Service Engine Soon ?

[gahill2]

The service engine soon light just started blinking in my truck. Now it is just on constantly.

The truck is acting like it is about to choke down. It is hesitant and doesn't have all of its power.

Does anyone know what this could be?
My dealer is 3 hours away...Do you think they will tow it up?

Thanks

 

[Disco Mike]

Why guess,take it to your dealer, you have a hard fault code stored and a truck that runs like shit. You should be covered by warranty. There are way to many things that can go wrong to try and guess so go get it fixed. Make sure to ask the dealer what the fault code number was and what he had to do to fix it so you will know a little more about what can go wrong with your truck and how it feels.
Good luck,
Mike

 

[gahill2]

I am going to send it to the dealer. I am just wondering if they are going to ask me to drive it up or they will tow it up to Atlanta....

I guess I will see in the morning.

 

[Steve83]

They can't realistically ask you to drive it in that condition - they have to send out a rollback. They'd be responsible for any damage that occurred while you made the trip, and that would CERTAINLY cost more than the hook.

 

[Christopher]

Flashing "service engine soon" or running strangely means "don't drive it." Steady light with normal running means "OK to drive it to a dealer." I know, my truck's in the latter situation right now, and I read the book. Bad coolant temp sensor, I think.

 

[Christopher]

PS - Make sure it's not just a loose fuel filler cap.

 

[vaden87]

Shortly after I lost my gas cap on my 97, my service engine soon light came on. I have a new one on the way monday. After I install the new cap, will the light cut off or will I need to have it reset? Would it tell me its the gas cap if I hook it up to the computer?

Ryan

 

[Christopher]

You may have to get a shop or dealer to reset the light. Disconnecting the battery for an hour or two may also work.

 

[CurtisP]

ryan, you should be fine. It will go off in a couple days usually. I think after three trips it will turn off.

 

[gahill2]

Tow truck is on the way...

 

[jcollett]

autozone can reset your engine light.

 

[gahill2]

Stuck Valve!

I had a stuck valve according to the dealer.

They have the heads off of my truck right now.

Is this common at only 32K miles???

Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[Steve83]

Not "a stuck valve", but "valve stick" which means all the valve stems that pass thru the heads are building up varnish on them (mainly the exhaust valves) and they're not closing as fast as they should. It's usually caused by driving TOO CONSERVATIVELY, believe it or not. You need to gas it HARD more frequently to keep it from happening again. I'm not suggesting anyone starts driving like a maniac, but when conditions permit, let it breathe...

 

[zbower]

Just to clarify, there is a difference between the "SERVICE ENGINE" light and the "CHECK ENGINE" light. Some of the comments in this thread seem to be referring to the "CHECK ENGINE" light which is indicative of a problem. However, the "SERVICE ENGINE" light is simply a reminder to take your vehicle into the dealer for a regular maintenance check up. This is per the owner's guide of my 96 Discovery and I assume it's consistent throughout the other models. Anyone know differently?

 

[Robbie]

Just to clarify, there is a difference between the "SERVICE ENGINE" light and the "CHECK ENGINE" light. Some of the comments in this thread seem to be referring to the "CHECK ENGINE" light which is indicative of a problem. However, the "SERVICE ENGINE" light is simply a reminder to take your vehicle into the dealer for a regular maintenance check up. This is per the owner's guide of my 96 Discovery and I assume it's consistent throughout the other models. Anyone know differently?

that's consistent for all DI's. For DII's, there is only one light - Service Engine.

 

[RoverChic]

This light will indicate a possible problem with the Rover. This is applicable for Rover(s) from 1996-1999 D1 only..The 94-95 might have a different shade? The CEL will come on when a code is found in the ECU. It can be read with the OBD2.

 

[gahill2]

4.6 Head Replacement

Just got my truck back. They had to replace the heads. The repair sheet was three pages long. I would hate to see what the bill would have been if I didn't have warranty!

According to my dealer this has not been a big problem on the 4.6's.

I know it happens a lot on the 4.0 engines.

Has anyone else with an '03 or '04 had these problems too?

 

[Snwbord24]

I have almost 47k on my '03 SE and haven't had any engine trouble at all (knock on wood). I think the 4.6's are pretty good engines but I don't have any experience with other LR engines.

 

[Steve83]

Yes, it HAS been a problem with Bosch engines. Your dealer was fibbing...