Hi All - got a questions about the CEL and inspection.

For a few years now, when it's damp or rainy, my CEL comes on and when it's sunny and dry out, the CEL goes off. I've had this checked 3 times and each time I was told it was the OS2 sensor and not to worry. But now I have to go to inspection and the weather here is damp on/off enough where I never know when the light will come on and I want to get my truck inspected. My mechanic said it won't pass inspection with the light on even though it's only the OS2 sensor.

I have a scanner that can reset and turn the CEL off, but I'm not sure how they inspect vehicles and if they use a scanner at all to check functions. I am curious, if I reset the CEL and turn it off, will it be picked up during the inspection that something was wrong and it was reset or should I just wait until it goes off itself?

I know, I should just get it fixed, but there are several reasons I haven't done so as of yet. The important thing now is I just need to know if I reset the CEL and turn it off, will it be picked up during the inspection or will I be okay.

Thanks for your help ...

 

If you reset the CEL, it will have to go through a specific drive cycle in order for the "readiness monitors" to set. The readiness monitors are kind of like fault code watch dogs. It lets the inspection station know that there was a CEL and the vehicle has not been driven enough since it was manually turned off. Meaning you are trying to just get an inspection done with out fixing the problem causing the CEL. If it's just an O2 sensor, why not go ahead and replace it? It's not that difficult.

 

Specific drive cycle ... I forgot about that. I guess I'll have to wait until it goes off on it's own like I've done in the past.

I haven't fixed it yet, mostly because I don't have a place to do the work or the time to do it. But I guess it's something I need to work into my schedule since this is an ongoing problem I'm facing each year when inspection rolls around.

 

Update - So I did a scan and got a P0300 code, which is a misfire. One of the causes can be a dirty injector, so I emptied a bottle of injector cleaner into the gas tank. A few hours later the CEL went out and a couple days later took it to inspection and passed. Problem solved ... for now.

 

Glad it worked.