My check engine light came on. I checked the gauges, the oil, the gascap. Everything was in order. Now after a few days the light is off. Could it have come on due to it being almost time for an oil change? I have an appointment to take in it this week and wondered if I should bother with the diagnostic or just get the oil changed.

 

Take your car to a National franchised auto parts store and ask them to read the codes. It may not show anything, but it is free. The check engine light went out because you had completed enough drive cycles ( on/off start/stop) without an active fault then the light cleared itself. It has nothing to do with an oil change. You still may be holding a pending code, or it could be stashed away inside the ECU, BAS or some other module. If the shop you take your car to for the oil change can read DRB III codes and they aren't going to charge you an excessive $$$. Let them see what they can find, but without the DRB III you are wasting your money. Get the code number or numbers ( be specific write the number down do not just let them explain to you what the code means, you paid for it; GET THE NUMBER) and, so long as your car is running well just drive away, leave, don't let them talk you into some expensive repair unless you explicitly trust the people at that shop. Come back here and post the code if the shop can find one. There are a lot of smart people here who can give you good information, and then you can decide what action to take.

PS If there is any doubt as to the oil level use the dip stick and check it.

 

And always remember what ZIP said - Autozone, Advance Auto, O'Reilly's - they all read codes for free. Advance even printed my codes out for me - but that was not good enough, I went out and bought an Ultra-gauge so I could read them myself.

In any event, if you see the light, stop by a store and get the damn code(s) read. Then come here, we can take it from there.

(And there are a lot of codes that really are nothing to worry about - sure you want it fixed eventually, but many codes are NOT a big deal - it's all part of the clean air acts.)

 

Thanks, I'll do that.

 

Thanks! I'll let y'all know.

 

Ok, the code is P0410. It said secondary air injection system had a fault for a predetermined period of time. So do I need to do something about that or just wait and see?

 

Well I suspect you can just download the '05 service manual from here somewhere and review page 9-426 et subs that contains:


"(P0410) SECONDARY AIR INJECTION SYSTEM (CONTINUED)
When Monitored and Set Condition
² When Monitored: Once per driving cycle with the engine at idle, air conditioning is off, barometric pressure is
greater than 78 kPa (11 psi), engine coolant temperature is greater than 50°C (122°F) and no other DTC set.
² Set Condition: When the test is enabled, the O2 Sensor must increase by at least 23% (rich)."


And then provides a list of possible causes and a diagnostic method.

 

If you don't have the service manual CD you can download it here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/pe...ice_Manual.pdf

The information you are looking for is in the Engine section 9, page 426 as Padgett has stated. You can also use the search box at the top of this page. Simple type in P0410 and you should find a good number of threads on the subject.
The secondary air system runs for about 2.5 minutes each time you start up and the engine is cold. It pumps ambient air into the exhaust system to speed the heating of the catalytic converters. It is not a big deal unless you live in a State or city that requires updated certification to keep your car legally on the streets. The cause of your problem may be a sticky contact for the air pump in the Relay Control Module (RCM) common failure, leaking vacuum lines or a number of other rather easy to locate and repair items. You may also want to run a bottle of Techron Complete Fuel System Cleaner in your next gasoline fill up. Hope that will help you.

 

Put the code in search and you will see all the reasons why you have the code and the remedies to fix it.
If the pump is running all these time it will be because the solenoid for it is powering it up all the time, if it is not running or running intermittently then there is a poor contact in the same relay.
Remember that not many problems are new here and search is your friend. With it you can most often find the fix before someone answers your question.

 

AND you'll save a helluva lot of monies while becoming familiar with your car!






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