You’re driving along and you hear a bell. You look down at your vehicle’s dashboard and the check engine light is on. What should you do? We here at Tri Valley Auto Repair & Diesel recommend that you pull your vehicle over to a safe spot and check a few things out. The light could be on for a reason that you can fix easily yourself or for a serious problem, so let’s talk about the check engine light in more detail.
What Is the Check Engine Light?
Your car, truck, or utility vehicle has a computer system that monitors operations and makes necessary adjustments to correct minor problems. Each vehicle system has sensors that talk with a central module called the Engine Control Module or ECM. When the ECM receives reports of trouble, it fixes the problems by adjusting things such as the air and fuel mixture in the engine. If it can’t fix the problem, it will turn on an associated dashboard warning light. The check engine light is one of those lights.
What Should I Do When the ECM Turns it On?
As we said above, it’s important to find a safe place where you can park your automobile as soon as possible. This keeps you safer in the event the check engine warning is associated with a dangerous problem. With your engine still running, check to see if
- You have other dashboard warnings such as a hot temperature gauge reading or low oil light
- You smell smoke or hot odors such as burning rubber, plastic, chemicals, or carpet
- You hear any strange sounds, such as buzzing, grinding, humming, squealing, or whining
- You feel anything strange, such as rough idling or the engine cutting or sputtering
Any of these things can point you in the direction of the check engine warning. For example, if the check engine light comes on and your vehicle is overheating, you’ve got a cooling system problem or issues of excessive heat somewhere else in the engine. Turn off your engine to avoid further damage.
If none of the above apply, yet you still received a check engine warning, turn off the engine and get out of your car safely. Check your gas cap. If you’ve just been to the service station and your check engine light came on as you pulled away, it could be that you left the gas cap off or didn’t screw it on tight enough. This will turn on the check engine light.
To take the guesswork out of this, however, it’s important to have your vehicle tested to see why the check engine light came on. Tri Valley Auto Repair & Diesel in Limon, CO, can run a diagnostic check on your automobile and get the error code that will point us directly to the problem.
