Hey guys,


A few weeks ago while driving to work I had to make a fairly quick stop at a stoplight and the car stalled. At the time I was low on gas and I assumed that the gas shifting in the tank caused the car to run out of fuel temporarily. The car would not start right away at the light. After several attempts it finally started and I drove to a gas station a couple blocks away and filled up. On the way to the gas station and the rest of the short drive to work the arrow light on the dash board was blinking and the check engine light was solid. After work that day the arrow light was off but the CEL stayed on and has been on for the last few weeks.

I assumed because of the stall that there was most likely a misfire and the light would just go off on it's own after x amount of starts or miles driven. However here I am 3 weeks later and the light is still on. Last night I disconnected the negative battery terminal and left it unplugged all night. Today when I hooked it back up an started the car the light came on like a normal start then went off, then about 3 seconds later it came back on and appears to be staying on.

I know it's hard to diagnose without having a code readout but do you have any ideas of why the light will not go off?

 

UPDATE: So I went to AutoZone to get the code read but apparently AutoZone's in California don't read diagnostic codes for people anymore. I just moved here from the midwest so this took me by surprise. I'm going to try and find another place that will but i'm not holding out much hope.

 

Autozone in NJ is the same way. I was shocked myself when they told me they could not check my codes anymore. I just brought a autel code reader on amazon and it works great. I think I paid 30 bucks shipped for it.

 

I used to have a really nice Actron scanner but I sold it on ebay a year ago. Looks like after work Friday i'm going to go buy another one. They come in handy.

I'll post the code info as soon as I get it. I am past due on registration/smog and need to get the ball rolling quick.

 

Bought a cheap scanner and hooked it up. Only 1 code. P0120 which is a Throttle Pedal Position Sensor Circuit A malfunction.

So I cleared the code and i'm glad that it doesn't appear emissions related since I have to get the car smogged asap. After some research it looks like symptoms of this code can include stalling. Which is exactly what happened right before the CEL was triggered. However i'm also wondering if in my haste to get the car restarted if turning the key and fiddling with the gas pedal at the same time might have something to do with tripping the code. Chicken or Egg? lol

Your thoughts?