was surprised it went off. I do not know if the service engine light off is temporary since I have not drove the car since tuesday but it stayed off that day.
The power door locks work fine. I looked under the dash of car for the socket where advance auto hook their meter wire it was in far right corner I looked at it it felt tight not loose. I had to get seat all the way back lay down turn face up & stretch just to get look at it. If the light would come on again do you think I should try autozone see if their meter work? advance auto is only one that will try to erase code light
Thank you,
Michael
AnswerSure, try Autozone. And check to be sure that there is 12v on pin 16 of the socket (red/black wire) as that is needed to power the fault code reader. As you learned, if the battery voltage drops or the clamp is removed from the - post the codes will be erased.
