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dwest
08-19-2007, 06:26 PM
One of my purchases is a 90 model sabaru. I was testing it out today and it wasn't runing as good as the rest. I looked down at the dash and it had a lighted sign? looks like a chevrolet bowtie that had little bars on top can someone please tell me what this is?
Thanks
chadhite
08-19-2007, 09:18 PM
That light you are seeing is the emsissions light.
dwest
08-20-2007, 08:19 AM
OK thanks for the reply. Now what do I do?
chadhite
08-20-2007, 10:41 AM
Keep it simple:
change the plugs: Your truck should take an auto lite 5224. Make sure the throat of the plug is the same as what you pull out.

Fill the tank with gas and drive the truck for long periods of time to make sure you get the engine good and hot.

Reason being, importers drain the gas out of these trucks. To get them on the container they put a chemical in the tanks that will foul the plugs and make the engine spit and sputter. Doing the things above will help the truck run smother and may help the emissions light to go off.
dwest
08-20-2007, 10:52 AM
OK thanks again. Do these things have a catilic converter on them?
Colin
08-20-2007, 01:24 PM
Nope.

Dump a can of Seafoam in the tank. :)
dwest
08-20-2007, 07:55 PM
I changed the plugs today and only got to drive it around for about 10 minutes. The truck ran a lot better, it really needed thoes plugs changed. The light is still on. Will the light go off after I drive it around some?
Thanks,
dwest
chadhite
08-20-2007, 08:02 PM
If the light does not go out after several times of running the truck hard, look for an oxygen senseor in the exahast pipe.

Just give the truck some time to get hot, these trucks take a long time to get up to operating temp, as long as the water pumps are good and you have plenty of fluids.

If the light does not go out find out if there is an oxygen sensor in the exhaust. If there is try and by pass the sensor so that the light will go off.


First just run the truck as much as possible and get the engine good and hot.
dwest
08-20-2007, 08:09 PM
Thanks for the help I will try to run it a while and see what happens. Thanks again everone has been great to help.
dwest
nateisanas
08-23-2007, 04:25 AM
Easiest solution... pull the guage cluster out and remove the bulb for that particular dummy light :p
conelydt
11-09-2007, 04:16 AM
Question -- I've just got the same problem yesterday. the truck seems to be low on power as well.

I look under my truck, I see something that appears to be a cat converter before the muffler. It has a sensor with two wires coming from it.

Will it hurt to remove a. the cat converter? b. the sensor c, both??????
larryn2o
11-09-2007, 08:11 AM
the front O2 has to stay .it gives feedback to the CPU to adjust your air /fuel ratio. the back one is to make sure the cat is working, it does n't seem to change how the motor runs . if you remove the cat (or just gut it) then you can bypass the back one , there are kits to do this and keep the light off.
conelydt
11-09-2007, 08:27 AM
the front O2 has to stay .it gives feedback to the CPU to adjust your air /fuel ratio. the back one is to make sure the cat is working, it does n't seem to change how the motor runs . if you remove the cat (or just gut it) then you can bypass the back one , there are kits to do this and keep the light off.



Have you done this and where can you get the kit or is there any other way to make the by-pass?
abcminitrucks
11-09-2007, 12:38 PM
What year is your truck?...if it is not Fuel Injected, it does not have an ECU (CPU) nor can it adjust the fuel/air ratio.
larryn2o
11-09-2007, 01:13 PM
i've hotrodded Suzuki 1.0 motors since 1990 . both on the street and race.
the older OBD1 system had 1 O2 input and the later OBD2 has 2 . find out what your truck has , it seems that many didn't have cat converters and ran a carb . mine is a 1996 and is this way. here is a link with more info.
http://www.o2sensorsimulator.com/


just the first one to come up, there are others.
larry
conelydt
11-09-2007, 01:27 PM
What year is your truck?...if it is not Fuel Injected, it does not have an ECU (CPU) nor can it adjust the fuel/air ratio.

92 Mitsubishi....don't think it's got a CPU?

i'M NOT SURE IT'S A CAT, JUST THAT IT LOOKS LIKE ONE AND THAT THE IDIOT LIGHT IS ON ON THE DASH.
Wolfman
11-09-2007, 04:52 PM
The carb trucks with this "oxygen sensor" is not really an oxygen sensor. It is a thermistor that checks for excessive heat in the catalytic convertor. If the catalytic convertor light is on, and you're low on power, your cat is likely clogged.
conelydt
11-11-2007, 03:51 AM
Correct--That's what I found. The cat was plugged. Ended up just cutting the wires to the thermister and the light went out. It must have been bad, because it started staying on all the time.

Anyway, cut the cat off with a sawsall. Working today on an adapter of some sort to hook it back to the muffler without the cat in place. The manifold flange side is 2 1/16" O.D. and the tail pipe is 1 1/2" O.D.