SES Light

[chris97conti]

I got my alternator belt and tensioner replaced the other day, and the next day my service engine light came one, and it has stayed on. Could anything they have done made this happen? Also, the car has like 89,700 miles, Lincoln doesn't have the light come one when you need a scheduled service do they? I have no idea what the tune up intervals are on this car. BTW, it's a 1997 Continental. Chris

 

[maxmk8]

go to autozone and have them run your engine codes for free. And report back as to what codes you have gotten.

 

[chris97conti]

There's no Autozone here in town. And I remember when I took my Beretta in to Autozone when I lived in Tulsa that they just stuck a little metal disc in it, and it would make the light on the dash flash. Both times I had this done it came back as an O2 sensor. I went to the NAPA Autoparts here in town and they said no part stores in town do it, the only place he said he knew of was autozone, and that he had heard alot of people say the only code they ever got from Autozone was the O2 sensor. I really don't wanna take it to the dealer since they charge to flash it. Do you know if the light comes on at intervals for scheduled maintenance? Chris

 

[maxmk8]

Ok the light doesn't come on for scheduled maitanance. Now O2 sensors do tend to go bad anywhere after 60k miles, so its reasonable to assume that you need to replace a sensor. It will run you about $30-60 depending on where you get em. But the main thing is to have to replaced.. this could be quite difficult on your car since they simply turned the good old intech engine 60 degrees... so if its the sensor in front of the engine... then it would be ok to replace but if its the one in the back i would imagine it to be pretty difficult to get to. O2 sensors in general are kind of pain since they sort of rust into place and require tons of force. I would suggest figuring out which one of the O2 sensors is messing up and if you don't want to start working on the car by yourself, take it to some local shop with a spare O2 sensor that you can get much cheaper from www.rockauto.com . And then let the shop work on it, since a dealer will probably charge you around $300-400 to replace it.

 

[chris97conti]

Okay,
I just made an appointment to take the car to my local mechanic tomorrow. I'll post afterwards when I know what's wrong. Chris

 

[chris97conti]

Yep, it was the O2 sensor. Good call. He said it was Bank 2, sensor 1. So I guess these have 4 O2 sensors? Sounds like more stuff to replace, thanks Lincoln . Chris

 

[maxmk8]

Not sure about the conti but i think after OBD II was added in 1996 we started having 3 or 4 O2 sensors. Make sure you don't get ripped off on the O2. Don't pay over $200 including the sensor to have it replaced.

 

[chris97conti]

I think I got a pretty fair deal. The sensor was $110 I think, plus $60 for 1 hour of labor, and $30 to check the code. The garage I go to is really nice and they seem to be pretty fair. Usually it's fairly easy for me to tell if a mechanic or salesman is BS'ing me (cars are my thing , well aside from hands on grimey stuff, I just know about it, not necessarily how to DO it, big difference, but it helps when they try to scam you).