Basic Tech Help

[springrnco]

I have a 2003 6.5TD and the other day my wife jumped in and started it to quickly and without warming up began driving. Ever since I have a check engine light illuminated. Any ideas on what it could be an indication of and/or how to clear it? Also my front tires seem to leak just slightly over time. Is this a fairly common problem and if so what should I look for? Thanks.

[springrnco]

I have a 2003 6.5TD and the other day my wife jumped in and started it to quickly and without warming up began driving. Ever since I have a check engine light illuminated. Any ideas on what it could be an indication of and/or how to clear it? Also my front tires seem to leak just slightly over time. Is this a fairly common problem and if so what should I look for? Thanks.

[Beastmaster]

You need an ODB-II compliant code reader to read the code that got tripped. A good code reader will also clear the code as well, or you can have 40 complete start/stop cycles in which the temp gauge goes up to 200 degrees.

As for the front tires - AM General says that you can lose up to 2-3 lbs of air a day. You will also lose up to 1 lb of air pressure for every 10 degrees in temp difference. You also can be losing air pressure if you are running two piece rims and the o-rings are going bad.

There are also other culprits as well - bad solenoid, bad hoses, bad hub seal, etc.

To solve that problem - take a spray bottle of soapy water and spray down every CTIS connection on the tire, on the hub, the CTIS solenoid block, hoses under the truck, etc. If it's bubbling continuously - that's the leak.

[NoMoGMPG]

To clear a MIL (Malfunction Idicator Lamp) without an OBDII scanner, you can also do it by disconnecting both positive battery cables for 30-60 seconds and then cycle your ignition once.

Dave