Check Engine Light - 97 Explorer XLT
Jeff Gable
Explorer has been maintained very well and has less than 17K miles on it. I
checked the air filter and it seemed dirtier than usual (off road for July
4th) so I replaced it. I figured that since the owner's manual says the
Check Engine light has to do with emissions that it would go off after the
air filter replacement. I drove for about 5 miles after replacement and the
light is staying on. Any ideas? It seems like there should be some way to
determine what this light means.
Jeff Smith
jef...@unr.edu
Ted Sz
4WD. Your truck is in warranty so bring it to your Ford dealer so
they can connect the SBDS computer to read the fault codes. Mine
indicated an evaporative system leak and recommended the most common
correction - to replace the gas cap. The mechanic said that is
sometimes the cause and sometimes not. Anyway, they had to order one
so he reset the light and said it might come back on. It did one day
later. A week later, and the day before I took it in for the cap
replacement, the light reset itself. Dealer said that it wasn't
supposed to reset itself. At any rate, the new cap was installed
Saturday morning and it's now Sunday evening and I have no light.
On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 15:14:52 -0700, "Jeff Gable" <jga...@unr.edu>
wrote:
Baconbit25
might give them the error code that is causing the light to go on.
Vic Klein
number, but something like 10 or 20) cycles to a full stop if the
condition is gone. The "loose gas cap" warning seems common and is wrong
often enough that there is a TSB or other notice out to reprogram the
computer to be less sensitive to the condition that causes this false
alarm. Mine cycled on and off over weeks back when I was getting this
problem diagnosed. When they finally reprogrammed the computer, the
light has not come on again...or maybe the bulb just burned out???
<grin>
=Vic=
Bear Gap, PA
Rachel Trockman
Rich Parker
light. The gas cap o ring will sometimes get rolled and prevent a good seal.
Removing the cap for inspection will verify this. Owners manual says to check
gas cap prior to going to dealership. There is service message to reprogram the
pcm on some 97s due to a calibration problem . Ted Sz wrote:
> I just had my first "Check Engine" light situation with my '96 XLT 4DR
> 4WD. Your truck is in warranty so bring it to your Ford dealer so
> they can connect the SBDS computer to read the fault codes. Mine
> indicated an evaporative system leak and recommended the most common
> correction - to replace the gas cap. The mechanic said that is
> sometimes the cause and sometimes not. Anyway, they had to order one
> so he reset the light and said it might come back on. It did one day
> later. A week later, and the day before I took it in for the cap
> replacement, the light reset itself. Dealer said that it wasn't
> supposed to reset itself. At any rate, the new cap was installed
> Saturday morning and it's now Sunday evening and I have no light.
>
> On Sun, 19 Jul 1998 15:14:52 -0700, "Jeff Gable" <jga...@unr.edu>
Wayne Ganshirt
Jeff Gable wrote in message <6otr57$5ri$1...@pema.scs.unr.edu>...
>I have a 97' Explorer XLT and today the Check Engine light came on. This
I have a 97 XLT that has had the check engine light come on twice, I had the
dealer test it and the mechanic said it was in the polution/air system, he
asked me to check that the fuel cap was on tight as they had a service
bulliten about that, I retightened the fuel cap and they reset the sensor
and all was well for about a month and then it happened again, this time I
checked the fuel cap and found that the gasket was out of place ( i have
since replaced the fuel cap and all seems well.
I believe that the dealer has to reset the sensor for the check engine light
to go off
Wayne
Ken
wrote:
>I have a 97' Explorer XLT and today the Check Engine light came on. This
>Explorer has been maintained very well and has less than 17K miles on it. I
>checked the air filter and it seemed dirtier than usual (off road for July
>4th) so I replaced it. I figured that since the owner's manual says the
>Check Engine light has to do with emissions that it would go off after the
>air filter replacement. I drove for about 5 miles after replacement and the
>light is staying on. Any ideas? It seems like there should be some way to
>determine what this light means.
>
>Jeff Smith
>jef...@unr.edu
>
>
Jeff,
A good possibility is your oxygen sensor has a speck of dirt on it.
It will probably clear on it's own. If not, the other suggestion of
having the dealer check it out would be a good idea.
Good luck!
Regards,
Ken
1996 Ford Explorer XLT V8 AWD
SPAM protection - Remove NOSPAM from email address to reply
Ted Sz
Now it's Tuesday evening and still I don't have a check engine light
returning. Looks like it is fixed.
On Mon, 20 Jul 1998 03:45:04 GMT,
szyp...@obvious.addition.esslink.com (Ted Sz) exclaimed:
>I just had my first "Check Engine" light situation with my '96 XLT 4DR
>4WD. Your truck is in warranty so bring it to your Ford dealer so
>they can connect the SBDS computer to read the fault codes. Mine
>indicated an evaporative system leak and recommended the most common
>correction - to replace the gas cap. The mechanic said that is
>sometimes the cause and sometimes not. Anyway, they had to order one
>so he reset the light and said it might come back on. It did one day
>later. A week later, and the day before I took it in for the cap
>replacement, the light reset itself. Dealer said that it wasn't
>supposed to reset itself. At any rate, the new cap was installed
>Saturday morning and it's now Sunday evening and I have no light.
>
Jeffery
Turns out it was the air filter after all. After I replaced it and drove
about 10 more miles, the light went off. My air filter was really looking
bad, so I guess that was it. Thanks for your help, guys!!
Jeff
Jeff Gable <jga...@unr.edu> wrote in article
<6otr57$5ri$1...@pema.scs.unr.edu>...
Robert Eberhardt
trailer across Missouri. I stopped and started my Explorer 25 times at a
rest stop without it going off. I then continued on with the light still on.
By the time I got to New Mexico I was tired of looking at it so I
disconnected the battery for a couple of minutes. The light hasn't been back
on since.
Robert
Rich Parker wrote in message <35B86991...@dakine.com>...
>The check engine light will turn itself off after the system passes its
own
>self test.
>
Rich Parker
system. While driving the vehicle, the eec processor will run self tests.
Comprehensive monitor checks voltages of sensors for faults. Misfire monitor
checks for engine miss. cat monitor checks the cat, evap system monitor tests
the fuel tank and evaporative emissions system. The first time a fault is
detected within any of the monitor systems it will store a code in the
processor. If the fault is detected again within 50 degrees f and 75 rpm of the
first fault detection it will turn on the check engine light. If a misfire
monitor is detected, it will make the "mil" malfunction indicator light flash.
For the eec processor to turn off the
light it needs to perform and pass three consecutive monitor tests for that
subsystem that it detected a fault in. If it passes the tests, the mil light
will shut off. The code will remain in the processor memory for another 80
drive cycles or so. A drive cycle is a engine start with at least a 50 degree
engine temp increase and all of the eec monitors must perform
their self test and pass except for the cat monitor test. You wont even know
that the test are being performed but the processor will make the engine go
rich to watch the 02 sensors switch. It will draw a vacuum on the fuel tank and
monitor how long it takes the vacuum to decrease to check for evap system leaks
ect ect.
disconnecting the battery will turn off the mil light but it also makes the
processor go back to its original factory default settings and will need to
relearn its strategy.