Check engine light?

spdjnky_42 · 02-23-2009

My 95 F150 5.0 check engine light comes on every once in a while, stays on for a few min then goes back off. However the air bag light flashes. Are they related? If not anyone know why the check engine light would come and go?

72 mach1351 · 02-23-2009

The check engine light is only on when a problem is detected, intermittent problems will cause it to turn on/off. needs scanned to see what the problem is. the airbag light is totally separate, but can be scanned as well

89BlkNotch · 02-24-2009

my car does that, i just shut it off, tell it to run good baby give the dash a kiss and it goes away for months it really does work, or sometimes she gets real mad at me and i gotta clean the egr **** out and itll be fine

spdjnky_42 · 02-24-2009

Ha wish it was that easy (kiss the dash). Mine comes on everyday but only for a minute then its gone for a while. No one has an OBD 1 scanner anymore, and they are about useless anyways. I was just trying to figure out what problems arrive intermitently, cause most are all the time.

spdjnky_42 · 02-24-2009

Oh yeah, got a slight miss too. I guess that could be it if it was messin w/ an O2 sensor?

**RLG34750** · 02-24-2009

the o2 will activate the cel.....

Greg B · 02-24-2009

Auto X-Ray by Acron still make OBD-I scan tools. They run about $200-$350. The high price is for all the cables and the low price is for one make specific cable. Places like Auto Zone and Advance Auto Parts sell them. If you drive an old beater back and forth to work like I do they sure come in handy. If you use it 3 or 4 times, it's paid for itself. The scan tool I have does OBD-II also. It cost about $400. It has paid for itself many times over.

Greg B

spdjnky_42 · 02-25-2009

Alright well Oriely's will loan you one but it couldnt read my sh*t for some reason. I did it right and followed the directions and had both wires hooked up but still said unable to read. However I hit the clear button afterwards and no more light YET! I wonder if when I turned it on and hadnt hooked in the grey plug and it didnt read I may have hit clear to start over. Guess Ill try again if it comes back on. Anyone know another reason it would say "unable to read"?

LimitedE · 02-26-2009

Mine had the same problem. I took it to a shop to have the code pulled and I watched the guy reset his scanner and try it over and over again for 45 minutes. FINALLY it came up with bad crank sensor and air intake tempature sensor. Although I'm not completely convinced..the longer I have this car the weirder it gets. I noticed some of the engine's wire harness says "Painless" on it.
...prob used to be a 4cyl...

Sometimes my airbag light flashes, sometimes it stays on for a minute. I couldn't track down the problem, but it won't have an airbag soon anyway....

I'd take it to an ASE certified mechanic. One with good diagnostic tools. Should be less than $80 to check it out.

Greg B · 02-26-2009

Make sure it's configured for your vehicle before trying to scan. When you hit clear, it probably cleared the codes. If there is a problem, it'll be back.

Greg B

spdjnky_42 · 02-26-2009

Yep used the eec-iv scanner set it on 83-95 ford and tried again today when it came back still said unable to read? Cant figure it out. There is a wire missing out of the trucks eec plug is that normal? And light only comes on after driving for awhile(20min) stays on, then isnt there when I restart. Anybody got any ideas?

Greg B · 02-27-2009

The scan tool I have, I have to select the year and engine code in order to read faults on OBD-I vehicles. That applies to Ford, GM, and Chrysler. I suspect that the scan tool is bad or has a bad cable. The OBD-II codes are generic and applicale to all vehicles. That's why you don't have to configure as much information into them to read faults.

Greg B

spdjnky_42 · 02-28-2009

Oh well screw it. SOLD IT!!!!!!! Thanks anyways.