jh26

While driving from Atlanta to Charlotte today, my check engine light came on. I stopped at the next exit and checked, and sure enough the engine was still there. And it ran fine the rest of the day - no problem could be detected other than the light.

Is it possible for me to read out the codes using the few tools I happen to have with me? I remember that this was very easy to do on my MR2, but I need specifics for my 4runner (3.4l v6)

BTW, it would be nice to have a list of codes on the tech section too.

Thanks in advance.

Ava

If your rig is anything like my '93 Surf (Japanese 4Runner) then jumper T/E1 or TE1/E1 on the check connector and make sure all accessories are switched off and the battery is > 11 volts and transmission in neutral, the trottle valve closed and the engine is at normal operating temp. Then turn on the ignition but do not start the engine. The Check Engine light outputs two digits with a pause in between. Just count the two series of pulses. If the light keeps blinking with no pause there's nothing wrong.

Sorry, can't point you to a list of codes.

Ava.

Dr. Zhivago

You will need an OBDII Scan tool to pull codes from the ECU. If you live near an Autozone, they will do it for free. For an inexpensive tool that can read and clear codes for you, plus do a whole lot more, check out this site. To see it in action, check out this thread.

Hope this helps.
Dr. Z

jh26

I dropped by Autozone today and got them to read the code -P0171. I guess that explains the pinging that I've had for a couple of months. One other possibly related symptom- the 4wd system has given me trouble a few times. Could be a vacuum leak up front somewhere. But I think I'll start by cleaning the MAF.

Dr. Zhivago

Hey, glad I could be of some help. Cleaning the MAF will probably make the engine run a lot better. Just use warm soapy water, cleaning and drying it off with a Q-Tip. That's the recommended way of cleaning it. Just be extremely gentle when doing so.

Can you expound a bit on the 4WD problems? Maybe we can find the souce of that issue as well.

Peace.
Dr. Z

jh26

I cleaned the MAF and erased the trouble codes last night. The MAF wasn't very dirty and I didn't notice much of a difference driving to work, but that's only 6 miles. But no pinging so far either. We'll see if the trouble code returns.

Now on to my problem with the 4wd: Going down the highway one day the 4wd lights started blinking. I pulled off the road to check it out and I could tell from the lack of binding that it wasn't actually in 4wd, but I did notice that the front drive shaft was not free to spin like normal.

So I shifted it into full-time mode and drove on. Somewhat later I was able to shift back to 2wd just fine. This has happened a couple more times, but now that I think about it, it's been at least month since I last saw it. I intend to get underneath and clean all the electrical connections and check the vacuum lines, but I haven't had time lately.

So, if these symptoms ring any bells, please let me know.

Thanks

Dr. Zhivago

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this.

Good to hear about the MAF cleaning. Did you reset the ECU or just clean the MAF and nothing else? Since it's not pinging any more, I hope it's just because you cleaned the MAF and not because of resetting the ECU. If you did reset, the pinging might return after 300 miles or so. Just a heads up warning on that.

About the 4WD issue, nothing rings a bell there. Your intention to check connections and vacuum lines is a good one. Lemme know if you spot anything unusual.

Peace!
Dr. Z