Honda Car Forum

ive got a 98 civic hatchback, and the past 2 times ive refuelled, the check
engine light has come on. the first time, i reset it by disconnecting the
battery, and that worked. this past time, the same technique wont work.

some more facts, which might help...

the gas cap is 2 years old, and aftermarket. lost the OEM one.

i make sure it clicks when i put it back on

yes, i *have* topped off the tank beyond one pump click, which leads me to
believe its something to do with the charcoal canister. bad habit i need to
stop doing, right?

i havent bought a code reader, or had autozone check for codes.

yes, i need to check for codes, but i figured others here have had the same
problem, so i figured id try here first. there is a sensor on the charcoal
canister, and i would guess that might be the problem. supposedly theres an
issue with the sensor, according to one website ive seen.

Make sure it clicks at least 3 times.





How to turn off 'Maintenance Required" light:

1. Hold trip/reset button on dash
2. Turn key to "ON" or start engine
3. Hold button til light goes out

"He Hate Retards" <drpimpdaddi@aol.com.FUdope> wrote in message
news:20040408152722.19631.00000035@mb-m10.aol.com...
> Make sure it clicks at least 3 times.

it clicks 10 times, or more
>
>
>
>
>
> How to turn off 'Maintenance Required" light:
>
> 1. Hold trip/reset button on dash
> 2. Turn key to "ON" or start engine
> 3. Hold button til light goes out

sig file, right? on mine, its got a slot to turn the red indicator to green.

I suggest you go to Honda and buy an oem gas cap. I doubt if its a problem
with your evap canister. if the cap doesn't seal the tank, no pressure
builds, and you get evap purge code. this system doesn't allow gas
fumes(hydrocarbons) escape in to the atmosphere. and just cuz you disconnect
a battery on 1996+ car doesn't permantly erase dtc codes. they do stay on
the computer. and if there is a problem they will come back till the problem
is solved.
"mike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7Ogdc.93620$gA5.1182523@attbi_s03...
> ive got a 98 civic hatchback, and the past 2 times ive refuelled, the
check
> engine light has come on. the first time, i reset it by disconnecting the
> battery, and that worked. this past time, the same technique wont work.
>
> some more facts, which might help...
>
> the gas cap is 2 years old, and aftermarket. lost the OEM one.
>
> i make sure it clicks when i put it back on
>
> yes, i *have* topped off the tank beyond one pump click, which leads me to
> believe its something to do with the charcoal canister. bad habit i need
to
> stop doing, right?
>
> i havent bought a code reader, or had autozone check for codes.
>
> yes, i need to check for codes, but i figured others here have had the
same
> problem, so i figured id try here first. there is a sensor on the charcoal
> canister, and i would guess that might be the problem. supposedly theres
an
> issue with the sensor, according to one website ive seen.
>
>

"Lex" <aacevedo4@elp.rr.com> wrote in message
news:6qmdc.1947$LL6.1294@fe1.texas.rr.com...
> I suggest you go to Honda and buy an oem gas cap. I doubt if its a problem
> with your evap canister. if the cap doesn't seal the tank, no pressure
> builds, and you get evap purge code. this system doesn't allow gas
> fumes(hydrocarbons) escape in to the atmosphere. and just cuz you
disconnect
> a battery on 1996+ car doesn't permantly erase dtc codes. they do stay on
> the computer. and if there is a problem they will come back till the
problem
> is solved.


cool... thanks for the info. apparently, autozone doesnt do the code reading
any more, and they charge $150 for the code scanner. i found the same thing
at pepboys for $99.

so ill scan for codes, if it gives an evap purge code, ill spring for the
OEM cap.

ive always wanted a reason to get an OBDII scanner, any way. now, if im
lucky, ill get to visit the honda parts department!

i know they test gas caps when they do smog checks... i wonder if my local
place would run a test on mine if i gave him like $5. just out of curiosity,
of course.

"mike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> spake unto the masses in
news:7Ogdc.93620$gA5.1182523@attbi_s03:

> ive got a 98 civic hatchback, and the past 2 times ive refuelled, the
> check engine light has come on. the first time, i reset it by
> disconnecting the battery, and that worked. this past time, the same
> technique wont work.
>
> some more facts, which might help...
>
> the gas cap is 2 years old, and aftermarket.



WHAT??? Did I hear a SWEAR WORD? "Aftermarket"?

WHY....would you install such SHIT on your car and then wonder why things
go wrong? Duhhhh.

Mortgage the house and buy a DEALER one. The factory knows quite a lot, you
know. They did, after all, build the car you ended up buying...

Generally speaking, if you install aftermarket, you deserve what you get.

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda FAQ
http://www3.telus.net/public/johnings/faq.html

How to find anything on the Internet or in Usenet Groups:
www.google.com
www.groups.google.com

drpimpdaddi@aol.com.FUdope (He Hate Retards) spake unto the masses in
news:20040408152722.19631.00000035@mb-m10.aol.com:

> Make sure it clicks at least 3 times.



It's aftermarket. Nothing will help there. Aftermarket is shit. Crap.
Garbage. Excrement. Etc.


--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda FAQ
http://www3.telus.net/public/johnings/faq.html

How to find anything on the Internet or in Usenet Groups:
www.google.com
www.groups.google.com

"mike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> spake unto the masses in
news:Jcndc.228613$po.1189723@attbi_s52:

>
> cool... thanks for the info.



I think I can see part of your problem. You are young enough to think that
upper case is out-of-date, and that the word "you" can be subsituted by the
letter "U". Got a 4" fart-pipe on your Civic? Big spoiler on the back?

You are 18, right? Too young to know better. I was there once too. I know
how stupid *I* was then.



--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda FAQ
http://www3.telus.net/public/johnings/faq.html

How to find anything on the Internet or in Usenet Groups:
www.google.com
www.groups.google.com

mike <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> wrote:
> cool... thanks for the info. apparently, autozone doesnt do the code reading
> any more, and they charge $150 for the code scanner. i found the same thing
> at pepboys for $99.

I just heard an AutoZone ad on the radio today, talking about how they
would scan codes for free.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A27362AF7

Looks like they still do, according to the web page.


--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5

"Tegger®" <teggeratistopdotcom@changetheobvious.invalid> wrote in message
news:Xns94C5E12152402teggeratistop@207.14.113.17.. .
> "mike" <mikein562athotmail@hotmail.com> spake unto the masses in
> news:7Ogdc.93620$gA5.1182523@attbi_s03:
>
> > ive got a 98 civic hatchback, and the past 2 times ive refuelled, the
> > check engine light has come on. the first time, i reset it by
> > disconnecting the battery, and that worked. this past time, the same
> > technique wont work.
> >
> > some more facts, which might help...
> >
> > the gas cap is 2 years old, and aftermarket.
>
>
>
> WHAT??? Did I hear a SWEAR WORD? "Aftermarket"?

hey, well... it worked for the past 2 years. i didnt think that "stant" was
that bad a brand.
>
> WHY....would you install such SHIT on your car and then wonder why things
> go wrong? Duhhhh.

if thats what the problem is, it took 2 years to develop.
>
> Mortgage the house and buy a DEALER one. The factory knows quite a lot,
you
> know. They did, after all, build the car you ended up buying...

it was evening when i lost it, so i stopped by kragen on the way home.
>
> Generally speaking, if you install aftermarket, you deserve what you get.

generally, yeah.