legacycentral bbs

SO i need to take my car by state inspection, and the check engine light is on, so it will not pass because of it. Can i turn it off and have it stay off for at least 30 minutes? It has to function when the inspection station turns the key to "acc". I tried resetting my ecu but i couldn't get it to turn off. I don't know if i did the procedure right, so i guess my question is, can the light be made to turn off for a little while anyway? My car is an auto and has an ej20g swap so maybe that is why my CEL is on...?

1) pull the ecu code(s) to find out what it thinks is wrong. could be something simple...
2) worst case, you pull the cluster to disable the CEL bulb...

He can't disable the CEL bulb. it has to come on with the key in the ACC position to pass.



Pull the codes and find out why it's on. Instructions are on my site

www.surrealmirage.com/subaru/engine.html

ok so i think i pulled them. 7, 22, 49... And you're right Josh, i cannot disable the light. Can i give it some hard restet that will turn it off for like 30 minutes/miles? Or are there some codes that automaticly trip the ecu?

Are you running a JECS maf without the revtronix chip?? If so remove it. Would explain why your car isn't running correctly and possibly tripping other codes. If you knock sensor is cracked replace it as well!! These should increase performance quiete greatly.

Not sure what the maf is. I actually don't know much about the car. I just picked up. See my thread in "need help identefying this engine" in the engine chapter

Well I would suggest you fix the problem, but doesn't it turn off when you unhook the battery for a little bit? You could just try it before you go in to see how long it'll stay off. I unhooked my o2 sensor to see if it was actually do anything, drove for at least a month with it unhooked before the CEL came on

i have not tried unhooking the batt to see what happenes. I will try that too.

I'm pretty sure you have to leave it unhooked for a little bit to reset the ECU, so just unhooking it and putting it back probably won't do anything, I'm not sure how long you need to though.

There isn't a code 7......so that's a little odd.

Try resetting the ECU and see if the same codes come back.

ok so to reste the ecu i have to plug my single wire green connector, and my single wire black connector, depress gas pedal all the way down, release half way, hold for 2 seconds than release all the way. Than start the car and drive at or above 40 mph for 2 minutes? (car is an auto)

Yes, that is the correct procedure. You will likely not have to drive for 2 minutes, but when the ECU does clear the codes, the CEL will blink steadily.

Well i'm bumping this thread back up because i cant seem to reset my CEL.
This is what i did:
Drove the car to operating temp.
Turned it off and plugged in my green connector (single wire), and my black connector (single wire)
Turned the key to on to acc
Pressed gas pedal to floor, then released it halfway, held for 2 sec, and released all the way.
Started the car(i did not turn the key off from its acc position)
Drove it up to speed
The CEL was not blinking steadily. It was giving me codes. 22, 49, 52.
I park and turn off and unplug the two connectors.
Fire up the car and the CEL just stays on.
How do i get it to turn off so i can go trough emissions?
Car is a 91 w/ ej20g swap. Running wasted spark. Auto trans.

You mention that you did not turn the key off from the acc position. Was the key in the acc position or the "ON" position? It should be in the "ON" position when doing the throttle dance.

If the codes won't clear, than you have an active code/problem you need to fix. What happens when you do the d-check diagnostic (green connectors only) Do the same codes show up?

Ohh Maybe that's my problem. I did not do the throttle thing in the on position. I thought by on it meant acc. I will try again tomorrow. Thanks for the reply.