Check engine light - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

camrycraig · 10-22-2009, 10:11 AM

I have a 94 V-6 XLE with a bad exhaust system. The check engine light is on. I can fix the exhaust but the Haynes manual says that I need to go to a shop to get the check engine light reset. Is this true? Does anybody know how I can reset this by myself?

1996camry · 10-22-2009, 10:25 AM

have you try to remove negative battery terminal wait for 6-9 seconds before you put the neg. battery back?

you just remove negative battery terminal to reset the check engine light...

camrycraig · 10-22-2009, 10:39 AM

The manual says that I will need the code for the anti theft radio if I unplug the battery. Also does that clear the code from the memory? Thanks for your help.

twinjetguy · 10-22-2009, 10:50 AM

Simply disconnecting the battery will not remove the code. It will turn off your check engine light, but the code is stored in there. I suggest you do what I did. Go to Harbor Freight and buy yourself a OBD II scanner. There are different ones though. The cheaper ones will just simply give you the code in numbers, the next step up will give you the code and explain it, then you can get the one that checks codes AND clears them as well. I bought the one that clears the code, it was on sale for something like $97 and worth every penny.

Think of it this way, once your friends find out you have it and their check engine light goes on, just say "hey, buy me a 12 pack and I will let you use it". No joke, just the money on beer that I saved has paid for mine.

Plus it's just a cool tool to have.

Oh wait, I just saw that yours is a 1994 model. The OBD II will only work on 1998 and later models. I don't know if the OBD I will work for your needs or not. You live in Seattle, does that county make you smog your vehicle? I know living in CA if you have any codes at all you can't pass smog.

Mike Gerber · 10-22-2009, 01:32 PM

"Oh wait, I just saw that yours is a 1994 model. The OBD II will only work on 1998 and later models."

OBD2 was required on all cars starting with the 1996 model year. Some Camry V6 (not the 4 cylinder) engines in 94 and 95 were already OBD2.

camrycraig,

You can remove the ECU fuse on your car and leave it out for 30 seconds. Then reinstall it. That will most likely remove the code from your OBD1 car, unless your car was manufactured in late 94 and was already OBD2 compliant. Chances are it's just OBD1 and this procedure will remove the code.

Mike

camrycraig · 10-22-2009, 03:02 PM

The dealership parts guy says that if the car has 2 02 sensors then it is OBD 2 compliant. My car has 2 o2 sensors so it is obd 2. It looks like I am going to be buying a scanner to take care of the codes. Thanks for all of the input on my problems.

Mike Gerber · 10-22-2009, 07:29 PM

I have a 94 Camry 4 cylinder that has 2 O2 sensors and it is OBD1, not OBD2 compliant. For a definitive answer why not call Toyota corporate customer service at 1-800-331-4331 and ask them if your car is OBD1 or OBD2. You will need your VIN number when you talk to them.

Mike

***JohnGD*** · 10-22-2009, 07:36 PM

Look on the sticker under the hood. It should tell you if it's OBD or "OBD II".

Either way I think Autozone can read/clear codes for free.

Quote:

Originally Posted by camrycraig

The dealership parts guy says that if the car has 2 02 sensors then it is OBD 2 compliant. My car has 2 o2 sensors so it is obd 2. It looks like I am going to be buying a scanner to take care of the codes. Thanks for all of the input on my problems.

haux · 10-22-2009, 10:35 PM

I just did a little research, and apparently you can buy an OBD-II to USB cable. Which only leaves you to find software that will read/clear codes for your car. Some of these on eBay already come with software too. So, once the right software has been installed, one could use his or her laptop (or pc, if you wanna run an extension cord! ...or drive the car into the house) as a regular OBD-II scanner.

The price seems to range anywhere from $10 to $45, depending on if the seller is in China or the USA.

Seems like a fairly cheap alternative to paying up for a hand-held OBD-II scanner. Not to mention, there are software applications out there that will also let you run various diagnostic tests, which I believe only the super expensive scanners can do (I could be wrong on that part).

Gibson99 · 10-23-2009, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnGD

Either way I think Autozone can read/clear codes for free.

sorry i have to correct you on this one. i work at autozone as my 2nd job nights and weekends. we can READ codes for free, but we aren't supposed to clear them - it's a liability issue since we are not mechanics and we did not fix anything on the car. people have been written up and fired for clearing codes on customer cars. that doesn't mean someone won't do it, since the scan tools we sell and use in the store all include a big fat ERASE button - it depends on whether they think they will get caught or not. BTW - the obd-ii standard says that all scan tools should include an erase function (otherwise, what's the point?). at least, back when i was reading about it when it was new, it did. it may have changed now.

craig - all 1994 and 1995 camry v6s sold in the US are obd-ii compliant, and you CAN clear the codes by simply removing the EFI fuse under the hood for at least 30 seconds. i know this for a fact, because not only did it work on my 95 camry v6, but i spent 8 years as a mechanic at a toyota dealership, working on pretty much everything they make.

the OBD-II plug on your car is located behind the little coin box thing by your left knee on the dash - you will have to remove teh coin box to get to it, but it just pops right out and the connector is right there next to the fuses.

twinjetguy: you're a little off on the years. OBD-II was required on all passenger cars and light trucks (excluding diesels) sold in the US for model year 1996 and later. There are a few that were compliant early, such as the 1994 camry v6 and 1995 tercel, but they are few and far between. 1996 and up is when manufacturers had no choice but to make them compliant.

also, quantity of oxygen sensors does not always guarantee that it's obd-ii or not. some obd-i cars had an o2 sensor after the cat already, sort of in preparation for obd-ii.

Mike Gerber · 10-23-2009, 02:32 PM

"Mike Gerber: you're a little off on the years. OBD-II was required on all passenger cars and light trucks (excluding diesels) sold in the US for model year 1996 and later. There are a few that were compliant early, such as the 1994 camry v6 and 1995 tercel, but they are few and far between. 1996 and up is when manufacturers had no choice but to make them compliant."

Correct. Please reread what I posted:

"OBD2 was required on all cars starting with the 1996 model year. Some Camry V6 (not the 4 cylinder) engines in 94 and 95 were already OBD2."

Mike

Gibson99 · 10-23-2009, 02:48 PM

sorry mike. i looked at the wrong line and posted too quick. i have now corrected it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinjetguy

Oh wait, I just saw that yours is a 1994 model. The OBD II will only work on 1998 and later models.

not mike gerber.

camrycraig · 10-24-2009, 01:33 AM

I got the security code for the radio so it looks like all I have to do is fix repair the exhaust and check the code to make sure that all that all that is wrong is that the major exhaust leak b-4 the cat is causing the check engine to come on. I would love more info on the OBD 2 to USB, what is the software? Is it Mac compatible? If not $100 seems like a good investment for someone who plans on driving a gen 3 for years to come. Once again I really appreciate the discussion on this problem you have come up with info that I could not find any where else. BTW I have a 87 4runner and am interested in an engine compartment wiring harness (new?) any suggestions?

Gibson99 · 10-24-2009, 07:50 AM

just search around on google. i got my scan tool (it's obd-ii to serial, it's so old) from Harrison R&D and it's pretty good. the software for the one from obd-2.com looks nicer though. but most of these are windows-based. you can buy handheld ones at retail places like autozone and harbor freight for reasonable prices and won't need a computer at all for those. and like another poster said, they work on everything 96 and up, so you can make your money back reading codes for friends/neighbors/coworkers.

4-runner wire harness? best ask that in the 4-runner forum. i'm sure someone could help you out in there.

orange4boy · 10-26-2009, 12:36 PM

I have heard that most miniscanners will not read Toyota sub codes. This comes from a Prius guy so maybe Prius are different. Does anyone know of mac or pc software that will read Prius sub codes?

Thanks.