Hi everyone,
I drive a Honda Prelude 1991.
Yesterday I was on the freeway when the yellow engine light went on. I took the first exit and drove home at a slower speed. There were no obvious symptoms, or noises. Once at home, I turned off the engine and started the car, and the yellow light did not go on. What can be said in this situation? Should I go to the auto service asap?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Generally, a solid 'check engine light', or CEL, doesn't mean you need to stop driving immediately. If it were flashing, a different story. Take the car to an auto store like Autozone - they will pull the error codes for free and give an idea of how to fix it. If you post back here, I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice as to how to fix the problem.
Dan D '07 Ody EX Central NJ USA
Ditto word for word what Dano said.
The alternative to having Autozone read the code for you is to follow the steps at
Codes 1 through 9 are indicated by a series of short flashes; two-digit codes use a long flash for the first digit followed by the appropriate number of short flashes. For example, Code 14 would be indicated by 1 long flash followed by 4 short flashes. Codes are separated by a pause between displays. Multiple codes are transmitted in an alternating pattern. For example, a code 3 and 14 would be displayed as 3 short flashes (for Code 3) followed by the separator pause, then 1 long flash and 4 short flashes (for Code 14). Access the ECU. Turn the ignition switch ON; the LED will display any stored codes by rhythmic flashing. In the event that a code is encountered which is not on the chart, re-count the number of flashes. If the code is truly wrong, it will be necessary to swap the ECU for a known-good unit and recheck. Since this can be expensive, you may wish to bring the car to a reputable repair facility if no other cause of the failure can be found. This may save you the expense of purchasing an unnecessary part. If no codes are displayed but a driveablity problem exits, testing of the individual components of the system is necessary to find the problem. If codes are displayed, follow the appropriate troubleshooting chart in this section.
See the link illustrations and more info.
wrote
It's the typical symptom of Check Engine Light set by O2 sensor due to a lean mixture, commonly appears when using E10 gasohol on older cars. You may want to drive to a shop and leave the engine running when that happens again so that the scanner can read
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