every few days my chek engine light comes on and if i shut the truck off for a few min it doesnt come back on for a few more days..I alkso have a rough idle are these things connected?

 

Most likely, yes. It could be a lot of things.

You have to get a OBDII code reader and see what it shows.

 

The computer is telling you something is wrong by illuminating the check engine light. Even if it goes out, the code is stored. We can sit here all day and tell you what it might be, but until the code is known, your just shooting in the dark. Best tool you can have in your toolbox these days with computerized cars is an OBD code reader. You can get them for less than $20 now. Pay for themselves the first time you use it.

 

First, we will need to know what fault codes are registering.

 

you should be able to use the key truck to check the code. not sure if it will work for you as you didn't say what year your truck is. i know it works for the newer ones.

put in your key, turn to on (not start), then off, then on (not start), then off, then on. the odometer (mileage meter) should then show you any stored codes.