As I was driving home tonight my check engine light came on. It happened about 5 minutes after I dropped down into second gear Vtec for 15 seconds of spirited driving.

I assumed it was because the gas cap was loose since I had read that on S2ki.com before. I always make sure to tighten my gas cap when I fill up but every time I go to fill up again it's always very loose. Is that normal? Does it just become loose from the vibration of the car or is there something wrong with my gas cap?

Anyway, when I got home I found the gas cap loose so I tightened it. I turned the car off for a while and then tried turning it on later and the check engine light came back on.

I searched the forums and found out that I could unplug the instrument panel backup light fuse for 10 seconds and then put it back in and that would reset the check engine light. Is this true? I took the fuse out and put it back in 30 seconds later but after I turned the car on the check engine light was still on.

Questions:

Does this mean that it's not the gas cap that is the problem because if it was the check engine light would not have come back on after I tightened the gas cap and reset the check engine light through the fuse unplug method?

Is there anything else that could be causing the check engine light to come on that would be a simple fix I could do myself? I really hate the Honda Dealership in my city.

 

[QUOTE=RASHID007,Aug 27 2005, 02:04 AM] Does it just become loose from the vibration of the car or is there something wrong with my gas cap?

Anyway, when I got home I found the gas cap loose so I tightened it.

 

XViper, thanks for the advice. Yes the ignition was off when I took the fuse out.

I did have the car safetied last week so maybe they forgot to connect something when they were done. Also, there was a loud click coming from the rear right and I read on here the hub nuts needed to be tightened so I had a mechanic do that 2 days ago.

As far as my gas cap goes there must be a problem with it then because no matter how many clicks I tighten it I find it one quick twist away from opening the next time I go to fill up.

 

That loose gas cap may only be one thing that's wrong. Resetting the CEL after a loose gas cap episode will not bring back the light immediately. This takes a couple of driving cycles. The fact that it came back on right away means there is something else wrong. Get the codes.

 

get the codes as viper stated from your local holeinthewall auto parts place. the S loves to throw codes. i found the reason for my CEL last nite, high cholesterol in number 4

 

Ok, that's what I'll do then. Thanks guys. I hope it's nothing too serious. I feel guilty cause it came on a few minutes after I dropped from 4th to 2nd gear into VTEC and then shifted at 9000rpm into 3rd. But I do that all the time though.

 

How fast were you going in 4th when you went into 2nd? You may have over-revved. A few people have had a CEL come on right after a mechanical over-rev.

 

That "guilt" your feeling is your conscience tell you....you KNOW what you did....

Sounds like an overrev to me...

4th to 2nd? and you do it "all the time"....

It was only a matter of time... I've heard of 6th to 4th or 5th to 3rd... but not skipping gears to 2nd...

I hope it's as simple as the gas cap... Good luck.

 

I wasn't going that fast. When I dropped from 4th to 2nd I was going just fast enough to be at 6000rpm in second gear at the beginning of VTEC. Then I shifted at 9000 rpm very precisely. I didn't hit a rev limiter or anything. Could it still be over-revving if I didn't hit the rev limiter? If the CEL came on due to an over-rev (without hitting the rev limiter) how bad is that? Will the dealership just clear the codes and reset the light or is this going to cost money to fix?

And by all the time I meant the drop from 4th to 2nd I've done plenty of times. I didn't mean that I do it every day or even every week. Sorry, I may have worded my previous posts poorly.

 

i do that daily, say your crusing down a road doing 45ish and you see a tight corner or need some power, what other gear do you choose? Some of us know how to drive