CEL on, wifes car???
 

Ok, I posted a week ago that my check engine light on my wife's Charger came on (solid not flashing). It was the day before I was leaving for vacation so I didn't have time to stop by my local Autozone to get the code.

Well......I now have the code. Autozone will not clear the code (said it is against the law). I was hoping to clear the code and see if it was just a one time thing.

Here is a little info on my car the car..... 08 Dodge Charger 65k miles.

From what I can tell, this means my oxygen sensors could be bad.

Before I spend $400 on oxygen sensors does anyone have any advice on my next step???

Thanks in advance for any help! :cheers:

I read in another forum to clean the MAF. For the money your talking you can buy a durametric cable and check the voltages from your O2 sensors to know if they are good or bad.

I just purchased CRC 05111 (MAF and throttle body cleaner). It's under $10 so it's worth a try. Plus, it can't hurt to give the MAF and throttle body a good cleaning anyway :).

If this is my problem, will my check engine light automatically go out after cleaning the MAF or will I have to purchase a code reader to delete???

Does anyone else have any input on the P1123 code?

P1123 is the code thrown when oxygen sensor on bank 1 reaches its limit trying to lean out an overly rich mixture. Normal suspects are high fuel pressure (bad regulator) or a leaking injector.

My guess is that you'll clean the MAF and find out it's an O2 sensor.

Your car is of the age that they need replacing.

Welcome to the expensive world of older 986 ownership :(

Be sure and budget $2000 a year for upkeep on your boxster. Some years you'll use it for repairs, other years you'll use it for tires.

Is there a way I can test to figure out the true problem (oxygen sensors / leaking injector / fuel pressure regulator)? I would like to avoid taking the car to a shop just to find out it was something I could have fixed.

When the problem is fixed, will the CEL go out or does it have to be cleared?

The car is running perfectly. Wouldn't a leaking injector cause the engine to run rough?

The fuel pressure regulator can be tested by connecting a pressure test gauge to the test port on the engine's duel rail to see if the pressures are in bounds.

A slightly leaking injector may not even be noticeable in how the car runs, but could show up as diminished MPG.

You could also hook up a Porsche specific diagnostic tool (PST II, PIWIS, Durametric) to the car and read the actual fuel trims while it is running to see if one bank is running richer than it should.

Several yeras ago I had P1123 & P1125. Disconnected the MAF and the car ran better. Replaced the MAF, cleared the codes and have been fine ever since. In my case the MAF sensor had failed. Leaky injector can certainly also cause this but injectors are a pain to get to. MAF is cheap and easy.

The CEL will stay illuminated until no fault is detected for three drive cycles. A drive cycle is basically starting the car bringing it up to operating temperature and driving it long enough to allow the completion of all OBD tests to be completed. If you are interested in doing your own maintenance on your vehicle I suggest on investing in the following three items. 1. The Bentley Manual. 2. A inexpensive OBD II scanning tool. 3. Wayne Dempsey's 101 projects for your Boxster book. All tolled $200 bucks worth of info you can use to help diagnose and navigate the engine and systems of your vehicle. So when JFP tells you what is likely wrong, you know how to get to it and the torque values etc. needed to put things back together.
Good luck,
Eric

I am getting the code P0174 any insight to what the problem is? Also any suggestions on OBD readers>

I have an Actron pocket scan tool that does the basics. It reads codes and pending codes and allows me to clear the codes. You can find them on eBay for less than $50 delivered. Harbor freight has a variety of readers ranging in price from $55-$110. If you are into apps you should look into dashcommand, which works with a wireless reader plugged into the OBDII slot on your vehicle.
DashCommand - Palmer Performance Engineering, Inc.
The dash command app works with an elm327 wifi OBDII reader you can find on eBay for $20 BIN.

UPDATE- I finally got around to purchasing an Actron CP9575 Auto Scanner. I cleared the code and after approximately 50 miles (two trips) the CEL hasn't come back on:dance:. I was wondering what is the likely hood that this code was just a one time glitch and everything is OK?

Been there, cleared that. If it's a sensor on the edge of failure, it can go a while but will come back on. I carried my samsung mini tablet and my Bluetooth OBDII reader to clear the light every other day until I could fix the O2 sensor.

My money says it comes back. Now, a loose gas cap that throws a code but you tighten it proper next time, that CEL will not return.

If the car performed and passed the readiness tests, it will be gone a while. But I agree, most likely it will come back.

Next time it comes up, swap the O2 sensors. If the problem follows the sensor, then the sensor is bad.

I don't think its a sensor.