Dear Sir or Ms:
My wife's 2003 Ford Taurus had the Check Engine Light come on yesterday. I took the car to "Autozone" Auto Parts today and they plugged in their Scanner and checked the Diagnostic Codes for FREE.
It came up with two codes: P0306 and P0316. Autozone printed me out a couple of receipts which had more details on them.
For P0306 it said that there was a misfire that occurred in cylinder # 6. The powertrain control module monitors the crankshaft speed and has detected a misfire condition. Probable causes are: Faulty Spark Plugs, Ignition Wires, or Coil. Vacuum Leak, Injector Fault, or High or Low Fuel Pressure.
For P0316 it said Crankshaft Condition. Probable Cause: Crank Sensor Defective; Check Connector and Wiring to Sensor; Check Trigger Wheel for Damage.
Next I stopped in at a local Auto Repair place and talked with the Head Mechanic. He told me that you can't go by the slips that Autozone provided because they just want to sell parts.
The Mechanic said that I should bring the car in for him to connect to his scanner at $69.99 to pin-point the actual problem.
He said if I actually needed a Tune-up it would cost approximately $180. On top of the $69.99 Scanner price. Other parts for the Crankshaft Sensor would be extra.
I went home and followed the advice from the guy at Autozone; who told me to disconnect my Negative Battery Cable to Eliminate the Service Engine Soon light. That actually worked. I tried turning the car on and off twice and the light did not reappear. Although I did not take the car out for a drive.
Questions:
1) By disconnecting the Negative Battery Cable, did that also remove the P0306 and P0316 Error Codes from the computer in my car? I do live in Ohio where at this time of year it is either Raining or Snowing. Could the Moisture in the air have caused a glitch to cause the Light to come on and the codes to appear?
2) If the Service Engine Soon light does come back on; what steps should I take? Should I get the Scan from the Mechanic, or should I just get the Tune-up and take a chance that it will fix the problem? Money is very tight and scarce right now, as I am unemployed and just receiving Unemployment checks which doesn't even pay all the bills.
3) The Mechanic said that I shouldn't drive the car if the Check Engine Soon light is on because it can damage the Catylitic Convertor. Is this True? Although I think I need exhaust work anyhow because I am getting exhaust fumes coming into the car. Another expense later in time, hopefully when I get another job.
OK, your responses and advice would be appreciated. Sorry, since I am unemployed I can not afford to donate any money for a response.
Thank-you.
Alan514
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Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 AT 12:51 PM