Rep Power: 730

Well if you don't already know, I have a 96 3.8L V6 Camaro. For almost the last year now, the check engine light has been on. When it started a year ago, it would come on and stay on for a few hours. I noticed that it usually went out shortly after getting on the freeway for my return trip home. After a month or so, it just stayed on constantly and would never go out.

Now I need to go get the car smogged and I'm told that it won't pass with that darn light on! So my question is, what do you think I should do about it?

Autozone wants a 180 dollar deposit to borrow their scan tool and I don't have a credit card for them to take money off of and put it back onto. I only have a debit card so I guess they would have to take the money off and then give me cash back or something which I don't really want. I'm not sure what other places want.

Is there any way just to disable that one check engine light? I'm not sure if I want to clear the trouble codes. Does anyone know how long it stores trouble codes for? If it stores it for a long time (a few years or more), then I may want to keep them there so I can hook a scan tool up one day and see what all went on before I purchased the car.

If anyone knows where I could buy or loan a scan tool for cheap, that would be great!

 
Rep Power: 1069

they wouldn't check it for you? usually they will pull the codes and reset it for you the problem is current if the light is on, it stores the code for about 50 starts (it's still in the pcm but will clear eventually)

 
Rep Power: 718

autozone should have scanned it for free, but regardless... you can buy my autotap AT1 for 130 bucks shipped to your door. you can scan and clear your codes to your heart's content, not to mention all the other things autotap can do. Theres a thread on it in the for sale section. http://www.projectcamaro.com/forum/s...ead.php?t=2574

 
Rep Power: 773

well is the car acting up any? idling high?

 
Rep Power: 730

Nope no problems at all mechanically and I drive 2-3 hours in it 5 days a week so if something was acting up, i'd probably know. Anyways, I got myself out of this dilema. I took it to the smog place and the mechanic there used his scan tool to clear the light for me

 
Rep Power: 1069

nice of him