Check engine light not working. Failed smog. 3 days left on temp. tag.

thaigga

My check engine light is not illuminating at. No, light no pass. Don't have a clue what would cause this. The vans running descent. Almost sure it'll pass smog if the check engine light worked. I need some input, please. Out of money and running out of time. 1998 Plymouth Voyager 3.0 L 31TH tranny

PF_Flyer

Most common cause of the check engine light is a gas cap that's loose or not sealing. But given that we're talking about an older vehicle, it could be something other than that. Try reseating the gas cap or replacing it and see if that gets the light to shut off. I think you can get a free OBD scan to see what code is turning the light on at AutoZone

ray80

PF_Flyer said:

Most common cause of the check engine light is a gas cap that's loose or not sealing. But given that we're talking about an older vehicle, it could be something other than that. Try reseating the gas cap or replacing it and see if that gets the light to shut off. I think you can get a free OBD scan to see what code is turning the light on at AutoZone

I am not completely sure about the question, but I believe the op is saying the light itself doesn't not illuminate as it should when key is turned to acc position (self-test thing). Perhaps it is not allowed to run test if this is the case where they live?

Thaigga, can you get another temp tag while your working in the light thing?

Mr_Shiftright

I would perform a scan to see if any PCM codes come up ( the CEL grounds through the PCM) and if not, and if the vehicle is running well, I'd suspect that the bulb itself is just burned out.

thecardoc3

This is something that we see a lot of when doing emissions testing. Instead of repairing the car someone simply disables the check engine light and that results in a fail of the emissions test. We see everything from missing bulbs, plastic caps put on the bulb (LED), or tape inside the cluster where the bulb would shine through to the wire being cut in-between the PCM and instrument cluster. BTW people who "fix" the car that way are often portrayed as the knowledgeable hero and the shop/tech who would have diagnosed and repaired the car correctly as something less than that. (aka "Just put a piece of tape over the light and it's fixed")

ray80

WOW Cardoc, are you saying this (I'll assume since it has temp tag) new to them vehicle may have been tampered with before the sale? Never thought that might have happened.

thecardoc3

It easily was tampered with, but the "who did it" isn't something that is likely easy to be figured out and all there are now are victims. The car failed the lamp check portion of the emissions test, and that means if the system would set a code and need to turn the lamp on as a warning for the owner, it cannot. There are a lot of people who have prided themselves with just such a "fix" and the fact that they are the ones who are genuinely the rip-off artist at this point is usually overlooked.

leakmaster1

Check the fuse to see if its blown or someone removed it.

Esteline

My check engine light is not illuminated either passed emissions test have two weeks to get it fixed. I've had my car for 10 years I know nobody has messed with my light. So how do I fix it?

Esteline

Typo their car did not pass emissions in Georgia do to check engine light not coming on. Other than that the car was perfectly fine through no codes or admissions.....