Hi Everyone... I am new to this board. I have a question for everyone. Yesterday morning i started my 1997 GS and the check engine light was on. It has stayed on. The car runs as well as it normally does even with the check engine light. Satan wants $90 to hook up the computer and read the code, but frankly Im in college and cant afford to throw money away like that. Does anyone have any idea on what the problem could be? The car runs fine, has almost 60k miles on it and was recently tuned up with plugs, wires, timingbelt, drivebelts, fuel filter. I am in the College Park Maryland area also... Thanks alot for your time.

I also forgot to say that i dont think its the gas cap because I have run 230 miles since my last fill... Thanks

here do the keydance as outlined in this link, that will give you the codes for the CEL , then you should be able to fix it or post again and we will tell you what to do, oh yeah Autozone also does the diagnostic reading for free.
http://www.asog.net/wheatking/PCM.HTM
good luck

theres alot of posts about this if you search. i just had a similiar situation so ill help you.

first thing unplug the battery and see if it resets. if not go to autozone and they will read the code for you for free if they are not too busy.

-johnny

"Few people understand
the psychology of dealing
with a highway traffic cop.
Normal speeders will panic
and immidiately pull over to
the side. This is wrong. It
arouses content in the cop
heart. Make the bastard
chase you, he will follow..."

Guys,
I did that keydance think like the link said and i got the following 2 codes.
1 blink then 2 blinks = 12
3 blinks then 1 blink =31

Can anyone diagnose this problem? Thanks alot guys ur alot of help.
-Brian

Also, my 1997GS is a 5-Speed....I looked up the codes and the tranny type seems to make a difference.... Someone please let me know where my problem lies...Thanks.

Just take it to AUTOZONE.

They will do a Diagnostic Test for Free and will look up the CEL code to let you know what it is.

Later,

using the link that u guys sent me i found 2 errors...
#12....Direct batter input to PCM was disconnected within the last 50 key-on cycles Check Battery connections / Informative Code
AND

#31.....Evaporatice purge flow monitor failure (M/T) Evaporative purge solenoid / Clogged purge line / Vacuum hose / Evaporative emission canister clogged

Can anyone tell me exactly what the problem is and what i need to fix? Thanks

The 12 is fine, everyone gets that, its just telling you that you disconnected the battery in the last 50 times you started the car

The 31 is the evap canister which is a located right behind the passenger wheel, its a black canister filled with charcol, and the code is saying that the line is either disconnected/plugged up or the solenoid has failed, you might want to invest in a Chiltons manual which will help you out quite a bit with all this, it should also tell you how to go about testing the solenoid etc..

A 31 CEl will not affect your car in anyway. Just ignore it. Disconect the battery for 10 minutes then hook it up again and see if the CEL goes away.

One last dumb question
The 31 CEL....will that effect emissions when i go back to NY to get it inspected and they check the emissions? Are these canisters expensive to replace? It seems like a stupid thing to go out...What exactly does this evaporative canister do? Thanks for yout time..
-Brian

it filters vapor from your fuel tank if I remember correctly.

Also, is this something that they can mess up when they do the timing belt/waterpump/drive belts? The first CEL, #12 is from them dissconnecting the battery when they did the belts/pump.....could the other check engine light..the evap system be screwed up from something they did? Thanks.
-Brian

No. On our cars the 31 CEL has been known to show up every now and then. It is pretty common. Just reset the ECU and see what happens.

Actually, I had the 31 pop up after doing my accessory belts. Turns out I accidently knocked a vacuum line loose. I had a vac line but could not find where it plugged. I spent most of a day looking and found the source near the left side of the cylinder head. Try that.
-=B-=