I just repair the engine by doing a cylinder head and gasket change, along with cooling system. I had no light until I drove for about 30 minutes. Went to the mechanics and said the computer is reprogramming itself and will take a couple of days. Is this true?

 

Did you just do all that work yourself? If yes, then it surprises me that you are asking such a rudimentary question about the SES.

In any case, your mechanic needs a .

Read the ECU howto sticky and retrieve all the stored codes in the ECU, that will help you figure out what troubles the ECU is reporting. Alternatively, go to Autozone, where they will retrieve the codes for you for free.

Out of curiosity, why did you need to replace the head gasket?

Cheers.

 

I like to know too... "doing a cylinder head and gasket change" makes me think that the entire head and head gasket were replaced... which is unusual.

 

No, I did not do it all by myself. My mechanic did it. And yes, it was the entire cylinder head in the rear along with head gasket being replaced. I thought I seen posts that said the computer codes that trigger the SES light will be re-programmed somewhere from a day to a couple of days when the engine is disconnected for 3 weeks. Just want to confirm.

 

If you read the stickies at the top of the 4th Gen Forum, you'll find instructions on how to retrieve the error codes stored in the computer. That is why the light is set. It will not fix itself.

I'm not sure what to think of a mechanic that can replaces heads, but not retrieve ECU codes via an OBD-II scanner...

 

He did retrieve the ECU codes, but he said that it will re-program itself since it has been disconnected for weeks. It was giving codes one by one, and then clearing some of it one by one, but not all yet. Just seeing if anyone experience this before. I read from some inspection posts saying that it 'does' go away in a couple of days. If no one experiences this, I have to go to find out the problem. Thanks for replying.

 

Did he tell you which codes he found?

Like I said, the ECU has dectected faults, which more than likely will NOT fix themselves.

 

Check your codes.
Check your codes.

You never answered the question, why did you need to replace the head?

Check your codes.
Check your codes.

Your theory on 4th gen ECU/diagnostic/reset/ etc is pretty skewed ... If something is wrong, the light will trip, even if not lit, there may be codes stored, check them very soon to see codes are stored.

Check your codes.
Check your codes.

It wont go away, only to return, you have to fix the problem in order for it to go away.

Did I mention you should check your codes?

 

Im not seeing the hidden message in your post

 

Will check it later. I replace the head because it there was a hole inside.

 

You're a bit vague in your posts ..My point is, you need to help us help you.

Provide details of the vehicles history .. one important note.. why is there a hole in your head?

This may or may not have vital information that may help better diagnose your problem... Did your mechanic tell you it had a hole or did you see it?

FYI .. My heads have A LOT of holes in them

 

Sorry for the vague posts. Okay, let me start off with the history:

This Maxima had a lot of problem initially. First off, it was burning oil badly, about 2 quarts per 500 miles. There was like huge blue smoke from the exhaust everytime I accelerate. So I ask to fix that problem. He bought a set of gaskets and screws and took off the 2 valve covers on the engine. He also gave it a coolant flush along with new hoses and radiator cap. He discovered another problem and asked me if I want to fix it. So I bought the used cylinder head and he installed it for me. Now everything was fine after 3 weeks. No more burning oil. I even test drove with him for 45 minutes. The next day, I tried driving it again, in about 5 minutes in a turn, the SES light came up. So I went to him and he put in the OBD-II scanner to check for codes, it came up with 3 codes, and then 2, then 1, then none after the turning the engine on. He told me that if it happens again, it should clear away in a couple of days. And I remember a couple of people on Maxima.org had their SES light cleared away after an installation of 'something'.

Good things that happened:
Feel an increase in HP when acceleration
No more burning engine oil

Bad things that happened:
SES light
White smoke once in the first 500 miles (burning coolant?)

So I checked the coolant, was at the MIN line.
Nothing else that I am worried about. Inspection is in another month, that's why I posed the question. Guess now I have to fix these problem first.

Thanks for reading.

 

White smoke and low coolant indicates you are burning coolant ... which means your head gasket is leaking, which means you are going to warp the head, which means... you get the idea... or no?

 

I would;ve just got a new engine for that hassle and price.
are the codes?

 

That process you describe doesn't happen.

The codes remain there until you delete them or the ECU see's your enigne run correctly from a cold start up to full hot several (50?) times.

They don't dissapear as you read them and run the enigne.

If I were you, I'd be looking for another mechanic to work on the car.

 

I would agree on the new engine. Wasted all my time and money. I go chech the codes on Friday.

 

The head gasket problem again? Someone quote me a price.

 

If you have your car there with you, and have 15 extra minutes with a flat screwdriver, check the codes .. now..

 

:

1234567890......

 

Look closely at the pic if you don't get it....

 

THis still does not describe the "hole" in the head problem.

 

Used car. Will get the codes later this week.

 

If you are having those kind of problems on a '99 it must have been BEAT before you bought it. It takes 5 mins to check the codes. Do it now or just keep paying this idiot to tell you that the light does magical blinks and resets itself.

PULL YOUR CODES

and go somewhere else to get the work done . . .

 

Here's the codes from the scanner:

P0403 - EGR Valve Fault
P0161 - O2 Sensor (2nd bank)

 

Neither of those have anything to do with your head problem ...

 

This thread is hilarious

The mechanic has screwed you, and if your still having most of the same problems, I would look into finding another engine and see if some people around you can help with the install for a decent price.

 

I'm not talking about the head problem here. It's only about the CEL after the repairs. This mechanic doesn't seem to fix most of my problems. Changing to another mechanic. Wasted enough money for a new engine. Thanks all.

 

man how much did you pay for your mechanic to install this ? How many miles on your engine ? I had a leak in the timing cover got a engine with 40k on it from a junkyard. I paid 350$ for the engineSwapped it in everything solved not one problem! Not even a cel. Even the coil packs they gave me were good!

 

I paid about $1500 total. How much were yours including the labor for swap?

 

You could've had a 3.5L swap for tha price

 

not including headers and clutch

 

Depends on how hard he looked maybe

... But why not keep the boat anchor manifolds and stock clutch or leave it auto ... Until the $$ came in?

 

i paid 1500$ including the engine :]