hey guys,

i got in the truck (see sig for truck specs) today to make my 20 minute ride back from the ice rink. about half way back i notice a light to the left of my instrument cluster that says "service engine soon". it may have been on the whole ride but i only noticed it after like 5-10 minutes. anybody have any idea what this could be? i plan on checking my oil in a little ( I wanna let it sit for a few minutes first) i will post again after i check to tell you guys whats up. any help would be greatly appreciated. last thing i want to do is take her in to the dealer.

 

it says in the manual that it may come on for

1 gas cap not on right
2 bad tank of fuel
3 some other malfunction

i doubt it is either of those because i gas cap was on right and i am at half a tank...wouldn't it have noticed before now? i checked my oil and it looked good. still open to any suggestions about what it is or how to fix it. by the way it has been 2k miles since my last "service". thanks again

 

As far as I know those SERVICE engine lights are mainly time oriented and nothin more, a CHECK engine light is the one to be worried about.

 

that is what i was thinking. but i really would like a forsure answere. i just don't want to ignore it and find out it was something seriouse. you know how it is. thanks though.

 

Hi,

Dont think this one is time-oriented. The Service Engine Soon light is the check engine light. It's the only check engine lamp on the cluster.

If you are curious about the code, you may be able to check it this way: Key off, hold odometer reset button while turning key to on (not start). Hold after turning key to ON for five seconds or so, and release. Gauges should sweep, then keep pressing the button until you see a code that begins with dtc. Mark down the codes and check on the web for what it means.

Here is a link that explains the process.


http://www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/dtcodes.htm

Hope that helps ya! I dont know if all the codes are available this way so it might not help. But read the website, there are a lot of goodies in that digital odometer.

 

wow, that is totally cool. i did not know i had all these things. and look, i went and purchased an aftermarket tach when i had one the whole time!!! geeze, if i would have only known. thanks a lot for that sight. would you happen to know if the codes on that sight are the same for the trucks...probably not. if not who knows about these codes? thanks.

 

Sorry to tell you but the DTC codes are not available that way. Here's the clip from mustangworld's site that says so
"Also thanks to Steve 99 Cobra for posting all the trouble codes you could read through the instrument cluster. Most having to do with the operation of the gauges and ignition systems. NOT OBDII codes, though how cool that would be if in the future Ford included a full diagnostic OBDII scanner in your stang.. oh well.. mabye in 2002 :-). "
At this point you have 3 options.
1. Pull the battery cables, turn headlight switch on, turn off switch after at least 5 minutes, reconnect cables and hope light doesn't return. I am assuming you felt nothing wrong but in doing it this way you may never know what was wrong.
2. Let somebody pull the code for you. Autozone will do it for free but all they will do is tell you the code, not help you do any furthur diagnostics. A dealer/service garage can pull the codes, check senors indivudually, and etc but will cost you $65+.
3. Go ahead and buy an OBDII scanner and do it youself. This is the way I would go as long as I had the $150+ (depends on brand and your location). This way you can pull the code yourself and never have to go back to a dealer again if you do not want too. Also, the OBDII scanner should work on any 96 and newer vehicle.
Let us know what happens.

 

ky- i think you might be mistaking about that. i followed the opperation on the stang sight and it worked. i got a screen that said dtc followed by a 4 digit code. i believe it was 5284....i don't have it on me right now. i then found at a website a little chart that had all the codes and what they mean. it said it was a oil pressure switch failure. it is that same code as for the stangs as well it turns out. (5284 means oil pressure switch on both) take a look at the bottom of this link...it has the codes for our trucks through the digital odometer:
http://www.fordf150.net/howto/eecvcodes.htm

 

LBC
Well, it's one of those cases where we are both sort of right. While you can get some codes from the digital speedo, they are not true full OBD II codes and most just relate to the operation of the guages, PATS system, or ingnition system. If that check engine light is on there will be at least that code for the oil pressure switch and possible others.
If you need proof just read paragraph three again on
www.mustangworld.com/ourpics/fcar/dtcodes.htm
and then read the very last paragraph also.

It is pretty neat that they did include that much info into the cluster (wish they would inculde a full tester). Not trying to start a battle here, just trying to help. Good luck...

 

for sure. don't even worry about battles with me. i am just here to share and find info about my baby. lol. thanks for sharing what info you have. i do appreciate it. i always want to learn more about our trucks.

i agree with you, its very cool to have all these neat things in our clusters. i did not even know about them until hades281 let me know about the functions in this thread.

anyway, i got the problem fixed. turns out it was a bad sensor. guy said that the code 5284 comes up alot and i should not worry about it. sounded wierd to me...sound strange to anyone else? on another thread i posted here someone said there dealer told them not to worry about it much either. i dunno. anyways, its taken care of.

thanks again everyone for your help.