I never knew what those holes under the digital dash thing where for until i was using a spotlight to work on my steering column...I notice a little yellow square, i put the light up to it and bam, check engine....i have no bulb in there, nor do i even have a socket for it. Maybe the previous owner ripped it out because it wasn't turning off or am i wrong and instead it's a different light in the dash?
Some of the cars didn't come with a functional check engine light. Which ones, I don't think anyone's sure.
more like most of the cars dont have check engine lights
the only cars ive seen that had working lights have been the 87-88 turbo coupes
Add my '88 LX to the list, the check engine light works on it. Full digi-dash. The '86 has the base digi-dash, and no functional check engine light.
I'm unsure if mine works...only lights up when engine isn't on and key is turned to run. Besides that, it never lights up
lol, I have an 88 Tbird with full digital, and I've never seen it light up
who cares if it works - they're just a nuisance anyways
I care. I pulled EEC codes with mine.
You can pull codes with or without a light. Having it in the dash probably makes it easier though.
Several years ago my car stalled with a dead battery and no warning lights that the alternator was not charging.
I installed an buttstuffog volt meter in the panel next to the cigerette lighter in my '84 T-Bird to monitor the battery and to see if it was charging.
While I was at it I installed a toggle switch and ran some wires from the self test connectors.
Now I can turn on the switch and read the codes on the meter in the car.
i had an 87 cougar full digital das it worked and i had a88 cougar base cluster and it worked on that as well. im just not sure bout my 84.
'84s have engine lights, but they're only connected to the temp sensor and oil pressure switch to alert you of overheating and/or low oil pressure. Guages are better, in that instance.
Decided to ask this here instead of making a new thread.
On my '88 I have the check engine light, and I used the cheap wire connector trick to pull codes through the dash light. I'd like to try and pull codes on the '86 as well, but there are complications. It has no working check engine light, so my little wire connector is useless. I have a multimeter, but unfortunately it's digital.. and every how-to on pulling codes with a multimeter states to use an buttstuffog. (I understand why) I'm not going to buy a second multimeter just for pulling codes on one 'Bird.. and I'd rather not have to buy a code-puller for one 'Bird.
What I'm wondering is this: In a situation like this, is it possible to make a jumper wire similar to what I used on the '88, but put a 12v light on the jumper and use that light to pull the codes? If you've seen the pic I took of my 3-gauge cluster, you may have noticed a small blue light stuck in front of it.. I hooked that in for extra light to the gauges. I have a spare light of that size (not LED) that I'd use for something like this, if it'll work.
yeah its called a test light. thinderchicken may have the diagram to do this with the test light or was it masterblaster :dunno: but i saw a post from one of them concerning using the test light methoid of testing for codes like that.
But can it be done in the same simple way as the jumper I made for the other car, or do I need extra connections like in the other methods? I'd prefer to just tack on a couple connectors to the wires coming from this light, and git 'er done.
well test lights shouldn't be that expensive. if i remember mine was only 5 bucks i belive. but i would have no clue on how to actually make one.
If this'll work, I can make one for free from my wiring kit and this light. I just need to know if jumping the small plug to the upper right (if the large test plug has the smaller side facing up) of the big plug will light the light in the same way the check engine light works.
thunderchicken or masterblaster have the diagrams for this i remember it cuz it was on the old boards.
I'm not sure if I'm reading your post right, but... look here (http://www.dalidesign.com/hbook/eectest.html) and scroll just under half-way down to the test hookups illustration. Make sense? Some wire and a 12V light will work. That illustration should make it pretty clear. I'd buy a $15 buttstuffog multimeter myself. They're useful for TPS, O2 sensor testing and many other things.
Like I said, I'm not buying a second multimeter if I can avoid it. The digital one serves me well.
I've seen those diagrams before. The method I used for the check engine light wasn't shown on the first two. I just made a 1-2" piece of wire with two blade connectors on it, to jump between SIG RTN and STI. What I was asking is if it's possible to make a second jumper like that, but instead of a piece of wire, using a low-power light instead. It would be similar to the first diagram with the test light, except not running to the positive battery terminal.. just the little connector wire. Make more sense?
No.
To the best of my knowledge, the STO switches between ground and no ground to show codes. Your test light will need a power source, which is the reason you hook it up to the battery. If you hook up a light to "just the little connector wire" it will never light up.
I'm not talking about putting a light on the STO.
Here:
EDIT: I forgot, I had intended to eliminate the STO part of that diagram to better illustrate what I was asking about.
Port #2 is just the "trigger" port. It doesn't actually do anything besides tell the ECU to send codes by pulsing port #4 to ground, so no, you can't use one device to do the job of two. :grinno:
So is this little light going to survive if I hook a wire to it long enough to contact the positive battery terminal, and put it in the STO? I get a little nervous about hooking things right to the battery without fuses and what not.
Yes.
There is no need for a fuse. The STO is simply switching between ground and no-ground.
The circuit looks as follows:
(battery) 12V------(light)------0V (STO grounded)
(battery) 12V------(light)------12V (STO not grounded)
Ohm's law states Voltage = Current (Amps) * Resistance (Ohms) V=IR
You can rearrange that to I=V/R
Say you ran a small bare wire (With a resistance of .001 ohms) from the positive battery connector to a chassis ground.
I=12 Volts / .001 ohms = 12000 Amps
As you made the connection, sparks would ensue and the wire would most likely overheat and burn into two pieces.
For the next hypothetical case, you run a small bare with with a 12V light (150 ohms) inline between the positive battery lead and a chassis ground.
I=12 Volts / 150 ohms = .08 Amps
Much more reasonable.
As long as no short develops in the system with the 12V light, the system can never draw more than .08 Amps.
Make sense?