Tales Of The ‘Check Engine’ Light

The check engine light came on in my wife's car over the weekend. Now, on cars these days, that light coming on could mean just about anything-- from the pressure being a little low in your right rear tire, all the way to a major engine malfunction.  When I was learning to drive, however, when that light came on, it meant trouble-- and it meant you'd better pull over right now, lest you do even more damage. So, the light coming on necessitated a trip to our mechanic to see what was up.

Would it be thousands of dollars for an engine overhaul? Or was it merely a nail in the tire?  Well, when our mechanic hooked up the whiz-bang diagnostic computer, they found that our check engine light was being caused by a 'vapor error', which, they think was, in turn, being caused by the gas cap-- or more specifically, the gas cap not being completely sealed.

So, they put it on back on-- this time, sealed correctly-- reset the computer and promptly sent me on my way-- at no charge. Looks like this time, we dodged a bullet on the wheel of car-repairs!