check engine light on , and no codes present????

[mechanicaldj]

1990 Lplus injected, manual, a/c
check engine light on, in self diagnosis mode, check engine light comes on for about 1 second, then goes off for about 3 seconds, then comes on for 1 then off for 3 , over and over forever!
my scanner is in the shop

and the meet in Ohio is coming up fast , anybody have any suggestions???

[jeffdjeffd]

pull the cluster and remove the light bulb? :idea1:

[mechanicaldj]

vehicle is somewhat running bad, on the upside: nobody wants to tailgate me b/c of great foul smelling exhaust! i guess the car has a so called limp mode.

[kidcurry73]

nobody wants to tailgate me b/c of great foul smelling exhaust! i guess the car has a so called limp mode.

Like egg smell? Might be a bad cat?

[mechanicaldj]

it is PRE OBD-II, does not have 2 O2 sensors!

[AshesInYourMouth]

...

Sulfur smell usually indicates cataclysmic converter failure...or too much fuel going into it (which will result in failure) You mission -should you choose to accept it- is to find out which.

[mechanicaldj]

the problem is the check engine light is on, the side effects: rich mixture and fixed idle, all i want to know is why are there no stored codes?

[FB71]

no stored codes because the problem only occurs while running. You'll need to pull codes while the lamp is on. Early MECS didn't have a memory, so it only shows faults occurring at the time of interrogation.

[kidcurry73]

This doesnt matter...

it is PRE OBD-II, does not have 2 O2 sensors!

[mechanicaldj]

so i take it, the only way i can retrieve this code is by my Snap-On scanner, which i have no idea when it is ever coming back from service?


and by the way on OBD-II systems which have both pre-cat and post-cat O2 sensors, the check engine light would come on if the cat had gone bad. the festiva computer could never tell you if the cat has gone bad.

[FB71]

no, you don't need the scrap-iron scanner (I don't like them anyway, they break too often... whoops). just do the jumper and lamp flashout procedure. it should flash the code. or..... I have an NGS...... feel like driving to Bel Air?

[mechanicaldj]

should it flash the code while the engine is running?

[FB71]

if I remember correctly, yes.

[mechanicaldj]

still no code , engine running or not

[Biff]

Re codes

Hi , I would like to know if any one can tell me how to pull the codes out of my 92 Festy using the voltmeter , I've heard things like the STI wire(what colour?) , how to hook the meter up , is there info out there or someones dia.

Tks , my 92 Festy with a B6 #3 SOHC