I hope this is the proper place for this thread. I did look through a few other pages to see if I could find a similar problem, but nothing seems the same.
I have a 2000 Cavalier z24 with 87,000. Today the bottom radiator hose come slightly loose and I lost some antifreeze. So I took it in and had it tighten. When finish the 'Service' light with the wrench below was on. The mechanic did not do anything, but tighten the clamp on the hose. When the car is started the light is out, but once shifted into reverse I hear a clicking noise after the shifter is put into reverse and then this 'Service' light with the wrench below comes on. I was on once before, but a simple battery disconnect took care of it. This time that didn't work. What gives?
The only other known problem I know the car to have is the Check engine and Trac off lights are on. (Long Story) And the ICT sensor is bad, but the engine fan is wired directly. Those 2 lights have been on forever.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
If you shifted and it started clicking, then do this, start your car, turn ur lights on, and put the high beams on, and check which one is out. When u shift and it starts bclicking it means one of ur daytime running lights is out. Which in our cars, it uses the high beams. One way you can get around that is by turning ur lights on before you shift ur car and it will keep the service light out. But one of ur high beams (or whole headlight for that matter) is blown out. Just find out which one, and replace it, and boom, no more light. Goodluck!
Thank you so much Sneezy. Who would have thought it would be something so simple like that.
One more matter I am trying to figure out before I sell this car is the CEL and the Trac Off light. Neither is throwing a code oddly enough. If you're much for hearings stories, here is one for you. I bought the car a little over a year ago when it had 72,000, it was prior salvage which didnt bother me, lots of Cavaliers seem to be prior salvage. Anyways I went to look at it, opened the door, (the guy had it running) the second I opened the driver door it died. He searched for the problem and finally found it, the engine fan which I mentioned in my first post is wired direct due to the ICT sensor being shot. The wiring is ran through the door jam and the door pinched it to bare wire and caused ECM fuse to blow because there was a open ground. Before figuring out that was the problem he proceeds to pull the traction control fuse same ampage, a 50amper and puts it in the ECM location, again it blew because of the open ground. Finally he finds the open ground, repairs it and 2 new 50ampers later no problem. However, that escapade caused the CEL and Trac Off light to stay on, both have been cleared to no avail.
I am preparing to sell the car. Its a great little car, never uses oil or leaks any, but peeps are scared to buy a car with CEL on and Trac light even though there is nothing to my knowledge mechanically wrong other than the ICT sensor which oddly never tripped the CEL before because before I opened the door when first looking at the car no lights were on in the dash.
Ok, first off, I know a pretty good amount about these cars, but I have never heard of the ICT. What the hell is that??? After you answer that, ill see if I can help you out lol
I was wondering what that was too. I've been reading cel codes for over four years and have never seen that one,,,,
Well first and foremost, I would put ALL the wiring back to OEM. If the ECT is bad, then replace it, cant cost more then 10-15 bucks, and should take all of 5 mins to install and plug back in. I would start there. If you pull a code, whats the code?? If there is no code, then it will sound like ur having computer issues. Usually (I know this from my girls 97 with the LD9) if the CE light comes on, it will turn the 'trac off' light on, as well as the CE light, and keep ur fan on all the time as a precaution. I know this for a fact bc my girl is having issues with her O2 (Damn Bosch) and thats what its doing. I would go ahead and repair all the wiring to OEM specs, and then replace the sensor, clear the code and see what happens. It sounds like there is a code in there, you just havent gotton to it yet. If there for some reason isnt one in there, I would start looking for a computer at that point. BUT only install the new computer AFTER you have repaired all the wiring 100% to stock. This way you dont fry another computer and throw away a couple hundred bucks. Goodluck!
Thanks, I will look into putting the ECT sensor in this weekend. I bought the sensor a year ago when I first purchased the car, but never bothered about having it put it. A CEL and Trac Off light doesnt bother me, but like I said it does bother some potential buyers. A guy is coming to look at the car on Saturday for his 16 yr old anyways, so maybe they can figure it out.
Lol, yeah it does do that. Yeah throw that in there, and clear the code and go from there. But im willing to best that since the other owner was a idiot in the first place and ran wires through the door, there are some other potential wiring headaches wrong with that car. But since ur selling it good luck! Too bad you didnt live closer, Im looking for a good parts car
