Check Engine Light

[dangerranger302]

Well the check engine has been coming on but then turning off few mins later so I really didnt pay to much attention to it.. Last friday I changed out the spark plugs and done a oil change.. I also cleaned the maf sensor, I noticed they had broke the clip so the plug on the mas dosent clip like usual. well I took it off and cleaned it and when I went to plug it back in I slide it on as far as I could.. Well I drove from the garage I used to home about 30 miles and it was missing alittle and running like shit.. Well the closer I got to home it seemed to clear up and run better.. Now today I took off and noticed the check engine light came on right away.. First thought shit, i bet its the mas seeeming I cleaned it.. I pulled in to a orielys (sp) to have them hook it up to the scanner.. Well took forever cause he couldnt find the port and I didnt know where it was.. Finally I was digging by the starter relay and found a plug like the one on the scanner, he say oh there it is hahah... Well he hooked it up and the scanner says unable to read?? WFT? I know in hondas u can jump to pins on the plug and read the blinks and get codes that way, can u do it on these rangers too? Or is there another way to come about this codes

Sorry this is soooo long, and its a 91 4.0 5speed

 

[martin]

checking the codes is explained in the tech library.

 

[dangerranger302]

Ya I had checked that out already.. Thing is I dont understand if Iam able just to use a jumper wire to cross the pins to get the light to blink the codes.. I also saw how to use the scanner and the procedure.. It says to turn the key on wait for 10 sec to clear and also make sure the truck is in neutral.. Then plug the scanner in and it should read.. Well when oriely's done it for me yesterday, he plugged the scanner in had me turn the key to run.. But the scanner said cannot read.. However the truck was in gear as well. My q is I dont see how the truck in gear and pluggen the scanner in first then turn the key to run would affect the process, or does it??

 

[trader007]

obd can be finicky. if you have a laptop, you can 'assemble' your own scanner for just over $200. i know thats a bit of cash, but buying that software allows you to read every sensor that the dealer can read, and many other features. http://www.palmerperformance.com/products/scanxlelm/index.php check it out, im not affiliated with those guys in any way, i just liked their product and i dont mind passing the word!

 

[Nhaz]

OBD 1 readers are dirt cheap. as in you can find them for 20 bucks at walmart.

you cant use a OBD2 reader, wrong generation.

 

[trader007]

youre right, my bad. 91...

 

[dangerranger302]

Well Ill look into buyen one.. But I just cant seem to find out what the hell the check engine light is on for.. I went back and had them try again and its still not pullen codes.. All it sayes it cant read ecu or whatever..I dont believe I have a fried ecu but I guess anything is possable right

 

[Nhaz]

Its probably they have a OBD2 reader and it doesnt understand the OBD1 EEC-IV chipset.

You are going to have to pickup a cheap obd1 reader. as i said they are dirt cheap.

 

[modelageek]

Well Ill look into buyen one.. But I just cant seem to find out what the hell the check engine light is on for.. I went back and had them try again and its still not pullen codes.. All it sayes it cant read ecu or whatever..I dont believe I have a fried ecu but I guess anything is possable right

you probably have a blown fusee for the data port. I know on a lot of the 96 and after obd-ii the data port and cig lighter are on the same cirsuit. I am not sure where yours is. if you have an owners manual it will be in there. You can use a jump wire and the cel light will blink to read your codes or else you can get an obd-1 reader to do it.......do a search on how to read obd-I codes. but fix your fuse first

 

[dangerranger302]

ya i read that as well, I had checked all my fuses and all were good.. Iam not sure what they were using but whatever it was would not read the ecu.. I know about the blinks and what not but my q is where to put the jumper wire so I can get it to blink.. I have a print out on the codes just need to know what to jump on the plug it self..

 

[--weezl--]

OBD 1 readers are dirt cheap. as in you can find them for 20 bucks at walmart.

you cant use a OBD2 reader, wrong generation.

i don't mean to contradict you, but the standard odb II readers can't read eec iv, but the higher end ones, like a snap-on scanner (worth about $1500) can read any vehicle, as long as it has the driver in for it, which should be installed if it's up to date...

i'm not entirely sure about odb 1, we don't have it in canada, not sure if it's the same as eec iv, which is what we have on all of our vehicles... before i hopped on forums with a strong US presence, i hadn't even heard of odb 1... ANYWAYS, eec iv you can jump pins, there should actually be 2 plugs/harnesses you need, the second plug is a single wire, without it, it won't read, it's the signal wire, if memory serves me correctly (the wire that tells the ecm to "display codes")

and i believe you actually need 2 wires to jump a total of 4 wires, but i don't remember completely, it's been about 4 years since i've cared to read the codes on anything other than my 07, and i have a code reader (bought it for about 40$ at a local parts store about 6 years ago)