Check Engine Light
 

Hello Everyone, newbie here. I bought a 97 Boxter a couple of weeks ago. I've gotten gas twice and the check engine light has gone on after both occasions. I took it back to the place I bought it after the first time and they got the light to go off and told me it may be the gas cap.

What I would like to know is if anyone knows how to cancel the check engine light. I have a 1500 Ram and it did this when I put a new gas cap on. It had something to do with disconnecting the battery and so on.

If I replace the gas cap will the light go off automatically or will I still need to take it to the shop and get it canceled. Thanks in advance for your help. [/SIZE]

Normally I would tell a car owner to unhook the battery cable for an hour, but Porsche owners don't have normal cars. You can try it but you will need to reset your radio code.

If it was my car and it is running normal then I would cautiously unhook the cable and see what happens. If you have oil leaks or its running rough then i would take it to a mechanic. It could possible be the gas cap if it isn't sealed it can throw off the computer.

Questions.
1.)did you get high octane gas? Your car could read a difference in o2 mixture if you used a lower grade gas.

I don't know how other cars are, but your boxster will need to be reset with a machine. You can buy one for about $60 and use it to know whats wrong with it in the future if you ever decide to work on it yourself. Or you can go to a dealer and ask them to reset it. They will probably do it for free if you ask nicely (takes about 1 minute).

No garage is decently equipped without an OBD-II scanner. I personally cannot STAND not knowing why my MIL light is on (thought I've not yet thrown a code on the Boxster).

If if it always coincides with fueling, your gas cap does sound like the likely suspect.

Many trouble codes will self-clear after a number of drive cycles once the condition has been corrected - so it may not be true that you need to use a scanner to clear that code. Of course, knowing what code you're throwing is the important part - it's the bit of information that will tell you "safe to ignore" or "call a towtruck".

I inadvertently switched the IAC and TPS sensor harnesses on my last car after a particularly harrowing weekend of modding. Without a code scanner, I would have freaked out and spent hours tearing into my motor...

High Octane
 

Mptoledo, I put in 91 the first time. That's as igh as I thought I could get but I got 94 octane today. There's a station that sells 94, 96, 100 and 110 octane about 5 miles from home. An aquaintence of mine races a Miata and told me about it this station. I had no idea a place existed.

I think I'll get myself a new gas cap and start from there. I'll look into one of those tools also. $60.00 is cheap to be able to know the codes.

Thanks

If you are quick you can shut off the light by disconnecting the battery for ten seconds, and will not have to reset the radio code. As a new owner you might want to think about a Durametric package. For around $200 it will read codes , shut off CELs, and many other things that a OBD reader can't do. One of the better investments that I have made. Ed

Or just drive with the CEL on. Mine has been on for about 4000 miles. Its a common dash light in these cars.

Get the error codes first to diagnose the problem, then clear the codes. You can do this for free at Autozone/Pep Boys. Putting a lot of miles on these cars with a lit CEL and no idea what is wrong can get very expensive. It may not be serious. It may be very serious. It costs you nothing to find out.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the input. I have a Pep Boys near here. I'm definitely going to look into getting the OBD or the Diametric tools.