[gftgrill]

ok, so after work today I was running a couple of errands. I was leaving a parking lot when I saw my CEL come on. I'm thinking, great, I was just coasting at 7 mph in a parking lot and something on my engine gets fucked up. so I pull over and check a few things. first oil, it was full, just had it changed last week. no problem there. no oil leaking from engine that I can see. ok good.

next I think, well maybe it's my o2 simulator is malfunctioning or fell off and is sitting in the road somewhere. so I get out the jack, and crank the car up crawl under there, and yep it's still there. so I crawl back out and put the key in the acc position then crawl back under there. the o2 sim. light is flashing just like it should be.

next I check the battery, because I remember that during my oil change they said it was loosing power and should be replace in the next couple of months. so I look at the little light, and I can't see it. great my battery is about dead.

so I go and have it check a couple of miles down the road at O'Reilly, the say the battery is putting out 290 CCAs and that the alternator is charging it up to over 400. so I replace the battery there in the parking lot. start the car up, rev it up a few times to about 6k. and no CEL. So I proceed to drive home 8 miles down the highway taking all the way through 3rd gear (90) vtec kicked in and no CEL.

so to make this long story short, did my almost dead battery cause the CEL? I know that when I removed the battery I reset the ecu, or at least cleared it out.

if it did cause the CEL, why? and why didn't the Battery light come on?

thank you for your help.

edit: if it helps, the car is a 99 ex d16y8, stock ecu

 

[Rexinre]

You should have put a paperclip into the computer jumper and recorded what code it produced. Now that you unplugged the batt, it reset the ECU so you will have to wait till the next time the light comes on to check it out properly.

 

[gftgrill]

yeah, but I was too far from my house to have any tools to get to it. and I didn't want to drive it home. I drove it around some more, about 17 miles so far and it hasn't come back on yet. so we'll see what happens this weekend.

I noticed after it came on that the rpm's would drop hard after pushing in the clutch and I had to really work it to get going in the next gear. I don't know if it was the dying battery or if it was because the computer was in limp mode.

edit: another thing, I don't think it matters, but my maintence required light has been on I'm guessing since around 90,000. I was at about 90,500 when this happend.

 

[Rexinre]

You can reset your maintence required light, you are soposed to do it ever oil change. I hope for your sake the CEL doesn't come back, I have been having problems with mine on and off since the turbo went on!

Good Luck

 

[gftgrill]

yeah I alway just ignore that maintence required light. hell I can't see it how I sit. can't really see that light anyway. but so far it hasn't come back on. I figure that maybe my car miss fired or something from not have enough battery power to create a spark. but we'll see, it's been about 50 miles.

 

[jclanza]

Sometime the voltage drop from a crappy battery will turn on the CEL but not the charge light, since the alt. is still pump out current. To be honest you are most likely okay..


-Juan

 

[Rexinre]

Yeah, if it hasn't come back by now then forget about it! "If it isn't broke don't try and fix it"

Good Luck

Carry On!