Have you ever tried to pull a code from the ecu when your light was on? My check engine light comes on anywhere from 0-8 times a week now and it is starting to bother me. The car is such a slug when the light is on until I turn the car off and restart it.

I replaced the plugs hoping it would help, but nothing changed. When the light comes on it almost seems as if the car is running on 3 cylinders. Maybe a bad wire or corrosion somewhere?

When I get a chance I will replace the muffler piece since it has a hole. Hopefully that will help (like it did on yours).

How often does your light come on? Last week the light came on and I did the usual turn-the-car-off, turn-the-car-on except this time the light came right back on. It did this 2 more times so I stopped at a gas station and checked the oil thinking low oil pressure (thanks to a slow leak) might be causing it. The car was about a quart low so I topped it off and the light went away for about a week. Now the light's back to its usual frequency. This is driving me mad.

checking your codes with the engine off and the key turned to the "on" position...

Steve Ankney
88 5000
Holland, MI

I checked the codes once upon a time. I think you put a fuse in that relay, turn on the ignition and see if it stays off, blinks, or stays on. I think mine stayed on. I thought that pointed to the knock sensor. I happened to have my center console apart a while back and made sure the vacuum connection into the knock control box was ok. It rarely comes on anymore since fixing the loose bolts in the converter to intermediate pipe connection. It did come on once last week in the morning when I had mom and dad in the car. I got down to the end of the street and turned the car off and on to reset it. When I was having the problem more frequently, it seemed I had to drive for several miles or minutes before restarting the car would clear the fault. (Similar to your experience with restarting and it didn't clear it.) It seems to get worse with exhaust leaks for some reason. I have yet to make the connection. I have a feeling it could be due to some type of excess loading on the engine when cold that shows the problem. It can't be that complicated. All you have as inputs are the knock sensor, a vacuum line, and of course the actual wiring, which I suppose could go wrong. I suppose you could make sure the knock sensor is torqued to the head or block properly. I didn't check mine. I would double check all the vacuum lines, too. It still baffles me, but it seems to be behaving nicely of late.

Check your fuel filter!?