I've read multiple places that talked about "jumping " pins when it comes to scanning codes for the check engine light. If I were to take my car to autozone, do they know to do this? Or is there some special instructions I should tell them?

 

They put a code reader on your car and give you the code. They will not clear it.

 

If you want to clear a code to see if it will repeat itself just disconnect the negative on battery for 15 seconds.

 

Thanks everyone. So then it's safe to take it to autozone just to see the code? It won't mess up anything, and they don't need to jump pins?

 

That is correct....and you can also buy an OBD2 code reader from eBay for about 15 bucks and clear your own codes. That's what I did.

 

THank u. My light came on, the first thing I checked was the gas cap, and it was loose (it still had some turning left before the clicks). Car still drives normally cruise still works. It's been two weeks and the lights still on I thought it would have turned itself off by now. I'll give it a few more days and see if it goes out. T

 

Yeah, I would get that code checked. There's no jumping of pins involved when you do electronic diagnostics with a tool. AutoZone should be able to read your codes and tell you what's up.

As honeygee2 already mentioned, you can also buy a cheap tool and do it yourself whenever you need to (and plus, this will allow you to RESET the light as well, not just read the codes). If you have an Android phone or tablet, you can use our app, Carista, which does this for free with a Bluetooth OBD2 adapter. We have some links to Amazon on our site for the hardware... some of them are under $10: http://www.caristaapp.com/hardware/

 

The OBDII scanners only work on cars that have OBDII ports... that means cars from about 1996 and later... earlier cars, like the Avalon and Lexus LS400 have OBDII looking ports but don't speak the same language... that's why the pin jumping method is used as the scanners won't work on them.
You don't specify model year so assuming you have a 96 or younger, the c ode readers...either hardwired handheld or bluetooth will work fine... and yes... disconnecting neg battery cable for 15 mins will reset the code also.

Big oops... I'm in the LS430 thread... so disregard my above explanation... that I was trolling in the LS400 side...

Get you a code reader for cheap and read/clear your codes anytime you want. No pin jumping needed.

 

If the engine icon is lit up on your dash, you can usually pull and clear the code with a cheap OBDII scan tool (1996 and newer). For a pre 1996 car, the method to pull the code may be car specific.

However, if you get an error where the ABS or SRS light is on, it is usually impossible to pull these with a cheap scan tool.

Basically you need to check whether your scan tool is capable of reading SRS or ABS lights if these are lit. If not, use the paperclip pin jumpering method.

Hopefully Autozone or whoever has one of the pricier units.