At the very outset, you need to understand why your “check engine” light is on with the help of a free check engine light diagnosis. You must have solved the issue that made your "check engine" light turn on. However, now it doesn't turn off. You cannot be blamed for this situation. At times the computer system in your car will require a bit of help to find out that the issue has been fixed. In this article, we’ll go over some techniques to reset your check engine light.
This light displays itself if the onboard computer system identifies any electrical or mechanical issue with your vehicle. Once the issue is resolved, the engine light does not always switch off. This may prove to be frustrating, cause you to fail an emissions (smog) test, or keep you from figuring out about future problems the vehicle's system might be attempting to caution you to.
It is indeed necessary to be confirmed that the light isn't on as your engine is still facing a problem. You may attempt any one or more of the following approaches to turn off the light before any smog service in Rancho Cucamonga or elsewhere. If it doesn’t go off, then your engine has some issue.
1. Drive Your Vehicle and Allow the Light to Go Off on Its Own
The initial and the most convenient method to clear the check engine light is driving and time. Maximum onboard systems will reverify whatever issue has led to the activation of the check engine light multiple times. Drive your vehicle as you usually would. Whenever you find that the check engine light is still on after three days, your problem may not have been resolved or you may have to attempt a few of the below-mentioned methods to reset it.
2. Turn on the Vehicle and Turn Off Thrice
By default, certain vehicles will reset the trouble codes that led to the initial error after the car is turned on and off thrice successively. To perform this, insert your key into the ignition, turn on the vehicle for nearly a second, and then off for almost a second. Repeat this twice more, then drive the vehicle as usual. Check to find out whether the check engine light is reset.
3. Disconnect and Reconnect the Battery
You will require a wrench. Prop open the hood and apply the wrench to disconnect the positive power cable to the car battery. Keep the battery idle and disconnected for a minimum of 15 minutes. Now, insert your key into the ignition and turn it thrice to the “ON” position to clear the emissions data from the car’s memory as well as the readiness flag data.
Reconnect the positive battery cable and turn the key in the vehicle ignition. Wait a minute and then verify whether the engine light error is gone or not.
4. Utilize an OBD Code Reader
You will require a wrench and an OBD (onboard diagnostic) reader. These affordable readers examine and clear engine codes. You can particularly apply the Kobra OBD scanner as it is quite effective to do this task.
You need to do the following to perform this method:
Plug the reader inside the OBD port of your car. Normally, this port is situated beneath the dash area just above the foot well. On a few vehicles, you need to remove the door on your fuse box to access this port.
After you connect the reader, press the "enter" button to power it on.
The device will scan your engine for all error codes. Once you complete analyzing, the reader will display all error codes it detects. Make note of the codes, whenever you find any if you want to cross-check them in the code reader's manual or online.
Finally, you can press the "scroll" button to get the option to erase the code. Press “enter” while you’re on this option to erase the fault code and reset the check engine light.
Inference
To be on the safer side, we suggest that you should practice the method all by yourself immediately after your vehicle registration in California to ensure that you’re never in trouble if the check engine light is on.
