Chasing Nothing Much

On Sunday last, Faye and I went out to eat... as we regularly do... at the local steak house, our favorite. Each Sunday at 3:30 in the afternoon (very approximately), we go there and order the same things: a Delmonico steak for her and a ribs and chicken combo for me. We are nothing if not predictable. We take half of each entrée home in those little styrofoam boxes.

As we left in Faye's car, I looked down (I was driving) and noted the "check engine" light was on. I mentioned it to Faye, which I should not have done. She proceeded to worry about it whereas I did not. I have been there before. That light means very little, really, it's just a warning of possible problems.

I learned about this indicator when I was driving my previous car; a 2001 Chevy Impala. I dropped by the dealer when the light lit up in that car. Not right away, after I got off work that afternoon after seeing it come on while on the way to work (there was a short period when I worked days at that time). The light went out before I arrived at the dealership. They looked at it anyway, attaching one of those analyzer units, and said they could not determine a problem at the time but asked me to stop by if it came on again.

It did come on again a few days later. I dropped by again, this time the light stayed lit. But they couldn't state with certainty what was causing it. However, they suggested I have a carburetor rebuild done. Odd, since the vehicle had fuel injection. Needless to say, I rejected the suggestion. The "check engine" light went out again a few days later and never came back on. I researched it a little bit, however, and learned some interesting things. One of these was that something as simple as a not fully snugged gas cap can cause that light to come on. As can a small bit of dirt in the fuel filter or any of a hundred minor things that will go away naturally.

Faye's car sits... a lot. She might put 100 miles on it in a month (and that would be a busy month). Plus the car had sat in the garage for the month we were away on our trip, not being run at all. She had only driven it to the library and supermarket, a distance of maybe 12 miles total... to and from. I had taken it to get an oil change and tire rotation the previous week and had not noticed any warning lights (nor did the service people) at that time.

Still, the light being on bothered Faye (I was somewhat indifferent about it) and she asked me to have it checked out yesterday. I decided I would, since it is best to do as she asks than to ignore her, and backed the car out of the garage. I noticed that the light was no longer on. I rev'd it a couple of times, put it in Drive and back out again, and pulled back into the garage.

False alarm.

I like those.