[Bills86e]

Yesterday my CEL showed up to ruin the day! No driveability issues present.
(whew) Took her up to Advanced AP who did a quick diagnostic scan, the port being just to left of lower steering. P0128 Engine Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature. I drove home to google that, and I went thru the DIC (driver info consul) and saw the engine was only running 172*.
Normally my baby is 196-199 average after start-up. I think that since the local weather here has changed, has affected my coolant-thermostat and made the CEL light on dash go on as it took too long to send the report to ECM in the allotted time. Today I had to run to local errand and now my DIC
is reporting 196*. I will change out my thermostat to fix this issue that has now only temporarily gone away. Problem now is to turn off or cansel the CEL. No OBD tool. This is opposite of overheating.
How can I clear the code?

I can clear my Toyota 4runner (Obd-1) codes by removeing the EFI fuse for a half hour.


Bills86e

 

[Seltzinator]

Amazon.com: Yongtek ELM 327 Bluetooth Obdii Obd2 Diagnostic Scanner, Elm327 Wireless OBD 2 Scan Tool Check Engine Light CAR Code Reader: Automotive OBD tool costs $12 and you can reset codes. All you need is a laptop or smart phone.

 

[TX08manualGXP]

I don;t know if that has a clode clearing feature. I am getting one of these which has it for under $20:

However, your light should go off once the problem has been fixed after you have cycled the key. I was getting the light and kide on the 06 and ended up changing the t-stat and once I was done and burped the system, the light went away.

 

[Seltzinator]

I don;t know if that has a clode clearing feature. I am getting one of these which has it for under $20: Amazon.com: U380 OBDII Check Engine Auto Scanner Trouble Code Reader: Automotive

However, your light should go off once the problem has been fixed after you have cycled the key. I was getting the light and kide on the 06 and ended up changing the t-stat and once I was done and burped the system, the light went away.

The one I linked is the one I have. It links up with Torque just fine and Torque lets you clear the codes.

 

[[email protected]]

Yesterday my CEL showed up to ruin the day! No driveability issues present.
(whew) Took her up to Advanced AP who did a quick diagnostic scan, the port being just to left of lower steering. P0128 Engine Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature. I drove home to google that, and I went thru the DIC (driver info consul) and saw the engine was only running 172*.
Normally my baby is 196-199 average after start-up. I think that since the local weather here has changed, has affected my coolant-thermostat and made the CEL light on dash go on as it took too long to send the report to ECM in the allotted time. Today I had to run to local errand and now my DIC
is reporting 196*. I will change out my thermostat to fix this issue that has now only temporarily gone away. Problem now is to turn off or cansel the CEL. No OBD tool. This is opposite of overheating.
How can I clear the code?

I can clear my Toyota 4runner (Obd-1) codes by removeing the EFI fuse for a half hour.


Bills86e

You also can ususally go to most autopart stores (Advance, Autozone, Pepboys, etc) and they will read it and clear the code for you if you ask. Not sure why they didn't offer to clear it when you were there though.

Its not a bad idea to have a scan gauge around though for how cheap they have become.

 

[elff]

And with Smart Phones, you can get an app and a bluetooth or wifi device that plugs into your ODBII port.

Torque seems to be the most popular one for Android

Dashboss is a great product for the iPhone
there is also Dashcommand, and a slew of others.

 

[Somnambulator]

you probably have a sticky thermostat. my car's been doing the same thing for a few weeks. its not a big deal but i want to fix it this weekend. it seems the colder it is outside the more likely the tstat is to get stuck open, keeping the engine below 180f. my CEL has been going on and off weekly as the temperature outside has fluctuated greatly (and the tstat not sticking open).

i also run a bluetooth obd2 adapter with torque and cant recommend it enough. it lets you do things even professional tools cant, like overlaying your telemetry gauges on top of video recorded when driving. search youtube for torque app racing and youll see people that ran track laps with this comfiguration. its as if theyre pro racers with network tv stations broadcasting the race.


Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App

 

[rob the elder]

A simple way to clear all codes is to pull the positive battery terminal for 15 seconds. This will reboot the ECM, BCM etc and clear soft codes.

 

[Seltzinator]

You also can ususally go to most autopart stores (Advance, Autozone, Pepboys, etc) and they will read it and clear the code for you if you ask. Not sure why they didn't offer to clear it when you were there though.

Its not a bad idea to have a scan gauge around though for how cheap they have become.

Most of the time they won't clear a CEL because of liability issues. If your engine melts or something, they don't want you coming back and suing them for saying everything was okay. I'm quite sure that company policy for any of the big part stores is not to do it.

Now if you know what you're doing and convince the guy you understand that turning off the light is not fixing it, then they may do it for you. But that will likely depend on the individual employee.

 

[Bills86e]

I lightly tapped on the thermo houseing and now the problem is gone. Took your advise, the store guy lent me his tool and fixed the CEL in 1 minute. Thanks everyone!