Suppose you are driving in the middle of the night and seems like no living beings are around you, and from nowhere, your service engine light shows up at your dashboard. Naturally, you would get a bit nervous, what to do, where to go and so many thoughts will start popping up in your heard. Don’t get scared, rather think about the steps you can take alone as the Service engine soon light doesn’t mean always bad news for the engine, there are some problems you can handle yourself.
Let’s see some of the common problems for showing up of Service Engine Light on your dashboard before you can head towards a workshop and pay a good deal for the repair:
- Oxygen Sensor: When there is unburnt oxygen from the exhaust, the oxygen sensor must detect it. This is used to monitor how fuel is burned in the vehicle. Whenever there is a sensor which is not giving the correct data, means it is providing you wrong information to your computer, and your gas mileage gets decreased. So, what you need is just replacing the faulty cylinder. In most cars, there are two or four oxygen sensors, and if you scan in the car’s computer, you will get the code which one needs to be replaced.
- Gas Cap: Most people ignore gas cap thinking they aren’t important. If the cap of gas cracked or it’s loose, there are fair chances that fuel vapors are going to leak out and will put the whole fuel system off. This process will cause the gas mileage reduction and emission will increase.
- Catalytic Converter: Catalytic converter reduces exhaust gases in the car. The duty of a catalytic converter is to covert the harmful carbon monoxide and other materials which are harmful to harmless compounds. When your catalytic converter becomes faulty, you are going to burn more gases, and your car won’t move as fast as it would when you push the gas.
- Airflow Sensor: You have mass airflow sensor in your car which sends a message to your car’s computer about the amount of fuel to be added engine based on the amount of airflow. If it fails, you will have decreased gas mileage, increased emissions and even can cause to stall.
- Spark Plugs: A spark plug provides a spark for initiating combustion in your engine. When they are not working properly, your spark plugs misfire. When this happens, you will feel a little jolt in the car’s acceleration.
In most cases when any fault happens, the car goes to Limp Home Mode, where the computer of your engine will reduce all unnecessary functions of your car so that you can reach back your home or nearby service station with your car.
