Jack Williams

Under the Hood: Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

You've just hopped into your car, you're late for work, and your air conditioning is busted. What more could go wrong? Just then, your check engine light turns on. Great. Now you have to take it in for scheduled maintenance. Before you take your car in, it's important to know what could possibly be wrong with your engine. The check engine light could mean a couple of different things.

For starters, when the light turns on you know that there is something wrong with the emissions system, the on-board diagnostics system and/or engine control unit. They are responsible for monitoring different parameters and when they notice something is wrong, the light pops up. The list of problems associated with the check engine light goes on and on. Some problems include a loose gas cap, faulty fuel injector, a wet engine, a blown gasket head, faulty oxygen sensors, worn out spark plugs, or sticky exhaust gas recirculation valves. First, try the easy fix to see if your gas cap is on correctly. If it's not fitting properly, you'll have to take it in for a new one. All other matters should be taken care of by a trained mechanic.

fThanks to HowStuffWorks for all the information on the check engine light.