1990 Q45 Check Engine Light On - Please help

[haild]

Hey Team - New to the forum here. Here is my story....

Basically I bought a 1990 Q45 with 118k miles off eBay for $2900. I have driven the car for a month now and there is a little vibration in the steering wheel when the car is stopped, there is also a little roughness when I accelerate for the first few seconds from a complete stop.

Last week the check engine light came on the dash. I called the guy who I bought the car from and he stated it may be a fuel injector. I looked at the service history records he provided and showed they were changed quite a few times already.

Really I am just wondering if there is any place I can bring the car to see what the check engine light is about without being charged from Infiniti $125. AutoZone does it for free but on the 96 model and above.

I am looking to keep this car temporarily and wondering if it is really worth it to replace the injectors if in fact that is the problem. Is this dangerous driving around like this?

Thanks allot for all the help...

Appreciate it...

Dan

[elwesso]

Dan,

They were correct, you likely have a bad injector... Its likely throwing a code 45, INJECTOR LEAK, so the CEL doesnt concern me so much... however, you can check your codes yourself...

How long do you plan on keeping the car?

[haild]

Thanks for the response, i plan on keeping the car probably for 6 months?

Is it worth fixing, and is the car safe for me to drive still?

Also wondering if driving around like this can cause further damage to the car?

Thanks again...

[elwesso]

its iffy if it will cause damage, if its running rich (which would cause the CEL to come on) it may have some iffy long term effects... The thing is you can replace them with used ones from our lovely classifieds section..

You need to read up on the "chain guides".. something that plagued all 90-93 Q, and it will result in the cars demise....

Basically, you are left with 2 choices IMO... put some dough into the car to make it nice, and keep it for a while, or get rid of it now! These Q45 are very reliable but as they age they do need some attention on wear and tear parts..

[haild]

OK thanks for the help.... One last question sorry to bug you.... How is it possible for me to check the codes for the check engine light myself?

Thanks again!!

[elwesso]

basically what you do is take the ECU out and then turn the little screw on the front..

I would suggest searching, i can remember at least 3-4-5 times that ive posted in depth how to... Spend some time looking on Q45.org as wel!!!!!!