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The Check Engine Check Up

Check engine are two words that no driver wants to hear or see, but sometimes it becomes a reality. One of the most aggravating things about those words is that when the check engine light pops on, there is still not a lot of information you can gather from it. The check engine light is designed to come on if anything is not absolutely perfect under the hood. This means that you have no reason to panic when you see it light up because it could be something so minor.

One of the most common reasons that you will see the check engine light come on is also one of the easiest things to fix; your gas cap is not screwed on tight enough. This may sound silly, but they mean it when they say that the light comes any for anything. Some cars are designed to measure how much pressure is building up inside your gas tank. So, it sets off an alarm in your car system if it strays a certain percentage from the average. This mathematical and technical information does not matter; it just means that your gas cap is not on tight enough. If this happens, you should tighten the gas cap, but keep in mind that it can take up to a week or more for the check engine light to go out on the dashboard.

Another reason that your check engine light may have appeared suddenly is because your engine got wet in a place that it should not be wet. If there is any type of electrical problem under the hood at all, then it will surely set off one of your cars many sensors that alert the car that there is a problem. So, be aware that this can happen when it rains a lot because it could be dripping water into unusual areas like on the spark plugs. Also, you should not spray your car under the hood with a high pressure power washer because you run the risk of getting water into every crevice of the car and damaging something that should not be getting wet.

Spark plugs are something under the hood that can be very problematic, especially pertaining to the check engine light. As your spark plug wires start to get older, they can develop little cracks which are not good because they let out little bursts of electricity. So, if your check engine light comes on and your gas cap is on tightly, then you should probably check the spark plugs for any issues.

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