Those Computer Controlled Engines.... September 18, 2006, 11:58:04 PM Well, my experience with EFI cars is very limited, due i never have any problems with my cars, until now.......The "Check Engine" light in the explorer come on. At first i stopped completely, since every warning light in a ford car is a bad light (at least in my case, i had a Cougar 84 which had only ONE warning light and it appeared only when something very bad was happening....), and pop the hood and checked everything, seemed ok. I drove carefully to home and re checked all i can. Well, the light was still there. The only thing i know about codes is how to erase them, disconecting the battery from the car some time. Well, it worked. The next week, i was doing a little trip, and after falling of a pothole, the light comes.....uhh, i stopped and did the same, disconnected the battery for a minute and the light went out, and everyone happy......Yesterday, the light came again. Well ,i can beat that. Nop, i dont have a scanner or code reader, and here in mexico those are relatively impossible to find, not to mention how expensive is to get someone to pull codes..... Well, i want a Code reader, and i want to know if someone have experience with those things. I want a decent brand one, since im going to order one from the US, and i want something good. What brands are good ? which type i need ? My truck is a explorer 96, i guess it uses OBD II... Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #1 – September 19, 2006, 12:00:54 AM I know we sell the auto xray at work it seems to work great. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #2 – September 19, 2006, 12:26:16 AM OBD2 codes can be checked through a process of telling the computer to flash the check engine light. I do not have the directions on this procedure at home, but perhaps someone can post them.or...If you just want to read and erase codes any cheep Ford compatible scanner form Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, or other popular automotive stores will work. Ok. That was dumb, I'm guessing you don;t have Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart in Mexico, but I'm sure you have some chain of hardware stores that sells cheeper automotive equiptment. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #3 – September 19, 2006, 05:29:06 PM Quote from: merccougar50;104559OBD2 codes can be checked through a process of telling the computer to flash the check engine light. I do not have the directions on this procedure at home, but perhaps someone can post them.You can't read out the code on the check engine light with OBD II. They have a five digit code starting with a letter.My Grand Marquis Had a P0401 code.I recently bought a Actron CP9175 from AutoZone for 150 Bux.I don't know how it compares to other models. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #4 – September 19, 2006, 06:49:02 PM Softtouch is right - you need a scan tool for OBD-II Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #5 – September 19, 2006, 07:57:59 PM My bad. I was thinking EEC IV. I've never had to use that trick as I own an older snapon ?MT2500? scan tool that does all makes and models: Provided I buy/borrow the really expensive software cartredges. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #6 – September 19, 2006, 08:56:02 PM Those cheapy scanners at the parts store won't work they are for ODBI not the ODBII setup. I did notice at work that equis makes a cheap ODBII scanner for like $85 american. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #7 – September 19, 2006, 09:06:11 PM Take it to an Autozone.They will check it for free. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #8 – September 21, 2006, 10:58:36 AM Quote from: vinnietbird;104640Take it to an Autozone.They will check it for free....Mexico... Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #9 – April 18, 2007, 12:38:37 PM so we do have obd2 on these cars under the dash or where is it? sorry stupid question Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #10 – April 18, 2007, 04:15:34 PM NO. OBD-II was mandated for vehicles 1996 and newer. Some slightly older vehicles (1995) had it as well. That Neon in your avatar would have OBD-II.OBD-II was mandated for two reasons: First, to tighten up emissions controls, and second, to standardize things so that any shop with a scanner should be able to diagnose an emissions related problem. For that reason there are many "standardized" codes that mean the same thing regardless of the vehicle you're pulling the code from. P0300, for example, means a random misfire. P0301 means a misfire on cylinder #1. PO302 means a misfire on cyl #2, and so on. The EPA did this figuring that if they made it easier to diagnose emissions problems people would be more likely to fix them than to stick a piece of tape over the "Check Engine" light and ignore it.Another thing OBD-II did was to mandate the monitoring of catalytic converter health. In a pre-OBD-II car you could take the cats off completely and the computer would not know. OBD-II cars not only know, but the computer will force the engine into a "reduced performance" or "Limp home" mode if the cats are malfunctioning (or missing). For this reason if you install an off-road pipe in a 96 or newer Mustang you need MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) eliminators to trick the computer into thinking that the cats are there and working.OBD-II also will flash the check engine light if anything goes wrong that may damage the catalytic converters. The EPA mandated this to encourage people to have repairs done - a flashing light is much more alarming (and annoying) than one that is on steady. The average person, when they see a flashing light in their dash, will take the car right to a shop.OBD-II got a bit worse in 1998 when evaporative emissions (fumes your car gives off when it's not even running) came under the rule. This required changing fuel systems (hence "returnless" systems in newer cars) and having a completely sealed fuel system. The sealed fuel system causes a huge headache for dealerships, manufacturers and technicians because something as stupid as having a loose gas cap can turn on the check engine light, and tightening the cap will not turn it off. Turning the light off requires a trip to the shop (the code it sets, P0440 - "Gross leak detected in EVAP system", is resident, meaning once the problem is set it stays in computer memory and keeps the light on, even after the problem goes away), even though there's no real problem. For that reason you see big warning stickers on your fuel filler about tightening the gas cap.So, after typing all that (dunno why I did), your 83-88 T-Bird or Cougar does not have OBD-II, and OBD-II is not something "under the dash" in the sense that it's some kind of black box - it is simply your engine computer. A much more complicated one than the OBD-1 computer in older cars. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #11 – April 18, 2007, 04:20:12 PM ODBII didn't start until 94-95 somtime close to that. So we have ODBI in our cars. The conector to get the codes is under the hood. Really it is two plugs a weird shaped plug and a single wire plug. should be next to the battery. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #12 – April 18, 2007, 04:22:58 PM Our cars are OBD-0. Three digit code computers are the OBD-1 (91 and up) Also after 250 (or so) cycles of the ignition key the computer will clear a code that it no longer see's an issue with. I.E after starting you're car 250 times after you've pounded it in your head that the gas cap must be on.. the light should go off. So yeah.. The light will go off in about a year. Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #13 – April 18, 2007, 04:25:48 PM Ford was odd about its roll out of OBD-II. All 94 -95 4.6 MN-12's have OBD-II where as the 94 and 95 3.8 cars are OBD-I Quote Selected
Those Computer Controlled Engines.... Reply #14 – April 18, 2007, 04:39:01 PM Quote from: CougarSE;141096Ford was odd about its roll out of OBD-II. All 94 -95 4.6 MN-12's have OBD-II where as the 94 and 95 3.8 cars are OBD-IActually, the 1994- Mustang 3.8L cars were OBDII. But you're right that the 1994 4.6L in the T-Bird & Cougar received OBDII (a few differences between the 1996 OBDII - though).Edit, if you meant 3.8L strictly in the MN12 for 1994-1995, you would be correct that it was still OBDI. Quote Selected
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