How to Repair Your Vehicle (Basics)
Check engine or service engine soon light on., Reset your car's ECM or PCM., Engine Control Unit, or ECU., The ECU's of today are very sophisticated computer chips that monitor all the data recorded by the various sensors in the engine., NOTE: This...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Check engine or service engine soon light on.
Before you spend a lot of money, try this:
Remove your gas cap and re-tighten it, a loose or bad seal on the gas cap can set an evap code in your cars ECM or ECU causing a check engine or service engine soon light to come on. -
Step 2: Reset your car's ECM or PCM.
Loosen the negative terminal on your battery for 2 or 3 minutes, then reconnect your battery term.
This will reset your car's ECM or PCM, if there is not a serious problem.
If there seems to a problem then check the engine or service engine light and see if it will stay off.
If the light comes back on, you have other problems, the next most common cause is a clogged or inop e.g.r valve.
You can also reset your ECM/ECU after installing performance parts for it to learn the new parts otherwise they will not perform 100 percent correctly.
Another way too reset is open the engine fuse box and remove the ecm/ecu fuse sometimes its the main fuse.
After resetting start car/truck and let idle only do not touch anything during a 10 minute idle period. , Actually with the introduction of OBD-II the name was officially changed to ECM (Engine Control Module).
But everyone still knows it as the ECU so let's just keep calling it that so we all understand what we're talking about. , Not only do they monitor the engine, they can also make changes based on the data that was recorded to keep the engine running at it's maximum possible efficiency.
When a modification is done on one of our cars, the program that the ECU was running ends up conflicting with what is now going on in the engine.
This can cause problems especially at idle when the engine hangs in the dangerously low RPMs or just stalls out.
So instead of waiting for the ECU to adjust itself, you might need to reset it manually. , There are many other ways but this is often the easiest way and, most importantly, the safest.
Consult your manual for proper fuse locations.
If you still have your stock radio, you will need the security code given to you by your dealer or (hopefully) by the person who sold you the car. , Pop the hood and find the fuse box.
It will be on the passenger side next to the battery as you can see in the first picture.
Remove the lid and pull out both fuses as pictured in the second picture. , Plug the fuses back in.
It doesn't matter if you plug them in upside down or whatever they don't have any polarity so just make sure you plug the right fuse in the right place and you're all good.
Make sure to replace the fuse box cover as well. , Don't hit the gas pedal during this time.
This time allows your ECU to make new data based on how much air it sees coming into.
Use this time to reset your radio stations and clock.
After 10 minutes is up, turn the car off. , Once you start the car up again, the ECU should be aware of the changes to the motor.
Have fun! -
Step 3: Engine Control Unit
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Step 4: or ECU.
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Step 5: The ECU's of today are very sophisticated computer chips that monitor all the data recorded by the various sensors in the engine.
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Step 6: NOTE: This isn't the only way to reset the ECU.
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Step 7: Make sure the car has already been warmed up to normal operating temperature and is turned off.
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Step 8: Leave the fuses out for a few minutes to allow all the old data to be wiped out.
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Step 9: Start up the car and let it idle for about 10 minutes.
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Step 10: That's it
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Step 11: you're done.
Detailed Guide
Before you spend a lot of money, try this:
Remove your gas cap and re-tighten it, a loose or bad seal on the gas cap can set an evap code in your cars ECM or ECU causing a check engine or service engine soon light to come on.
Loosen the negative terminal on your battery for 2 or 3 minutes, then reconnect your battery term.
This will reset your car's ECM or PCM, if there is not a serious problem.
If there seems to a problem then check the engine or service engine light and see if it will stay off.
If the light comes back on, you have other problems, the next most common cause is a clogged or inop e.g.r valve.
You can also reset your ECM/ECU after installing performance parts for it to learn the new parts otherwise they will not perform 100 percent correctly.
Another way too reset is open the engine fuse box and remove the ecm/ecu fuse sometimes its the main fuse.
After resetting start car/truck and let idle only do not touch anything during a 10 minute idle period. , Actually with the introduction of OBD-II the name was officially changed to ECM (Engine Control Module).
But everyone still knows it as the ECU so let's just keep calling it that so we all understand what we're talking about. , Not only do they monitor the engine, they can also make changes based on the data that was recorded to keep the engine running at it's maximum possible efficiency.
When a modification is done on one of our cars, the program that the ECU was running ends up conflicting with what is now going on in the engine.
This can cause problems especially at idle when the engine hangs in the dangerously low RPMs or just stalls out.
So instead of waiting for the ECU to adjust itself, you might need to reset it manually. , There are many other ways but this is often the easiest way and, most importantly, the safest.
Consult your manual for proper fuse locations.
If you still have your stock radio, you will need the security code given to you by your dealer or (hopefully) by the person who sold you the car. , Pop the hood and find the fuse box.
It will be on the passenger side next to the battery as you can see in the first picture.
Remove the lid and pull out both fuses as pictured in the second picture. , Plug the fuses back in.
It doesn't matter if you plug them in upside down or whatever they don't have any polarity so just make sure you plug the right fuse in the right place and you're all good.
Make sure to replace the fuse box cover as well. , Don't hit the gas pedal during this time.
This time allows your ECU to make new data based on how much air it sees coming into.
Use this time to reset your radio stations and clock.
After 10 minutes is up, turn the car off. , Once you start the car up again, the ECU should be aware of the changes to the motor.
Have fun!
About the Author
Evelyn Ruiz
Writer and educator with a focus on practical lifestyle knowledge.
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