Well, I took my van it to have the work done on the Catalatic converter just to find out that my van doesnt have one. Mech says it never had one. Now I am stumped on what is making that idiot light come on. Its not a dirty converter and now we are wondering how that got passed the DOT. Any suggestions?
Depending on the year of your van and the emissions regulations in your area you may not need one...there should be an exhaust temp. sensor somewhere in your exhaust....on the Daihatsu it seems to be a 2 position exhaust gas analyzer that is attached to a simple diagnostic box under the dash to regulate mixture...some people are saying it's useless and to ground it out and not worry about it,but since mine came on I have noticed worse gas mileage
Can you give me an idea as to where under the dash it might be. I can smell fuel upon start-up and it goes away when the light goes out. My van is a 94 and I am going to try and find someone who knows what the next step should be. Should I start with repacing the sensor an work from there? or should I start somewhere else? Thanks for your help. I have a lot to learn. Denise
It sounds as if you may have a bit of a carb leak and the raw fuel on startup is confusing the sensor (the sensor is in the exhaust and looks like a spark plug with a thin wire coming off it)...if the light is going out once you drive a bit then the sensor is prob fine and you need to deal with the carb leak...get a can of either "seafoam" or "marvel mystery oil" both good...seafoam a bit better in my opinion...(others are mostly useless like STP fuel system cleaner..they are nothing more than methyl hydrate(mineral spirits))...pour 1/2 the bottle of seafoam in a full tank of gas and let it work its magic...your leak sounds small or there would be other issues you would notice...most likely a float seal a bit gummed up and letting a few drops of fuel leak into the carb when not running....a few hundred kms of driving with the seafoam in the fuel should clear it up