Check engine light question?

[Mikey_ZX]

Hello everyone, my check engine light doesn't come on when I turn the key to power the electric on the Q, is this normal? When I turn the key straight to start the check engine light would come on every once in a while, but if I let the electric spread throughout the car and all the lights in the dash accept the check engine light turn on and I wait till the seatbelt light stops blinking and then start the car the check engine light never comes on. I had a problem with smogging my car during the visual test because the check engine light doesn't come on, the guy failed it the first time then I explained how my dash cluster worked then he made a phone call to his boss and decided to test my car again and finally pass the visual. I'm trying to fix this, does anyone know what could be going on????

[goody90q45]

You're fortunate that the smog tech passed you without seeing the CEL come on. Hopefully it passed the emissions test since a non-functioning CEL is an automatic fail in CA even on the cleanest running cars.

All of the dash warning lights should come on when the key is turned to the ON position without starting the engine. If the CEL is lit with the ignition in the ON position and goes away when the engine is started then there are no stored codes. If the CEL is not coming on with the ignition in the ON position then:
* The bulb is burned out, or
* The bulb has been removed (by a previous owner to cover up a problem?), or
* The screw on the back of the ECU for reading codes has been left in the wrong position (by a previous owner trying to diagnose a problem?).

We've seen the ECU screw left in the wrong position at least a couple of times in this forum and that would be the first thing I'd check, especially since you're faced with having to pull the instrument cluster to look at a bulb. It's a bit difficult to follow the FSM instructions in the emissions section of the FSM so read them carefully and understand the correct sequence for turning the diagnosis screw before starting. Instructions are also on a label on the back of the ECU.

You're going to need to unplug the ECU mounted behind the passenger side footwell, pull the ECU, plug it back in (it won't come out with the pigtail connected), reset the diagnosis screw to the correct starting position (either full CW or full CCW, can't remember) and pull the codes, reset the screw to the correct starting position again, and reinstall the ECU. There's a lot of steps here but it's not that difficult. Go to the Tech Help section at Q45.org for the code reading procedure or search NICO posts. Where are you in CA?

[Mikey_ZX]

Thanks for helping me, when I took my ecu out to check it, it was in self-diagnostic mode, so I turned the screw back over and now my check engine light works properly. I was not trying to take apart my dash cluster, been there done that and that is a PITA. Also, I'm not trying to fail any future emissions test over a check engine light issue? Once again thank you goody90q45 for helping me out!