Hardly is there anything more dreadful for a driver than when the “Check Engine” light goes on. Even if it is your very first day behind the wheel, you definitely know that engine is literally the heart of your car, and its failure has catastrophic consequences.
However, apparently, this indicator does not always mean that you are about to face a huge bill from your garage. There are several reasons for the check engine sign to turn on, and not all of them are fatal.
Nevertheless, it is still not a reason to ignore it as long as the car seems fine. Anyway, you should determine the reason for the indicator is to turn on and eliminate it as soon as possible.
In this article, we shall go over the most common reasons for the check engine sign to turn on and ways you should deal with them.
The actual problem with the engine
Yes, you should still consider that the check engine sign actually indicates a problem that occurs in the engine.
A control module monitors engine operation via a collection of sensors. When it detects any problem or mishap, it will turn on the indicator automatically. The problem may really be serious, something occasional, or even a glitch in the system.
However, once you are sure that it cannot correspond to any issues mentioned below, you may really have to check your engine at a credible body shop.
Problems with emission equipment
While vehicle manufacturers are competing in making their cars most “green” and save the environment, they staff them with emission equipment.
Good thing: it does the job and controls the number of emissions caused by your driving. Bad news, since all those exhaust gas recirculation systems, the catalytic converter, the evaporative emissions system, etc. carry pretty complicated technologies, once a problem occurs in one of them, it can affect the overall “wellbeing” of your car, and the “check engine” indicator can also result from those failures.
Problems with transmission
Transmission is roughly a mechanism that transfers engine power to the vehicle’s wheels, making it move. The two systems are actually pretty connected and depend on each other. Therefore once your car’s control module can easily misinterpret a transmission issue and consider it a problem with an engine, turning the indicator on.
Problems with air and fuel
For proper work, your engine needs a perfect ratio of air and fuel delivery. Once a supply of any of the elements seems misbalanced, the control module won’t take chances and can immediately indicate that there may be a problem with your engine.
Ignition system
Roughly, the ignition system is the one that actually ignites the air and fuel inside the engine. The system is actually pretty complicated and includes coil packs, spark plugs, and numerous other details. Needless to say that once the ignition system fails or even seems to fail, the control module will initially predict engine problems and let you know about them.
Electrical problem
Last but not least, the check engine sign may not even be connected with air-fuel ratio, ignition, transmission, or any other systems directly connected to the engine. After all, it is the electrical system of your car that makes various indicators turn on and off.
A glitch in the electric system, one of the modules, wiring, etc., can easily ignite the check engine sign.
As you see, there may be lots of reasons for this seemingly dreadful indicator to turn on. Some of them are not even connected with the engine at all. Even a loose gas cap can cause some vehicle’s sensors to indicate a vapor leak and therefore predict a problem with your engine, letting you know about it through the “check engine” sign.
Any way you look at it, once the indicator does not go off while the car seems perfectly fine and occurs every time you start it, it is better to make an appointment with your mechanic.
You can find OHS Body Shop branches located all over Montana’s Great Flathead Valley, in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Polson. Here the team of qualified experts will conduct a thorough diagnostics of your car and make all the necessary repairs to make sure that you get back on the road safely and as soon as possible.
