Check engine light came code is DTC

DIXERENE

MEMBER
2005 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER
2.1L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
84,000 MILES

Check engine light came on code is DTC. I checked all the fluids and all is good and never ran hot. The back latch does not always stay shut so I took the fuse out so it would not drain the battery. I checked trunk every time I leave the car but when not closed the light comes on. With that fuse out could that affect the check engine light?

I want to know can I drive the car to a repair shop with out damaging the engine?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,870 POSTS

The latch has nothing to do with the check engine light. The engine computer can detect over 2,000 defects. It sets a diagnostic fault code to tell the mechanic which circuit or system has the problem so he knows where to start his diagnosis. About half of them relate to something that could adversely affect emissions. Those are the fault codes that turn on the check engine light.

If the problem is intermittent, the check engine light may turn off while you are driving or after restarting the engine. How that light acts gives a clue as to the severity of the problem. For the most serious problems, the check engine light will be flashing. That means stop the engine right away. Too much unburned fuel is going into the exhaust system where it will burn in the catalytic converter and overheat it. If ignored, that can turn a minor problem into a very expensive one.

If the check engine light is not flashing, it should be okay to drive the car, but the first thing to do is have the fault codes read and recorded. Once we know the code number(s), we can figure out where to start the diagnosis and how serious this is likely to be.