I was at the races the other night here in WA. I raced maybe 4 times total, each time leaving the gear in drive(I drive an auto). Well after the last race, I decided to call it quits and go home. I traveled about 20-25 miles from the races and was about 6 miles from home when all of the sudden my check engine light comes on. I started to panic because this was the first time I've ever seen it come on, besides when you initially start the car. I immediately pulled over to a gas station and searched through the engine bay for anything unusual or out of place. Everything seemed normal. I then proceeded home avoiding letting the needle on the tach go above 2k rpm. Finally when I get home, I park my car in the garage and once again look for aything unusual. I did hear a clicking sound which seemed to be comming from the valve cover area, but I'm not 100% sure it was from that area. Anyway I disconnect the battery for the night hoping that resetting the ecu would fix the problem. I woke up the next morning and proceeded straight to my car to see if the light was still on. I re-connected the battery and started the engine. The light was still on. I didn't know what to do. I drove around town, running errands and after about 20 min of driving, the light suddenly turned off and hasn't been on ever since. Should I go get this checked out just to be safe or what??? Thanks in advance.

 

i think something like that happened to me a while ago.....my dad took it to the dealer and they said it was just a bad sensor.......but the car was still under warranty then so i couldnt tell u how much it would cost jsut ot have it looked at.....but its a thought......

 

This is a stupid "just in case" response but... check your gas cap, if you forgot to put it back or it's missing the light will come on.

 

Please check your ECU for the MIL code that was thrown. The computer will have the code 'on file' for the next 40 times that you start the car. Go to http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html , for the procedure on how to read the code and look at the bottom of that page to see what it refers to. Please report back what code that you got.

 

I'll do that, thanks alot. I'll get back to y'all asap.(Probably tomorrow)

 

Disconnecting the battey is not the right way to reset the Engine Control Module. You will find instructions to do a DTC readout and reset the Check Engine light at:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecu.html

The DTC "translations" are found at:
http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/ecudecoder.html

The Check Engine Light can turn off by itself. When that happens, the problem which turned it on has gone away. If there is a real problem with your engine the CEL will come back sooner or later. Probably sooner.

The clicking sound in the engine compartment may be a valuable clue. It is important to identify the source of the noise. A four-foot length of small diameter rubber vacuum hose will help you do this. You can buy the hose in any auto parts store. They typically sell it in bulk for about US$0.80 per foot. Start the engine and let it idle. Put one end of the hose in your ear and the other end near any suspected source of noise. The engine compartment presents a cacophony of sound. The benefit of the hose is that it isolates the sound from one specific area. Work safely! Avoid contact with any moving parts!

You may find it interesting to explore the sounds of your engine with this inexpensive tool. Each moving part has its own characteristic sound. For example, listen to the muted clicking of the fuel injectors. They should all sound alike. If you find one with a different sound (or no sound at all) you have found a problem.

The dealer's service department is equipped with high-tech diagnostic instruments. These are wonderful devices but they are expensive and the dealer has to recover his cost by charging you for diagnostic time. Sometimes the home mechanic can do legitimate diagnostic work with nothing more than a rubber tube.

 

More than likely the clicking sound you hear is just the fuel injection. All Maximas make a clicking sound from the injectors and that is normal. I can't help you w/ the light though, sorry.

 

Good stuff DBM, SC99. Now that you mention it, I have heard that clicking sound before. When I first bought the car, I was curious about it. But I'm definetly gonna try that whole rubber hose technique(sp). I took off the plastic panel covering the ecu diagnostic code thingy and came across the thing with a screw that your supposed to turn. I'm gonna have to go bak to the website to figure out what to do from there cause I wasn't too sure at the time so I held off. Anyway, I'll get back to y; 'all whenI find out more info. Thanks again y'all.

 

Code 03 04, Knock Sensor.
That doesn't sound good. Daniel B, anybody, please help.

 

There is a wealth of information in the Sticky titled ECU Diagnostic Trouble Codes. Please look there.

 

Wow