my ''96 regal custom with a 3.1 liter v-6 mysteriously turned on the "service engine soon" light . i have tightened the gas cap , replaced the gas cap , took off the battery cables , all to no avail - the light is still on . the car runs absolutely beautiful , gets great gas mileage , and have driven it 200 miles since last week , and the light stays on . i have no funds at the moment to replace o2 sensors , or catalytic converter , or whatever the heck the o.b.d. II computer says it is . isn''t there any way to turn the light off temporarily without buying one of those code reading analyzer things ?

 

just go to auto zone and have them run the scanner on it. they do it for free. but write down the codes, and DONT buy anything. no matter what the counter person tells you. just write down the codes, andpost them here.

 

Yes, that''ll work and they can clear the DTC,but keep in mind that the light will most likelygo onagain quickly. And don''t think that you can get by emissions testing that way. Edited by: MrBSS

 

thanks for all of the replies ... i go "exempt" in pa. for emissions , as i drive it purposely less than 5,000 miles in365 days, just like i do with my other cars . the light went out a month ago , but came back on today ... i was near an auto zone , went there , they read the code : po141 heated oxygen sensor bank 1 sensor 2 i guess that means an 02 sensor ? where in the heck is it ? under the front manifold ?

 

The O2 sensor should be close to the"Y"in the exhaust.

 

I believe your engine has two oxygen sensors each located in the exhaust manifold. I think your code refers to the cylinder on the firewall side of the engine. Check the connector and wires to make sure they are in good shape and making good connection.

Regardless if you have to pass emissions or not driving this way will result in poor fuel mileage and will likely cause premature failure of the cats. The sensor, if it is bad, is not all that expensive.

~Steve

 

J.A.F.E. is correct, I checked(didn''t want to sound like i knew that to start with)and more than likely I was told it is usually the"upstream"one, BUT the mechanic I talked to said if you have driven it for awhile with it bad you''ll probably have hurt the other, so replace both.I''d start with the one closest to the manifold, then clear the code and if it works great you''re done, if not replace the other.</span>