What is a ‘Malfunction Indicator Light” (MIL) ?
The Malfunction Indicator Light is commonly referred to as the check engine or service engine light. Following are the usual symbols that most manufacturers use to represent the MIL:
What is the purpose of the ‘Malfunction Indicator Lamp’ (MIL) ?
During everyday operation, the MIL light will illuminate for a few seconds when a vehicle is first started and extinguish when the engine is running. When the MIL light remains on during normal vehicle operation, the OBD system has detected a problem with the vehicle's engine, transmission or emission control system.
What Does It Mean When My Vehicle’s MIL remains on ?
The OBD system has indicated that it detected that your vehicle has an emission problem by illuminating the MIL light and has stored a Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) in the vehicle's computer memory.
Sometimes, the OBD system will automatically turn off the MIL light if the conditions that caused the problem are no longer present. This will happen when the OBD system evaluates a component or system three consecutive times and no longer detects the initial problem.
For example, if a gas cap is not properly tightened after refueling, the OBD system may detect vapor leakage and turn on the MIL light. If the gas cap is tightened, the OBD system will recognize this and the MIL light will be turned off after a few days of driving.
What Should be Done When the MIL remains ON?
The OBD system is alerting you that the vehicle should be looked at soon by a Certified Emission Repair Technician. Timely diagnosis may save you money in three ways:
- Small problems are identified before they become major expenses
- A faulty component may be covered by the vehicle's emission warranty
What does it mean when my vehicle’s MIL is flashing ?
A flashing MIL light indicates that your vehicle's engine is seriously misfiring. Because this condition may cause the catalytic converter to overheat and cause a fire, you should stop driving the vehicle and have it attended to by a Certified Emission Repair Technician as soon as possible.
If this problem is not addressed quickly, the resulting repairs may be very expensive. (catalytic converters on some vehicles can cost in excess of 2500.00 dollars to replace)
We currently employ 6 full time Certified Connecticut Emission Repair Technicians.
|