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Check Engine Light Came On



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 6th 06, 02:24 PM posted to rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata
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Default Check Engine Light Came On

I have a 1999 Mazda Miata. The check engine light came on and stays
on. It's been a year and 8 months since the oil was changed. Would
that cause the check engine light to come on?

Patricia
Macon, GA

  #3  
Old August 6th 06, 03:53 PM posted to rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata
pws[_1_]
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Default Check Engine Light Came On

XS11E wrote:

> Have you checked the oil level? If it's too low the check engine light
> will come on but if the level is OK then the problem isn't the oil.
>
> A year and 8 months is too long to go w/o an oil change.


Yes, conventional wisdom has always been 3,000 miles or 3 months,
whichever comes first.
Now there are endless arguments that you can go much longer, especially
when talking about synthetics. I think that Hyundai recommends 7,500
miles with dino oil.

Still, 6 months is the longest that I would consider between changes,
regardless of miles driven.

I watched my mechanic do an oil change on a Chevy van one time. He had
checked the oil and it was full but very dirty. When he took the drain
plug out, nothing happened.
He actually had to punch through a solidified piece of sludge that had
formed at the bottom of the oil pan to get the oil that was still fluid
dripping, and it dripped out thick and slow. The owner had never
replaced the oil in over 5 years, he just topped it off as it seeped
from bad seals.
Still, with a new filter and oil, the van drove away with no strange
sounds or smoke.

Pat
  #4  
Old August 14th 06, 03:23 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata
Carbon[_1_]
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Posts: 29
Default Check Engine Light Came On

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 14:53:21 +0000, pws wrote:

> I watched my mechanic do an oil change on a Chevy van one time. He had
> checked the oil and it was full but very dirty. When he took the drain
> plug out, nothing happened.
> He actually had to punch through a solidified piece of sludge that had
> formed at the bottom of the oil pan to get the oil that was still fluid
> dripping, and it dripped out thick and slow. The owner had never
> replaced the oil in over 5 years, he just topped it off as it seeped
> from bad seals.
> Still, with a new filter and oil, the van drove away with no strange
> sounds or smoke.


I had a girlfriend with an old 327 Impala that leaked oil. She understood
that gas made the car go but the role of oil seemed more mysterious. So
naturally she ran it dry and it threw a rod. That's when I realized there
were people who were so ignorant about basic mechanics that if you told
them their engines ran on little gerbils they'd probably believe you.
  #5  
Old August 14th 06, 05:54 AM posted to rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata
XS11E[_1_]
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Posts: 738
Default Check Engine Light Came On

Carbon > wrote in
news
> That's when I realized there were people who were so ignorant
> about basic mechanics that if you told them their engines ran on
> little gerbils they'd probably believe you.


I think everybody knows it's little hamsters....

http://www.hamsterdance.com/classorig.html

  #6  
Old August 14th 06, 03:10 PM posted to rec.autos.makers.mazda.miata
miker
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Posts: 182
Default Check Engine Light Came On

> I had a girlfriend with an old 327 Impala that leaked oil. She understood
> that gas made the car go but the role of oil seemed more mysterious. So
> naturally she ran it dry and it threw a rod. That's when I realized there
> were people who were so ignorant about basic mechanics that if you told
> them their engines ran on little gerbils they'd probably believe you.


I had a girlfriend who one nice summer day flooded her car, and so plugged
the tank heater in because that's what you do when it won't start.

Actually overheard last week at Fleet Farm: "Honey, you can't put WD40 in a
grease fitting, they don't work like that."

miker



 




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