"Check Engine" light blues

[HammerDown]

Hey Mike>>>

So I did as you suggested...jumped the far right (A) and the next one over to the left (B) with a paper clip....turned the key to run...waited.....and waited...and waited for the "check engine" light to blink...and waited some more. It just staired at me...no blinky!
Uh...OK...now what?
If it did blink, you said it will repeat code 12, 3 times and go onto the next code 44 or 45?
But you never told me how to recognize how those codes blink?...thats if it did blink!
Thanks for your feedback...Ray

 

[HammerDown]

Post Bump....

 

[Stingray6974]

Hi Ray,
Something is not right here. The two terminals side by side in the ALDL with a slot cut in the wall seperating them are the ones to be jumped. Because of the slot you can use a wide male terminal end to contact the two terminals at the same time. With the terminals jumped and the key turned on the check engine will start to flash immediately. Sounds like you might not have been making good contact.

Mike

 

[HammerDown]

Hey Mike>>>

Best as I can explane it...as I look down onto the ALDL connector, there are 5 spades, with (3) divider walls towards the right> side, the 2 on the far left dont have a divider...the rest do. I checked with a small mirror to make sure the farthest right and the next one over to the left did infact read B+A as ya look down at them...those were the 2 I jumped.
I'm pretty sure I made a good contact as I tryed it several times...could the computer be loosing the stored codes?
Do I have to test it right after the check engine light comes on?

I'll try again tomorrow...thanks again for all your time...Ray.

 

[bradfordsvettes]

sounds like a possible tps problem or o2 sensor but you need the flash codes like mike said a scan tool would be very helpful steve

 

[Stingray6974]

Ray,
If it won't flash code 12 it's not going into self-diagnostics. I would take the car to someone with a scan tool and have them see if it will pull codes before you do anything else. It might take some looking since the five pin ALDL was only used on 1981 Gm cars and 1980 California corvettes.

Mike

 

[HammerDown]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help...I hope to take the car to my friends shop and see whats up.$$$$$$$

 

[UKPaul]

Best as I can explane it...as I look down onto the ALDL connector, there are 5 spades, with (3) divider walls towards the right> side, the 2 on the far left dont have a divider...the rest do. I checked with a small mirror to make sure the farthest right and the next one over to the left did infact read B+A as ya look down at them...those were the 2 I jumped.

Ah! You jumped the two terminals on the right that had a divider between them? It's the 2 on the left without the divider that you need to jump. It seems that some cars had these ALDL connectors fitted in the opposite direction to others. Mine is fitted in the opposite direction to what the manual says, so I initially jumped the wrong pair. Don't worry, it shouldn't do any damage.
Try jumping the 2 on the left & see what, if any, error codes are displayed (apart from 12).
It could very well be a mixture problem, but the 1st thing I thought when I read your post was that maybe the O2 sensor was cooling down after a period of idling & then giving erroneous readings?
These computer systems are pretty simple really, they just seem complex when you first start looking at them
Good luck

 

[HammerDown]

Ah! You jumped the two terminals on the right that had a divider between them? It's the 2 on the left without the divider that you need to jump. It seems that some cars had these ALDL connectors fitted in the opposite direction to others. Mine is fitted in the opposite direction to what the manual says, so I initially jumped the wrong pair. Don't worry, it shouldn't do any damage.
Try jumping the 2 on the left & see what, if any, error codes are displayed (apart from 12).
It could very well be a mixture problem, but the 1st thing I thought when I read your post was that maybe the O2 sensor was cooling down after a period of idling & then giving erroneous readings?
These computer systems are pretty simple really, they just seem complex when you first start looking at them
Good luck

Ah, but regardless if the divider or even if it was installed from the factory in reverse...are the terminals to be jumped A+B ? There the ones I jumped.

 

[vettenick]

Try to get your hands on a scanner to see what code(s) are being set. If you can't get a scanner, I can walk you through the manual mode of getting codes. The only drawback to that is that you won't be able to view live data . Your oxygen sensor could be going bad. After long idle periods it could be dropping out and not giving the computer any or no input. Just a thought.

 

[UKPaul]

Ah, yes but... I've got one manual that says pins A & B should be jumped & another that says pins D & E!! Just ignore the labels & jump the two pins without the divider (if you look closely there should be a divider with a slot cut in it). I spent a while trying to follow the manual regarding what pins to jump & got no codes. When I jumped the pins without the divider I got the codes flashing
Hope it works!
Paul

 

[HammerDown]

Sounds like a plan..I havent had much time to mess with the Vette..(working on winterizing the boats)....but I'll get back on this "check engine light".
Thanks for the new suggestions fellas...:cool

 

[HammerDown]

Check Engine Light Gave me Codes

Not that I know what they mean...but when I jumped the 2 terminals without the divider (thanks UKPaul), it started to blink...and this was it.

*/*** Repeated I belive it was 3 times

**/*** Repeted 3 times

**** Repeted I belibe it was 6 times.

Then started all over again.

OK, so now what?

Thanks for the advice...Ray

 

[HammerDown]

Nothing yet...guys:confused

 

[Yoda]

Re: Check Engine Light Gave me Codes

Not that I know what they mean...but when I jumped the 2 terminals without the divider (thanks UKPaul), it started to blink...and this was it.

*/*** Repeated I belive it was 3 times

**/*** Repeted 3 times

**** Repeted I belibe it was 6 times.

Then started all over again.

OK, so now what?

Thanks for the advice...Ray

Hammer,
Could the first message (flash) possibly be *~**? If memory serves me correctly the computer should flash code 12, which is a self diagnostic test prior to flashing trouble codes, it should then flash the trouble codes and go back to the code 12 then start the process all over ..

• *~*** in my mind would be a code 13 (oxygen sensor) this code usually will clear after the engine is warmed up and at operating temp.
• **~*** again my analysis would be code 23 (Open or grounded M/C soleniod circuit)
• **** not sure here, could be a code 44 (lean oxygen sensor indication) here again this should clear once the engine is at operating temp.

Good luck, I will copy this thread into the L81VetteRegistry Forums here at CAC for possible help and future reference..

 

[HammerDown]

Well it's back...again

"The check Engine" light.:confused
Yep it's doing the same thing it did prior to the new Bosh O2 sensor. Think it could have went bad already...heck it's only been in there a few months.
The light comes on again sometines at idle then goes off when I raise RPM.