Cheap Place In Canada To Read "Check Engine" Code?

I don't think we have Autozone up here, so does anyone know of a cheap
place to get an error code read?

Chris

 

Get this, Toronto Hyundai tried to tell me that the Check Engine Light
will never go off on it's own??!?!?!

Chris

 

I filled up the car last Tuesday and the Check Engine light came on, on
Wednesday. I was thinking it was just the fuel cap so I tightened it
but it hasn't gone off yet.

Will the Check Engine light go off on it's own if the problem is fixed?

Would it be a good idea to disconnect the battery to reset the light
and see if it comes back on?

Also, recently if you'll recall I left the dash lights on and
subsequently somone who was helping me, reversed a battery cable and
blew my alternator and radio fuses which were recently repaired if that
might have anything to do with it.

I'm just trying to avoid paying $50 to be told to tighten the gas cap
or something.

Chris

 

After a certain number of "drive cycles" with no problems the light will go
out. You can disconnect the battery for a couple of minutes to reset the
computer as well. Just remember to turn off all stuff like fans, radio, etc.
for the first 10 minutes or so when you first start the car again so the
computer can relearn the basics again. If you were closer to Trenton I'd say
just swing by my place and I'll hook my laptop up for you and flick the
switch. There are a couple of local garages that will do this as well. I don't
know of any shops off the top of my head in Toronto though.

Cheers,
Lawrence

 

As the light hasn't gone out since Wednesday, I'm thinking it's not the
gas cap and I should take it in with the light on.

How's Trenton? My father is from there. We had a cottage in Brighton.

Chris

 

Is there any laptop interface and software that you can recommend?

 

I have only used one type myself. I got it from here http://www.obd-2.com/
I bought the Ford specific model a few years back and last fall I bought my wife a
2006 Kia Sportage so I needed a new interface so I ordered the triple combo model.
My sons' Hyundai Scoupe is a 95 so it doesn't have the OBDII interface so I can't
use it on that but it works great for the others. I have also used it for friends
(Mazda B4000, Mazda Protege 5, Saturn, and so on). The thing I like about this
particular interface is that you can use it with any computer from a 386 on up. For
a while I was using mine with a 40mhz NEC Versa 486 laptop, then with a 486DX4-75
NEC Versa 2000D laptop, and now I use it with an IBM Thinkpad 600. I picked up a
simple 75Watt inverter so I can plug the laptop power cord into that and then I can
drive around town or whatever and record all the data from the OBDII into a file on
the hard drive. When I get home I can copy that file to my desktop and replay the
data back on the "digital dashboard" and print out any part of it I want for a hard
copy record of performance. The software for this interface is updated usually once
a month so you just need to go to the web site and you can download the update for
free. I'm not sure of how the price of this unit compares to others but it has
worked flawlessly for me and with my local Ford dealer wanting to charge $67
(Canadian) just to read the codes (this was before a few free places showed up in
this area) the stuff I have done with my interface has already paid for itself
twice over.

Cheers,
Lawrence

 

To confirm you still have a problem you could always disconnect the battery to reset
the computer and then see if the light comes back on once you start driving again. I
just realized too that you didn't happen to mention what year the vehicle is so I
might have jumped the gun by automatically thinking OBDII when you might have meant
OBDI or something.
Trenton probably isn't much different from what your Dad could tell you. We just had
the big Walleye/Pike fishing derby this past weekend so it was a bit lively out on
the water. I didn't catch anything worth while but I had to work for part of the
weekend (I'm a civilian tech on the Hercules flight simulator on the base here) so I
didn't get a chance to fish much.

Cheers,
Lawrence

 

It's a '99 Accent GSI. Actually the check engine light went off just
as I got to work so I don't need to take it in anymore!

Yeah!

My grandfather was an airplane mechanic on the Trenton airbase. Did
you grow up there or move there for work?

Chris

 

here's some info that might be useful

http://autocenter.weber.edu/OBD-CH/vehicleoems.asp

 

From what I gather, the hardware I will need is the ISO interface for
my Hyundai Accent 2001. It comes with the 16 pin male connector for
the car, 9 pin female rs232 connector for the computer and a RJ45
cable in between. All this and the software will cost $122 USD.

Too bad the USB option is not supported for ISO, my computer does not
have a serial port.

Thank you for the info.

 

That was one of the reasons why I was using older 486 laptops at first. You can get one
on eBay for a dirt cheap price. With an older laptop like that I didn't really care if I
got it a bit dirty (I wrapped a layer of saran wrap around my keyboard so I wouldn't
drip anything in between the keys). Once I was done my work I just transferred the saved
data file to my main system at home.

Cheers,
Lawrence

 

Thanks for that link. Looks like some interesting reading there.

Cheers,
Lawrence

 

Sounds like you had enough drive cycles to get the thing to reset itself. Some people
assume that just starting the vehicle a bunch of times in a row will clear the light but
it needs a certain amount of time and driving conditions to reset. I don't know what the
specs are on all that though.
I moved to Trenton back in 1979 when my Dad got posted here. Finished my high school, did
2 years of college (electronics engineering tech), couldn't get a job since I didn't have
any work experience in the field so I joined the military myself. Just happened my first
posting was Trenton where I worked on the electronics for the C130 Hercules and Boeing 707
for a few years and then got on the computers for the flight simulators. In 1994 that got
contracted out so I got out of the military to keep doing the same job I had been doing
except as a civilian now working for CAE who holds the contract for the sims. So basically
I've been here since 1979 except for a 3 year period from 1991-94 when I was working on
the Aurora simulator in Greenwood, Nova Scotia.

Cheers,
Lawrence

 

My new laptop does not have a serial port as well. (no legacy support)

the cool thing about the software, is you can get yourself an older, cheap
laptop.
(50-100 bucks from craigslist, eekbay, friend, etc... then run it with the
inverter if the battery doesnt hold a charge...)
Like Lawrence mentioned, is to DL the info then replay the info in the
"digital dashboard" at home.

I dont like the feeling of my new gateway widescreen riding shutgun )