Honda Car Forum

I'm having check engine light indication for three months. I went to Autozone for a quick check of what that indication meant. I was told that it is the O2 sensor that is causing the problem. Because the O2 sensor is too expensive, I removed the sensor and cleaned it with "CONTACT CLEANER". After reinstalling the sensor, I removed the NEGATIVE cable on the battery and let it off for a minute then re-installed the negative cable on the battery. I started the engine, noticed that the "CHECK ENGINE" light is gone, run it for 5 minutes. Check engine light did'nt came back.

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:39:51 -0600, judo123boy <geecaldu@yahoo.com> wrote:

>I'm having check engine light indication for three months. I went to Autozone
for a quick check of what that indication meant. I was told that it is the O2
sensor that is causing the problem. Because the O2 sensor is too expensive, I
removed the sensor and cleaned it with "CONTACT CLEANER". After reinstalling
the sensor, I removed the NEGATIVE cable on the battery and let it off for a
minute then re-installed the negative cable on the battery. I started the
engine, noticed that the "CHECK ENGINE" light is gone, run it for 5 minutes.
Check engine light did'nt came back.

1) fix your damn return key; your post was entirely on one line
2) Pulling the battery was enough to reset the check engine light. If you
can actually drive for 2-3 weeks without it coming back, then your "contact
cleaner" experment might have some validity. As is, your findings are no
more credible than if you reported that you waved a rubber chicken, said
four hail marys, and then pulled the battery cable to come to the amazing
discovery that the check engine light was cleared.

In article
<f1fc5c276ff7fbe6f94179eb3f8fbbab@localhost.talkab outautos.com>,
"judo123boy" <geecaldu@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I'm having check engine light indication for three months. I went to Autozone
> for a quick check of what that indication meant. I was told that it is the O2
> sensor that is causing the problem. Because the O2 sensor is too expensive, I
> removed the sensor and cleaned it with "CONTACT CLEANER". After reinstalling
> the sensor, I removed the NEGATIVE cable on the battery and let it off for a
> minute then re-installed the negative cable on the battery. I started the
> engine, noticed that the "CHECK ENGINE" light is gone, run it for 5 minutes.
> Check engine light did'nt came back.
>

I've had good luck cleaning my sensor in a boiling solution of Shower
Power and distilled water for 15 minutes, followed by two more boilings
in distilled water for another 15 minutes each. Hot phosphoric acid
eats through metal too so I doubt this trick works more than once.

Contact cleaner is mostly a degreaser that prevents dust from sticking
to electrical contacts. It does dissolve oxides a little bit but it's
not very strong. Boiling distilled water would be stronger. Don't be
surprised if the check engine light comes back on after you drive three
times, the magic number for the light.

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 17:39:51 -0600, "judo123boy" <geecaldu@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>I'm having check engine light indication for three months.

Not good. Running in open loop for an extended time could have damaged
your catalytic converter.

> I went to Autozone for a quick check of what that indication meant. I was told that it is the O2 sensor that is causing the problem. Because the O2 sensor is too expensive, I removed the sensor and cleaned it with "CONTACT CLEANER".

I seriously doubt that contact cleaner can do much against the chemical
build-up which causes an O2 sensor to fail. O2 sensors are a helluva lot
less expensive than catalytic converters.

> After reinstalling the sensor, I removed the NEGATIVE cable on the battery and let it off for a minute then re-installed the negative cable on the battery. I started the engine, noticed that the "CHECK ENGINE" light is gone, run it for 5 minutes. Check engine light did'nt came back.

D'oh - you reset the ECU system... till it (likely) finds the same fault
again.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

Hey guys, I'm just sharing what I discovered.
I not trying to be knowledgable about this subject.
If you don't like what I said, just ignored this post.
By the way, it's been three days since I did that and still no check engine light.

Happy posting!!!