How to clear MIL ?

Question

Hi -

I've got a '96 Mazda Protege. I recently experienced the "Malfunction Indicator Light" for the first time; this coincided with poor engine performance on a damp day (loss of power, rough idling, etc.). I figured I'd try the obvious thing before bringing it in to the shop: I replaced the spark plugs, wires, distributer cap, and rotor. Sure enough, this cleared up the engine problem, but the light is still on. I should mention that initially, prior to doing the work, the light would flash repeatedly. Now, the indicator lights, but does not flash. I'm interpreting this to mean that the computer is no longer detecting a problem, but that the previous fault condition still needs to be cleared from memory. Is this correct ? If so, how do you clear it ?

Thanks,

Al Levy

Jim · Accepted Answer

Possibly, the only way to know (or to reset it) is with a scan tool. If the problem is gone, it will eventually go off.Al Levy wrote:

Jim Nagy · Answer

Or simply disconnecting the battery for 10-15 minutes will often do it,too.

Robert Hancock · Answer

The light flashing indicated that the vehicle was experiencing a misfiresevere enough to risk overheating and damaging the catalytic converter. Whensuch a severe misfire is no longer detected, the light will stop flashing,but the light will stay on until a few trips in which the misfire diagnosticpasses under the same speed/load conditions as when the misfire wasoriginally detected. So if you fixed it, it should turn off by itselfeventually, or you can try disconnecting the battery for a while..

How to clear MIL ?

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