Questions and Answers
Escort MIL Comes And Goes
Q. I have a Ford Escort 4 cylinder 1996 LX, between 50,000-51,000 miles. About 1,000 miles ago, the check engine light came on while I was driving. I made an appointment at local repair shop for them to check light problem and also do an oil change.
When I made the appointment, they told me the check engine light problem might be something that I would need to bring the car to the dealer to resolve, however, the mechanic said he would look at it. When I went to pick up the car, I was only charged for the oil change. They told me the check engine light problem was all set. No charge. The mechanic was busy and there was a lot going on. I tried to get more info as to what would have caused such a problem but was just told everything was all set. I do feel that if they thought something more was wrong they would have referred me to the dealer etc.
Unfortunately, I did have the light come on again about 1½ weeks later. This time I made an appointment with dealer. I later canceled this appointment after the light went out and stayed out for several days. I have since had the light come on again while driving and the light usually will stay on for 1-3 days and then go off and stay off for 1-2 weeks. I have checked my car service manual and I believe I should have the spark plugs replaced and air filter replaced for routine maintenance.
Could the spark plugs be causing this type of problem? The car may be a tad bit rough as of late. Since the local mechanic's prices are more reasonable, I wonder if this might be a reasonable way to try to resolve this problem as spark plugs are probably due to be changed anyway. I appreciate any advice.
A. I don't think the spark plugs or air filter is causing the Check Engine Light (MIL) to come on. You should have kept your appointment with Ford because even if the MIL goes off, a DTC is stored in the computer. Ford can easily extract this code and determine what the problem is.
If you know you need new spark plugs, go ahead and replace them, along with the air and fuel filter. Then you know most of the basics are good and can look elsewhere for a problem.
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