Good vibrations?

As I said, I just got this car on the road since I got it. I'm still running on the full tank of gas the previous owner left in there. I figured the computer would calculate how much average fuel was consumed over the last x amount of time so the mpg would be available right away. If it keeps track and averages using the time since last reset then it makes sense I would be getting crazy numbers since the car is mostly parked.

When you reset it last, you say you got home it was at 12, but after getting some food it was at 3. I'm assuming you didn't leave the car running. Because it shouldn't make that drastic of a change, unless you might of reset it in the last few minutes.

Click to expand...

I reset it, got on the highway(50-55mph) for about 15 min, city driving for about 10 min and i'm home. Parked it at 12 mpg did not leave it running(that's like begging to get your car stolen in my neighborhood). Come back a few hours later, starts up at 3 mpg.

I understand what Max is saying. I am just looking for a reference point to see where I stand compared to others in similar driving situations. I'll continue to keep an eye on it while I upgrade all the old sensors/filters/etc. If I see that there's a problem i'll at least be able to narrow the possible causes.

you can get stored codes with the check engine light, when you jumper the eec plug the car will first flash and present codes, then there is a pause and if it has stored codes it will then flash the stored codes, if there are no codes at all, it will flash the light 3 times in a row, 1-1-1, it will do this twice, it will flash 1-1-1, then flash it again 1-1-1 that means all system checks ok.

He keps resetting the computer...he's got to leave it alone until he runs thru a full tank. If he wants to see his "INSTANT" MPG, select that function. What he is resetting is the "TRIP COMPUTER". I usually leave mine on "MILES TO EMPTY" . He'll be okay after the newness wears off.

Ok so today I manually extracted the fault codes from my car. I have no clue how to read these numbers. First it flashed 4 times then a long pause then 1 flash then a long pause followed by a series of numbers. The numbers were 332538536632. They went so fast I couldn't tell whether there was a longer pause between the numbers or not.

I started running the different possible combinations of the numbers and the only ones that seem to work are:

332: Insufficient EGR flow detected
538: Insufficient RPM change during KOER Dynamic Response Test
53: Throttle position sensor above maximum voltage
66: VAF/Mass air flow sensor fault, below minimum voltage
32: EGR valve control system signal out of spec, EGR valve not seated, EVP voltage low (SONIC) or EPT circuit voltage low(PFE)

It's also possible the last ones are really 536 and 632 but 632 says that my OD didn't work when it does(at least on the road it does).

Do these codes sound right given the numbers I got? Or maybe i'm reading from the wrong codes. Anyways it's pretty safe to assume I have a problem with my EGR valve since most of the possible codes point to that. One question about that though, where is the EGR valve? Any other suggestions as to what could be wrong or will changing that valve solve all the problems?

Yea so I was using the method from something completely different. I'll rerun the test in the morning thanks.

If it isn't too much trouble, just run by an autozone and have them check it. It is faster, free, and you can be sure you read the codes right.

Either way, let us know what you get.

BTW, why didn't they just build a code reader function into the message center????

"BTW, why didn't they just build a code reader function into the message center????"

That's an easy answer.....$$$$$$$$$!

How much money would it cost to run a wire from the test plug to the message center and a small micro computer to count the flashes? I could build something like that for about 50 bucks, 200 if you want to buy a more advanced micro computer to add in more nifty little things. Cell phone activated remote starter anyone?

Anyways I tried it the correct way and i'm still confused as hell. I stopped by the Advanced Auto up the street and they said they don't have the right program for the machine and they are getting it on monday morning so I guess i'll have to wait.

Nojuego said:

How much money would it cost to run a wire from the test plug to the message center and a small micro computer to count the flashes? I could build something like that for about 50 bucks, 200 if you want to buy a more advanced micro computer to add in more nifty little things. Cell phone activated remote starter anyone?

Anyways I tried it the correct way and i'm still confused as hell. I stopped by the Advanced Auto up the street and they said they don't have the right program for the machine and they are getting it on monday morning so I guess i'll have to wait.

Click to expand...

Back in the days of OBDI, the Pentiums had just come around and computers were archaic. We've gone through about 6 or 7 generations of computer intelligence since then.

They still could have done something. Maybe connect more sensors to the thing that only read out when something is out of the ordinary? If the computer is seeing those codes it wouldn't be difficult or costly to translate that to the message center even back then. At most you could have expected an extra $1000 and that's stretching it alot. R&D on the setup would be a total of 5 min worth of work unless your engineers got their degrees out of a cracker jack box.

Ok so now I got the real codes pulled from the thing. Advanced Auto was being stupid and said they didn't have the machine charged up when they knew I was coming tonite so I ran another self test. This time I was ready and read the codes fine.

Got code 111 on the first half of the test. Long pause single seperator blink another long pause. Continuous codes are as follows:

332: EGR valve opening not detected.
524: When the PCM commanded the fuel pump on, voltage was not detected on FPM.
536: Brake On/Off circuit failure / switch not actuated during KOER test
637: TOT sensor circuit above maximum voltage

Any suggestions as to what could be causing the problems? The 536 code seems weird since my brake lights and brakes work fine. The rest seems to be an electrical problem. Any help to narrow this down would be helpful. Thanks

Anytime I come across multiple seemingly unrelated DTCs, I suggest clearing the codes and monitoring for the code that is first to return.

Remove your battery cables for a couple minutes so that your computor resets its self to clear the codes as Driller has recommended. Some of the codes you read are possible false codes (Boo Switch ?)

Have your tires started to round up yet. I have had a flatness problem on some tires that I had sitting for a while. I lowered the tire pressure down to about 20 lbs and drove around for several days and then brought them back up to normal pressure, and it cured my problem.

Yea i figured it might be leftover codes. The tires are a bit better now but I need to replace the wheels anyways so I won't worry about them just yet. Theres so much rust and corrosion on the inside of the wheels that the tires pretty much had to be glued on to maintain a tight seal. Sucks since I just recently read that my wheels are pretty rare, octastars I believe they are called. I'll probably end up going bigger then the tire problem will fix itself there.

The car is parked for now due to some trouble at the DMV and I have to clear a failed emissions test from the previous owner before I can register it. I will check back with an update soon.

You are getting the code 536 because it wants you to hit the brakes during the test. KOER stands for Key On, Engine Running. When during the test I don't remember, but I wouldn't worry about it because it isn't going to affect your other codes.

driller said:

Anytime I come across multiple seemingly unrelated DTCs, I suggest clearing the codes and monitoring for the code that is first to return.

Click to expand...

Not a bad suggestion but the codes are designed that the lower number codes should be checked out first because they could be causing the higher number codes.

Either way you do I'd clear it or start with the lowest number code which seems to indicate some EGR problem. Either the EGR valve may need replacing or you need to clean your EGR passages. That could also be the reason for the failed emissions test.

I looked up the EGR valve and I think i'm gonna take a look at it this weekend sometime. It seems to be a common problem so it's worth it to at least clean it up a bit even if it isn't bad or too dirty.