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Question:

check engine light on help?

My check engine light has been on for about a month but I‘ve noticed When its cold that it blinks. Advanced auto said a while back that it was running lean (I believe) and they gave me fuel injector cleaner. What do yall think the problem is? I cant figure it out.thanks

Answer:

If it's running lean that means it's not getting enough fuel in air/fuel mixture. They should have given you the actual OBD code reading so you could look it up yourself instead of sellig you a bottle of snake oil. Take the spark plugs out and you can visually confirm if car is running lean. Sometimes check engine light us caused simply by an old gas cap that's not sealing properly, especially in cold weather, or changing to a different octane fuel. Try those first before taking it to the shop.
While testing is not always a cure it tends to be the norm! At the parts store the other day a similar thing occurred and the perplexed owner as me to aid his quest! It can be so many things after the scan but the first thing was that his fuel cap was sealing. When he opened the flap, the cap fell out! Problem solved with friendly advice! You should be so lucky as both of us!
untill we know the vehicle in Q, year/make/model/engine and trans options (and yes, trans options *could* be a factor), all i can say is yup. all i can assume is this is at least a obd1 platform. since it has a diagnostic system of some sort. and w/o *specific* codes to go by, eh. we'd be no better then your auto parts person giving you advice. not enough info to go by. ------------ here's your biggest tip! don't ever take the word of an auto part person as to the exact issue or corrective action for any code found. those ppl sell parts. damn good at it too. but they are in no way a trained diagnostic tech. codes need to be interpreted, sensors tested, checked good, the the component(s), system(s), circuit(s), and environment(s) they monitor is in Q. envirnmental issues such as what you may have, may require one to evaluate the entire engine as a whole. so it takes a trained diagnostic tech to know what might be going on. to many varriables in an environmental issue. combustion environment codes as seen via an o2 sensor are those types. environmental sensors monitor that. and those do not monitor a given component. just an environment. get the exact codes. and talk to a reputable ASE mechanic/shop or the dealer for corrective action and repairs-if needed.

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