CEL on. 2 questions.

[Double E]

I changed oil first this weekend. First time since purchasing a month ago or so. Used 6 qts of synthetic 10-30

Anyway, I also cleaned the engine bay and generally looked things over for an upcoming spark plug change.

Everything ran fine after the bay cleaning & oil change. I then got to looking in the compartment where the fuses & relays are behind the battery. I noticed an interface right where the battery connection comes into the fuse/relay compartment. The interface has a flip up access and a "lock" position that reveals a white plug-in port. Of course, I moved the access to see what it did and left it there.

It would not crank afterwards, just the ignition on and no turnover. I put the access lever back down and it cranked & ran fine but the CEL came on right away.

1. I think the port I saw was the access the delaer uses to update firmware. Is that right?

2. I can get the code pulled at a local parts store, no problem ...but is there a way for us to pull our own codes?

Thanks in advance... & if I'm just not seeing it and it's in the service manual, please tell me what section.


Modified by Double E at 9:57 AM 5/6/2008

[Double E]

Update: The code was P1111 and indicates that the fuel management system for bank one was interrupted. A second code (P1135?) was for bank 2 and then a U1000 code was present but gave unspecified information out of the AutoZone DB.

Anyway, it does appear that I caused the codes by moving what appears to be the upload access port. The AZ people won't clear codes anymore, so I'm just going to drive it & let it clear itself.

This situation reminds me if a cheap anti-theft practice of removing the fuel pump relay.

I'm still wondering about the ability to pull our own codes though... Anyone have info?

[Q45tech]

Since every vehicle since 1996 has used the same OBD2 codes and scanners, it seems loical that vehicle owners would have purchased their own personal scanner by now.

With the downloadable FSM in *.pdf each code has a specific page where you follow a dianostic proceedure for each code to narrow down the specific fault.

[Double E]

The code cleared itself today.

Getting a scanner isn't a bad idea...

[szh]

Getting a scanner isn't a bad idea...

Yes! But avoid the ultra-cheapo ones from Autozone - they are fine as a freebie rental, but don't give you enough information to be useful. For a bit more money (about $200 to $300), you can get a decent to good scanner from a number of places. Do a search on Google and you can find a few of them.

Z