Car Guys! Help?

[miguel noche]

more than likely like the other posters have said it's a sensor and if it's running fine don't mess with it because it's a chevy and when chevyc get old they tend to break down alot i once had a corsica nad it wwas the biggest piece of junk ever

[Detroit]

If you put the gas cap on improperly the light will come on and will not reset until your car has been hooked up to a computer. If it drives OK then I think that the problem.

[youcancallmeclaire]

I think it is an 02 sensor (oxygen sensor).

That is the most common problem that trips a check engine light when the car otherwise preforms normally.

It is an emission problem. So you could drive forever and it's not not going to affect the performance of the car. The only problem is, you can't tell if another serious problem comes up because the light is already on.

Oxygen sensors are expensive. About 300 to fix.

As a previous poster noted, tighten the gas cap first, and see if that helps. But the gas cap thing is more common on newer cars.

How does the car's transmission shift? If the there is transmission problems, that will set off the check engine light, also. If it is a transmission problem, it is going to hurt.

Because your car is inexpensive, if it is a oxygen sensor, I wouldn't fix it.

Good luck with your car.

It's shifting fine and the gas cap is tight. (although the cap has been slightly broken for about 2 years, but never had any operational problems from it.)
One thing I noticed is that the heat seemed a little cooler than normal, but that could have been my imagination or the fact that it was reeeealy cold out today.

I don't know anything about oxy sensors... I'll have to go look that up.

[BeardedOne]

One thing I noticed is that the heat seemed a little cooler than normal, but that could have been my imagination or the fact that it was reeeealy cold out today.

Check your coolant/antifreeze level. While 'cool heat' could be a bad heater core, it is more often low coolant. Low coolant = Very bad.

[youcancallmeclaire]

Check your coolant/antifreeze level. While 'cool heat' could be a bad heater core, it is more often low coolant. Low coolant = Very bad.

Already did. It's fine.

I remember something like this happened on my other car... a spring-valve thingy mounted in the top of the radiator kept getting stuck open and I had no heat for one of the coldest NY winters in awhile.. I can't remember the name of the part though. :/

[youcancallmeclaire]

If you put the gas cap on improperly the light will come on and will not reset until your car has been hooked up to a computer. If it drives OK then I think that the problem.

I didn't know it wouldn't go off... my gf drove my car recently, maybe she didn't put it on correctly. :/

I think I remember reading somewhere that I can reset the engine light by taking out some fuses or something of the like.

[youcancallmeclaire]

more than likely like the other posters have said it's a sensor and if it's running fine don't mess with it because it's a chevy and when chevyc get old they tend to break down alot i once had a corsica nad it wwas the biggest piece of junk ever

I honestly don't remember needing a single thing replaced other than brake pads in about 40,000 miles.. It had 100k on it already when I got it.

[BeardedOne]

Ah, yah, remember the coldest days real well.

On the Lincolns and Caddys we just popped the thermostats out. Heat wasn't as hot as it could be, but they rarely overheated and you didn't have to worry about them sticking open or closed.

[youcancallmeclaire]

Ah, yah, remember the coldest days real well.

On the Lincolns and Caddys we just popped the thermostats out. Heat wasn't as hot as it could be, but they rarely overheated and you didn't have to worry about them sticking open or closed.

That's what it was! Thermostat.
The one on mine was riveted to the antifreeze cap... how did you pop them out?

[Sly Fox]