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Engine malfunction light came on
- Thread starter Steelstriker
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Always a good idea to have one...They can help you see where moments that cause a light to come on can provide clues thru the codes read, as to what system is affected and how you can develop and use a plan of maintenance for your car.
Not here to preach but I can't stress the concept enough to have a simple one in your car so you can leave the engine running as long as possible(within reason like Oil light on dash certainly means main engine damage is going to happen if it's not fixed) to store and keep alive that data so you can review it and get it fixed or help you find help so you can keep going.
As you are finding out - the "Wrench" light is a maintenance reminder while the Check Engine light (Engine block Icon) refers to a DTC - but to also have the wrench light on only and not the check engine light also signals a different kind of trouble - which can cause a more serious engine fault causing the Check Engine Lite to come on when it gets serious.
This is why I recommend; Do not spend thousands of dollars on a tool that many won't be able to use fully because of the specifics of the vehicle and the engine family doesn't warrant such a huge expanse (of features) unless you have a fleet of vehicles with different trim and powertrain lines that you need a versatile tool and all it's features. Like a car - lot owner or a large family with everything but a locomotive sitting in the driveway.
You just need a simpler tool to look inside, then decide if you need to get help or fix it yourself if you know how.
Then get those tools and (If Needed) a more dedicated scanner to help you move forward with this.
Remember, it's not just the DTC codes you need to check, it's also the I/M Monitors if there are any to help you focus of what section of the system need the most attention - or if you forgot to reset a OIL-Change Reminder - or it sensed something else and it's saying "What about..." as if you need to replace an air filter, and Air Bag or Child Seat fault formed because of a goofed up a restraint or voltage from the system is changing as spikes are being detected and you need to check the charging system before it faults and leaves you stranded. You don't know what you don't know, so a simpler tool helps you find the right paths to fix those bigger issues.
Not here to preach but I can't stress the concept enough to have a simple one in your car so you can leave the engine running as long as possible(within reason like Oil light on dash certainly means main engine damage is going to happen if it's not fixed) to store and keep alive that data so you can review it and get it fixed or help you find help so you can keep going.
As you are finding out - the "Wrench" light is a maintenance reminder while the Check Engine light (Engine block Icon) refers to a DTC - but to also have the wrench light on only and not the check engine light also signals a different kind of trouble - which can cause a more serious engine fault causing the Check Engine Lite to come on when it gets serious.
This is why I recommend; Do not spend thousands of dollars on a tool that many won't be able to use fully because of the specifics of the vehicle and the engine family doesn't warrant such a huge expanse (of features) unless you have a fleet of vehicles with different trim and powertrain lines that you need a versatile tool and all it's features. Like a car - lot owner or a large family with everything but a locomotive sitting in the driveway.
You just need a simpler tool to look inside, then decide if you need to get help or fix it yourself if you know how.
Then get those tools and (If Needed) a more dedicated scanner to help you move forward with this.
Remember, it's not just the DTC codes you need to check, it's also the I/M Monitors if there are any to help you focus of what section of the system need the most attention - or if you forgot to reset a OIL-Change Reminder - or it sensed something else and it's saying "What about..." as if you need to replace an air filter, and Air Bag or Child Seat fault formed because of a goofed up a restraint or voltage from the system is changing as spikes are being detected and you need to check the charging system before it faults and leaves you stranded. You don't know what you don't know, so a simpler tool helps you find the right paths to fix those bigger issues.
Last edited:
OP
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#3
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Thread Starter
#3
Thanks Andy and I already have the check engine light on its the down stream 02 sensor I need to take care of that. The check engine light has been going out then coming back on as well. I'm going to get this checked out.
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Keep us posted on this - let us know how this goes...
When you posted the "Now it's raining". Woof - it can mean a lot of things including electrical issues. Opens another can of worms too - that may mean you have a bad serpentine belt - or if its been on longer in years than you can remember or even know the year you got it - it's reaching the end of it's useful life. It's not necessarily the number of miles, but the YEARS you've owned the car before any sort of maintenance is getting done on the serpentine belt. As they age - either by miles or by lifespan - they will stretch and wear and can fail at inopportune times. Poor charging from a loose pulley caused by the stretched belt - at least one with a lot of slip - possibly from dirt or leaky oil seal - even the coolant - can make the belt slip and make your day.
We're trying to help!
When you posted the "Now it's raining". Woof - it can mean a lot of things including electrical issues. Opens another can of worms too - that may mean you have a bad serpentine belt - or if its been on longer in years than you can remember or even know the year you got it - it's reaching the end of it's useful life. It's not necessarily the number of miles, but the YEARS you've owned the car before any sort of maintenance is getting done on the serpentine belt. As they age - either by miles or by lifespan - they will stretch and wear and can fail at inopportune times. Poor charging from a loose pulley caused by the stretched belt - at least one with a lot of slip - possibly from dirt or leaky oil seal - even the coolant - can make the belt slip and make your day.
We're trying to help!
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Throttle position (Pedal assembly) - it's possible , these things are Drive By Wire.
Your car doesn't have or use a throttle cable to the throttle plate - a motor determines the angle using your foot and all the sensors to find a good fuel to air ratio and moves that motor in the throttle body to proper angle. Thats why it's Drive By Wire - you apply your foot on a sensor, the rest is done by the PCM and emission systems - no physical connection to the engine is done by you.
So they may have something to get to inside - just behind the pedal. There is a grounding Bond point that meets 4~6 wires from that area (Clutch sensor, off idle, Brake and Throttle amongst others) where the grounds return using a bolt to the frame of the car in there. So be ready for that.
Your car doesn't have or use a throttle cable to the throttle plate - a motor determines the angle using your foot and all the sensors to find a good fuel to air ratio and moves that motor in the throttle body to proper angle. Thats why it's Drive By Wire - you apply your foot on a sensor, the rest is done by the PCM and emission systems - no physical connection to the engine is done by you.
So they may have something to get to inside - just behind the pedal. There is a grounding Bond point that meets 4~6 wires from that area (Clutch sensor, off idle, Brake and Throttle amongst others) where the grounds return using a bolt to the frame of the car in there. So be ready for that.
OP
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#7
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Thread Starter
#7
Thanks Andy for the great info and it's not a cheap part either. I have noticed a couple of different part listing mine is the dual clutch does the manual trans take a different pedal asy.
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No, they use the same one, nothing different...
Yes...they ain't cheap...
At least it should look like this
Yes, things have shot thru the roof. You can try E bay but that may not be an answer either.
Why? Those engine surges should throw a code - if not by now - soon. For if the throttle is having problems zeroing out, you'd know it. There would be "dead spots" in it's operation. Like at a given angle of press, the engine would die or roar to new heights of RPM - it does not seem to be the case. This may still be a mechanical problem related to your Fuel system.
Did you have or do you have, a means to check engine vacuum?
What I'm referring to is thru the injectors - several possibilities include; you either have a stuck open or stuck shut injector - one causes a Rich condition while another causes a LEAN condition - you can detect that by smell of the exhaust from the tailpipe. For surges as a mechanical failure force the motor to struggle in fuel trim and in many cases smell like rotten eggs or a rich fuel condition with all kinds of mis-fires.
You don't have that - you're not getting mis-fires - so the engine may be compensating for something else and that may be from failed seals on the injectors themselves. The seals; if you haven't messed with them, may be able to be the culprit but it requires some sea-foam or carb-clean spray applied on the seals when the engine runs in this surging condition. Where to? On the engine; where the injectors to cylinder head meet - a quick spray can reveal which cylinder or set of cylinders may have air leaking past the seals and forcing the engine to think the throttle is open, but it can't see how when you are not pressing the pedal - but the airflow it sees is different - caused by that vacuum leak. It can't generate a mis-fire code until it has more time to diagnose itself - but by then you may get engine damage in the process.
This also doesn't rule out Spark plugs and a possible cracked insulator on them - if you went thru water or have sprayed water on the hot motor - this can cause the condition from a cracked porcelain insulator and it's lost seal - but that's iffy too, again - thru Mis-fires.
Read this over, see if there's something in this you might have missed. I need to know how thoroughly you went thru the steps and see if we missed one...
Yes...they ain't cheap...
At least it should look like this
Yes, things have shot thru the roof. You can try E bay but that may not be an answer either.
Why? Those engine surges should throw a code - if not by now - soon. For if the throttle is having problems zeroing out, you'd know it. There would be "dead spots" in it's operation. Like at a given angle of press, the engine would die or roar to new heights of RPM - it does not seem to be the case. This may still be a mechanical problem related to your Fuel system.
Did you have or do you have, a means to check engine vacuum?
What I'm referring to is thru the injectors - several possibilities include; you either have a stuck open or stuck shut injector - one causes a Rich condition while another causes a LEAN condition - you can detect that by smell of the exhaust from the tailpipe. For surges as a mechanical failure force the motor to struggle in fuel trim and in many cases smell like rotten eggs or a rich fuel condition with all kinds of mis-fires.
You don't have that - you're not getting mis-fires - so the engine may be compensating for something else and that may be from failed seals on the injectors themselves. The seals; if you haven't messed with them, may be able to be the culprit but it requires some sea-foam or carb-clean spray applied on the seals when the engine runs in this surging condition. Where to? On the engine; where the injectors to cylinder head meet - a quick spray can reveal which cylinder or set of cylinders may have air leaking past the seals and forcing the engine to think the throttle is open, but it can't see how when you are not pressing the pedal - but the airflow it sees is different - caused by that vacuum leak. It can't generate a mis-fire code until it has more time to diagnose itself - but by then you may get engine damage in the process.
This also doesn't rule out Spark plugs and a possible cracked insulator on them - if you went thru water or have sprayed water on the hot motor - this can cause the condition from a cracked porcelain insulator and it's lost seal - but that's iffy too, again - thru Mis-fires.
Read this over, see if there's something in this you might have missed. I need to know how thoroughly you went thru the steps and see if we missed one...