Hi all,

This weekend my check engine light popped on in my tC after I got gas. I figured it was because I hadn't clicked the gas cap enough. I tightened the gas cap some more and took a few more drives. The light still did not go out so I figured I would do a test.
I pulled the ECU fuse and then put it back in. The light stayed on again. The next day I left in the morning for work and the light didn't come on. I figured I was in the clear and it was just the cap.

This morning as I was driving to work the light came back on. Should I try reseting the ECU again by maybe pulling the negative on the battery? Has anybody done this and is it a better way to reset the ECU then just pulling the fuse?
Anybody else have the gas cap loose problem?

Either way I made an appointment at the dealer for Saturday. I would like to figure out first if it really is the gas cap.

_____

 

Definately sounds like the gas cap. Pulling the ECU fuse should have reset it, but the dealer should have you fixed in a jiffy.

 

why in the hell would it be your gascap....theres no sensor for that.....if its comming on something might be wrong....just bring the car in no need to try and figure it out yourself....thats what the dealer warranty is for. let them fix it

 

Hmm.. I don't know what happened to my first post here... so, sorry if it turns out that I'm being redudnant..

The tC indicates when you're close to an oil change, based on the mileage since the last time the counter was reset. -- Are you close to an oil change (every 5,000 miles according to the ECU)?

It'd suck if you went in to the dealer for them to tell you all you needed was an oil change!

Good luck!

-K

 

youir gas cap can and will throw a cell, if gases escape and it isnt shut tight.

 

our gas tank is a vaccum like most cars today. If there isnt a perfect seal the fuel system has trouble sucking in gas without that vaccum in place.

 

i drove off with mine open and sitting on the door and didnt get any check engine light......thats the only reason i said that

 

Granted, this is semi-unrelated, but my old Saturn was an automatic. If I let go of the key when cranking the engine at just the right time, it would "stall" because it almost had enough to turn over the engine, but not quite. The Service Engine light would come on and stay on for the next 5-6 drives. When I asked the service manager at the Saturn dealer about this, he said that trouble codes will stay "active" for a few drives before it sees the problem was fixed. So, there was a good chance that maybe your gas cap was the problem and it just took a few drives to reset it?

 

Yeah, to those posting about oil changes, its not the miantenance light I'm talking about that. I know how to reset that as the dealer almost always forgets to reset it after my oil changes. This is the actual check engine light (engine picture with CHECK under it).

From what I understand its most definately the gas cap as I had just refueled. I'm just wondering if the seal on the gas cap is busted or something because I pulled the ECU fuse to reset it and it came back on. Also, didnt know if there was an actual difference between pulling just the fuse, and totally disconnecting the neg. on the battery.

My appt at the dealer is at the end of the week, so maybe the light will go again in a few days. I may just try the battery and see if that works.