[BLK2000XJ]

My malfunction indicator light has been on for several days now. It went on during normal driving conditions and hasn't turned off yet. The owner's manual says it may stay on sometimes for no apparent reason for several driving episodes then shut off, but it's beginning to worry me. It also said it may just be the gas cap is not on all the way...I already checked that too. Any ideas?

[madrabbitt]

take it to autozone and get the codes read?

[yikess]

sometimes this works, just undo the neg battery term and let it sit for a little and put it back. Sometimes this clears the light.

[Lab Hauler]

Originally Posted by yikess

sometimes this works, just undo the neg battery term and let it sit for a little and put it back. Sometimes this clears the light.

That may work. However, if you clear the light you will most likely erase the code that the dealership of the technician will need to fix whatever might be wrong with the vehicle.

One other thing to keep in mind with items such as the gas cap. It will take several ignition cycles to clear out that code and it should do so on its own, if that was the problem. Repeated overfilling your fuel tank can also flood your EVAP system's charcoal canister, which can also set a code. Once that system dries out and the vehicle has gone through a few ignition cycles, that code may clear out on its own as well.

To be safe, if it were my vehicle and it were still under warranty, I would take it to the dealership and have them read the code. If you are out of warranty, places like Auto Zone might be able to read the code and tell you what the code means. They most likely will not be able to tell you everything that might be causing it. If they can give you the code, you might want to try posting it back here. Perhaps someone with a service manual might be able to shed a little light on what might be causing the problem.

Lab Hauler

[gonz165]

This doesn't really answer your question, but I seem to recall that if the indicator light is steady, it's not as bad as if it were flashing. If it starts to flash, you definitely need to get it looked at. (or is it the other way around?)

[yikess]

Originally Posted by gonz165

This doesn't really answer your question, but I seem to recall that if the indicator light is steady, it's not as bad as if it were flashing. If it starts to flash, you definitely need to get it looked at. (or is it the other way around?)

You are correct. Usualy when the light comes on and stays steady, its like a emission thing. If the light is blinking, then yes you should have it ceck imeditly.

[Scottski]

Hold the trip button down, and then turn on the ignition....Your dash will go through a check of the guages but I also seem to remember that any engine codes will display on the odometer.

Let me know if this works.
I think that wjjeeps.com has the codes posted.....
Scottski

[madrabbitt]

Take it to autozone and have them read the codes.
Dont reset the codes by disconnecting the battery, because if its something important, you might miss it, and it could screw something up.

If its something emmissions related, take it to the dealer. you may be out of warrenty on the vehicle, but federal regulations warrenty anything emmissions related for something like 8 years, 80k miles.

[BLK2000XJ]

Thanks everybody for your input. All that worrying I did, and the problem went away on its own. I ended up driving it until I had just a few miles left of gas in the tank, refilled it, and the light went off. It wasn't a matter of the gas cap being off or not tightened correctly though...I checked that already. I'm chalking it up to "bad gas". Thanks again everyone!!!