Doing an LED swap today, and I discovered this ingenious fix for those pesky Check Engine Lights:



Don't know which PO did it, but I'll bet he sure thought he was a clever bastard when he did.

Forgive my ignorance, but what am I looking at?

The back of the instrument cluster....missing check engine bulb. Not cool

I've got the same problem. PO took the CEL bulb out.

Heh, a lot of people do that to various cars as if it fixes the problem...

Its okay, its called "job security" for me when they blow their car to crap. :P

Or a serious problem if you live in an area that requires regular emissions testing. Northern VA hooks into the OBD port and if there are any DTCs you fail. If you try to be clever and pull the battery long enough to reset the light, the car has to be driven long enough for it to be in "readiness." If you're not in readiness, you fail. If there is a problem, the light will come back on before you hit readiness and you're back at square one.

That sucks PO got you but that's why they have the bulb check sequence.

Ah, that's not that big a deal. You can replace it if you want, or you can just pick up an OBD2 reader and check the codes yourself, they are pretty cheap these days. No one should go into an inspection wondering if they are going to pass for an engine code...

You buy a car thinking everything is legit and you go to emissions testing so you can register it and it fails for a bad converter or worse or it has transmission dtc's stored and it's not a big deal?

Yep, piece of cake. I just switched over the Door Open light for the time being, until I nab one of the twist in sockets.

My reader comes up clear right now, but it's good to know when there's a code waiting.

Time to go plug this bad boy back in and see if my LED polarities are right...

You buy a car without inspecting it? You are asking for trouble. Checking the CEL is the first thing a shop will do during an inspection.

I bought my 4runner without getting it inspected at a third party mechanic, and despite being told that their mechanic did a full inspection on it and passed it with ONLY the need for a new rear O2 sensor, I not only needed 2 new CAT's, but a new rear axle housing, new sway bar links, and new tons of other little crap. Shame on me for not doing a good job of researching and inspecting it. I'm not saying the dealer wasn't crooked, but shame on me for letting myself be taken advantage of so easily.

So when I say it's not a big deal, absolutely yes, it's not a big deal; I have paid the worst of the possible consequences and still say that.

That would never fly in California. The first thing a smog tech does is turn the key to on without starting the engine to see if the CEL light illuminates. If it doesn't, they know the system has been tampered with and you fail. Also, the status of the CEL light (on or off) shows up when you hook a reader up to the OBD II port.

Not sure how long ago you bought that truck, but you may have legal recourse.

As far as I know they do that EVERYWHERE there is emissions testing. A non-functioning CEL is an automatic fail. EVERY car indicates a CEL when you turn the ignition on.

ooooh, good point.

I don't know about you guys, but I chatted with the guy doing the inspection last time I got it done and he passed me with incomplete sensor check (I had cleared my emissions code). I tipped him and he remembered me the next year, passed me again.

Would I? Of course not. However, your average joe that picks up a used car off of craigslist for example probably doesn't. I would say a minimum of 66% of people driving a car have no idea that the bulbs all light up when you turn the car on so you can tell if the bulbs are working.