Fuel Mixture adjustment?

Hi, Have had the service engine light on for a week now ( on and off,
mostly on) on the saturn SL2 96 ( 86K miles). Mileage dropped
significantly and there is lot of carbon on the tailpipe. Paid $50 to a
mechanic to learn that the computer generated a 1406 code. He blames the
problem on the use of low-garde gas. He is charging $400 to replace the
component. Does code 1406 mean EGR valve is malfunctioning and needs to be
replaced?
Any advice would be apprecited. thanks- Saturn_96

I searched Google for 'code 1406' and this came up. Maybe not directly
applicable but interesting.
http://www.asashop.org/autoinc/may2003/techtips.cfm


"saturn_96" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Hi, Have had the service engine light on for a week now ( on and off,
> mostly on) on the saturn SL2 96 ( 86K miles). Mileage dropped
> significantly and there is lot of carbon on the tailpipe. Paid $50 to a
> mechanic to learn that the computer generated a 1406 code. He blames the
> problem on the use of low-garde gas. He is charging $400 to replace the
> component. Does code 1406 mean EGR valve is malfunctioning and needs to be
> replaced?
> Any advice would be apprecited. thanks- Saturn_96
>

Try to clean EGR valve with carburetor cleaner using an old toothbrush to
remove the carbon. It is simple job that takes about 30 minutes. You also
need to get new EGR valve gasket. I hope this will help.
Michal

"saturn_96" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
> Hi, Have had the service engine light on for a week now ( on and off,
> mostly on) on the saturn SL2 96 ( 86K miles). Mileage dropped
> significantly and there is lot of carbon on the tailpipe. Paid $50 to a
> mechanic to learn that the computer generated a 1406 code. He blames the
> problem on the use of low-garde gas. He is charging $400 to replace the
> component. Does code 1406 mean EGR valve is malfunctioning and needs to be
> replaced?
> Any advice would be apprecited. thanks- Saturn_96
>

Michal wrote:
> Try to clean EGR valve with carburetor cleaner using an old toothbrush to
> remove the carbon. It is simple job that takes about 30 minutes. You also
> need to get new EGR valve gasket. I hope this will help.
> Michal
>
> "saturn_96" > wrote in message
> lkaboutautos.com...
>
>>Hi, Have had the service engine light on for a week now ( on and off,
>>mostly on) on the saturn SL2 96 ( 86K miles). Mileage dropped
>>significantly and there is lot of carbon on the tailpipe. Paid $50 to a
>>mechanic to learn that the computer generated a 1406 code. He blames the
>>problem on the use of low-garde gas. He is charging $400 to replace the
>>component. Does code 1406 mean EGR valve is malfunctioning and needs to be
>>replaced?
>>Any advice would be apprecited. thanks- Saturn_96
>>
>
>
>
I have a sturn 94 SL1. Had similar problemm. My gas milieage was
extremely poor. Turns out it was my air temmperature sensor that wass
baddd therefor sending too much gas in the combustion chamber. Once
changed this was imeediately resolved. Might want to check this out.
There was also no codes given out by the car's system.. That's why I
was so surprised to know what was causing it. Hope this helps a little.

I have a '96 SL-1 with the same problem. Last year I got a 1406 code
so I replace the EGR valve and cleared the code by unhooking the
battery. It ran like crap (I assumed because I unhooked the battery
and lost the programming) for a while, then cleared up. About 2 days
later I got another 1406. Haven't had one for several months, now
that's it's cold, I've gotten two more. I will investigate the O2
sensor, but it looks like I'll have to go to someone with a real scan
tool.
Buster

On Thu, 09 Dec 2004 12:42:48 GMT, Larry > wrote:

>Michal wrote:
>> Try to clean EGR valve with carburetor cleaner using an old toothbrush to
>> remove the carbon. It is simple job that takes about 30 minutes. You also
>> need to get new EGR valve gasket. I hope this will help.
>> Michal
>>
>> "saturn_96" > wrote in message
>> lkaboutautos.com...
>>
>>>Hi, Have had the service engine light on for a week now ( on and off,
>>>mostly on) on the saturn SL2 96 ( 86K miles). Mileage dropped
>>>significantly and there is lot of carbon on the tailpipe. Paid $50 to a
>>>mechanic to learn that the computer generated a 1406 code. He blames the
>>>problem on the use of low-garde gas. He is charging $400 to replace the
>>>component. Does code 1406 mean EGR valve is malfunctioning and needs to be
>>>replaced?
>>>Any advice would be apprecited. thanks- Saturn_96
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>I have a sturn 94 SL1. Had similar problemm. My gas milieage was
>extremely poor. Turns out it was my air temmperature sensor that wass
>baddd therefor sending too much gas in the combustion chamber. Once
>changed this was imeediately resolved. Might want to check this out.
>There was also no codes given out by the car's system.. That's why I
>was so surprised to know what was causing it. Hope this helps a little.

In article >,
says...
> I have a '96 SL-1 with the same problem. Last year I got a 1406 code
> so I replace the EGR valve and cleared the code by unhooking the
> battery. It ran like crap (I assumed because I unhooked the battery
> and lost the programming) for a while, then cleared up. About 2 days
> later I got another 1406. Haven't had one for several months, now
> that's it's cold, I've gotten two more. I will investigate the O2
> sensor, but it looks like I'll have to go to someone with a real scan
> tool.
> Buster

The O2 sensors arent read until the car enters closed loop. If its cold,
it aint looking at it.

Ok, I guess that's $100 I don't have to spend right away. Any other
ideas on what could be causing this? My fuel consumption is off a
little, and I notice pinging under light accelleration (step on the
gas and the pinging quits). The pinging is an intermittent problem.
Car has 105k miles on it.
Thanks,
Buster

p.s. What exactly does 'closed loop' mean in this context?

On Fri, 10 Dec 2004 03:09:25 GMT, Blah blah > wrote:

>In article >,
says...
>> I have a '96 SL-1 with the same problem. Last year I got a 1406 code
>> so I replace the EGR valve and cleared the code by unhooking the
>> battery. It ran like crap (I assumed because I unhooked the battery
>> and lost the programming) for a while, then cleared up. About 2 days
>> later I got another 1406. Haven't had one for several months, now
>> that's it's cold, I've gotten two more. I will investigate the O2
>> sensor, but it looks like I'll have to go to someone with a real scan
>> tool.
>> Buster
>
>The O2 sensors arent read until the car enters closed loop. If its cold,
>it aint looking at it.

In article >,
says...
> Ok, I guess that's $100 I don't have to spend right away. Any other
> ideas on what could be causing this? My fuel consumption is off a
> little, and I notice pinging under light accelleration (step on the
> gas and the pinging quits). The pinging is an intermittent problem.
> Car has 105k miles on it.
> Thanks,
> Buster
>
> p.s. What exactly does 'closed loop' mean in this context?

Closed loop/open loop...It means the engine is either looking at all
your sensors to adjust itself or running from a default computer setting
for the current environmental conditions. O2 sensors and cat converters
dont work when their cold.

Pinging can be carbon, bad knock sensor, poor fuel or fuel delivery, or
a number of other things. It may ping when its cold but when it warms up
it should go away right? Dont try to correct this by going to a higher
octane gas. Thats a costly bandage to only fix a "symtom".

What is a knock sensor? Mine, now that it's colder here, is
somewhat acting like a wild broncho before it warms up. How much
does a knock sensor cost, roughly?

Blah blah wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>
>>Ok, I guess that's $100 I don't have to spend right away. Any other
>>ideas on what could be causing this? My fuel consumption is off a
>>little, and I notice pinging under light accelleration (step on the
>>gas and the pinging quits). The pinging is an intermittent problem.
>>Car has 105k miles on it.
>>Thanks,
>>Buster
>>
>>p.s. What exactly does 'closed loop' mean in this context?
>
>
> Closed loop/open loop...It means the engine is either looking at all
> your sensors to adjust itself or running from a default computer setting
> for the current environmental conditions. O2 sensors and cat converters
> dont work when their cold.
>
> Pinging can be carbon, bad knock sensor, poor fuel or fuel delivery, or
> a number of other things. It may ping when its cold but when it warms up
> it should go away right? Dont try to correct this by going to a higher
> octane gas. Thats a costly bandage to only fix a "symtom".
>
>