Tow vehicle...has this happened to you?

[South Paw]

I have a check engine light on. I drive a 1998 F-150. Already checked gas cap. Tuesday I was at Wachapreague at a shallow launch and I got my tailpipe under water. I suspect I got some back pressure in the exhaust. Not sure if it's that or gas I bought on the Eastern Shore. I will get fresh gas in the tanks and drive to see if it goes away. If that doesn't work I'll take a look at the PCV valve. Any other ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Good Fishin

[CaptBeach]

Your on the right track...sold those trucks for years...3 drive cycles should clear it off if its ramp induced problem...if not stop by an AutoZone and they'll read the code for free...

A drive cycle is start, drive 15 minutes, shut off...repeat 3 times as in drive to work...drive to lunch...drive home...

[kartman]

Another tip is if they read it and it is a fault code unplug both battery cables and let sit for six hours or more, this should clear it out . If the light doesn't come back on I would most likely think it was submerging the tailpipe that caused it .

[South Paw]

Thanks kartman. When I bought the truck, the same week I left the gas cap loose. Light came on and the dealer told me to disconnect the battery and reset everything. Thanks. Forgot about that.

Good Fishin

[A Disciple]

Lots of things can turn that light on. I strongly urge you to find out what the code is. It may be a self inflicted nusience and it may be something else. Its about time for the Cat to give up. Thats what I do for a living. Advance or Autozone and ask them to pull the code and get back to us for more advice. (wink)

[Don O Don]

The proper procedure would be to record the code and clear it and then drive the car to see if the code returns. If code does not return happy motoring. If the code returns then it's time to make repairs. The point here is not to make any repairs until there's something wrong. Just think about it, boat motors have no problem with the exhaust being under the water so I doubt this is what caused the problem, but it's not impossible. And when I say record the code I mean write it down, don't trust your memory.

[Nutz]

I know on toyotas the mass air flow sensor causes that light to come on. I removed the sensor, cleaned it with brake cleaner and reinstalled, light went out.

[South Paw]

Thanks gentlemen for the info. Driving back from lunch the light went out. 206,000 miles and still purrrrring.

Good Fishin

[Kevin Smith]

Mike,

Don O Don has got in right. Suggest you follow his advice.

Kev

[caveyhit]

Mike,

Even though the light came off you might still want to take it to autozone and have them run a diagnostic to find the error code. The light came on and then went off of my Chevy 1500 and they found out the reason it came on was the T.P.S. was starting to go bad. It never hurts to have it looked at so this way you know what problems are coming you're way.

Scott

[South Paw]

Thanks Scott. Will bring it in to AutoZone ASAP.

[Rob Holtz]

No need to bring it anywhere, you can pull codes yourself without a scanner. It's very simple. Follow this link to learn how.

Ford Fuel Injection » How To Run a Self-Test (http://fordfuelinjection.com/?p=13)

[Don O Don]

Sorry Rob, South Paws truck is a 1998 model. It has a 12 terminal OBD 2 connector which is located under the dashboard on the driver's side. All vehicles built after 1995 have this type connector . You can pull codes without a scan tool with this type of system but if you're not very familiar with it I would suggest you leave it up to professional.

[trnsmaster]

try key on off on off on off on without starting you should get some basic info from the dash cluster

[Rob Holtz]

My bad, for some reason I thought the truck in question was a 1988, guess I read it too quickly. I have an OBDII scanner but as stated earlier the parts stores will scan for free. I have a full set of Ford shop manuals so if you do get a code I can walk you through the diagnostics procedure for whatever code you get.

[South Paw]

Went to Advanced Auto and I was told that they couldn't scan codes if the check engine light wasn't on.

???

[WillyB]

I have herd that a long safety chain from the trailer to the truck will register a false signal to your engine knock sensor if it can touch the ground . Causing an engine light to come on and retard timming . pretty crazy huh ? Does the truck act different loaded? After the light comes back dont turn it off and scan it then ,if you can .