Ye Olde Check Engine Light

So I was driving down the road the other day and my arch-nemesis popped into existence: the "Check Engine" Light. Now I hate this thing. Some random light comes on and tells me that "something" is wrong with my car? Now that much I can appreciate. I guess I’d like to know when something is wrong with my car. But what? Herein lies the problem. There is a light that tells me something is wrong but it will not tell me what. It seems the only way to tell is - oh darn - to take it to the dealer and pay them a lot of money. It could be something minor and it could be something dangerous, I’ll never know until I take it in. So basically this light comes on and tells me that I’m going to have to pay a lot of money even though the problem may only be minor.

Peeved, I did what I usually do when I want a different result in something: I researched on the internet. And I found a solution! It turns out that back in 1996, some Federal Legislation went into effect that basically says "yes you can have one of these evil check engine lights, but if you do, you have to use this special, standard connector to determine what the light is all about" (disclaimer: this is not legal advice - I haven’t read the statute - this is only the gist I’ve determined from various websites). The connector is called "OBD-II" and if your car was made after 1996, it almost assuredly has it. You can connect a generic “Code Reader” device and it will spit out a code that you then look up in the corresponding booklet to tell you where the trouble is in you car. This way, the dealers can’t monopolize on the fact that you would have to take you car to the proprietary dealer’s shop every time your X Model car had a problem. Now, these Code Readers are not cheap (you can find them in auto parts stores for around $100), but I figured that if the problem was minor and something I could fix, I would save money on it. This was a gamble, but it turns out I was right! Read on.

I found one such code reader at my local Harbor Freight Tools on sale for $40. This is a great store all around and I go there often. Unfortunately, this particular Code Reader does not work with Volkswagens and Audis and I think Volvos or something like that. So I couldn’t use it in my VW. But I still wanted to do this so I took an even bigger gamble and got one from Advance Auto Parts for $80. I got it and plugged it in. The code said that there was a problem with the Glow Plugs Circuit. Great, I thought, that should be easy to fix!

I found an excellent site for repairing and working on VW Diesels (TDIs), which is what I drive (I have a 2000 VW Jetta Diesel TDI – it gets almost 50 MPG)! Searching through the forums on this site, I found an excellent "How To" on diagnosing and repairing the glow-plug problem. I followed these procedures and discovered that my fourth glow plug was bad! I ordered a new one (this site is great for TDI parts) for around $20 and will easily replace it when it comes in! Problem will be solved and the cost to me was way less than I would have paid for the dealer! And I have the code scanner that I can use for both my car and my wife’s car in the future! Hooray!