Check engine light after replacing starter

Took her out for a 10 min drive and everything started up fine and no lights. Came home and parked. Turned off the engine. Started back up again. No issues. Started up again two hours later, pulled out of the driveway and check engine light came on. Any thoughts or ideas? Appreciate the help.

Do you have a scanner? They aren't expensive and helpful for these sits.

I would like to read your mind, or the car's mind, but it would be easier if you have a scanner to read the code.

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Well, with no fault codes to start troubleshooting,and no cel before your starter repair, maybe best route is probably to go back over all you just did when replacing starter. Good possibility something came lose, cracked, or wasn't seated correctly, or got knocked off while doing the starter repair. Might be evap emission related as the cel took awhile to register.... Or could start with a smoke test...? jmo

Wild guesses - you broke your oil filler tube or you didn't center the intake plenum on the two rubber boots, both create a huge vacuum leak. Get it scanned and bring us the CEL code.

Thanks guys, scanned it today. I�m wondering if the vacuum lines in the left and right side of the front plenum came out.

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Vacuum lines

Secondary air pump error is often the check valve. First check if secondary air pump is working. Remove hose before a cold start and feel if air is coming out. If yes, then likely a bad check valve. When the valve fails, it fails in the closed position. I will follow up with images.

Came here to say check the check valve. It could be loose or dangling.

That pipe to bank 2 is very fragile and will crack if you even look at it! I suggest a smoke test as a first step.

Thanks guys, sorry for the dumb question, can someone explain what the check valve is or more importantly, where its located

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Here is another pic that shows it.

Thanks @hbdunn - what�s the easiest way to access it? Do I need to pull off anything more than the airbox?

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That isn't the secondary air check valve. Hang on I will get a picture.

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It is parts 9 and 11. For 2002 and later those two parts are combined into one. They are behind the alternator. The secondary air pimp is part 1.

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Thanks! Just to clarify, when you say 2002 and later, do you mean �04, �05 etc? My car is a 99. So I�m assuming I should be looking for something similar to what you posted.

If you didn�t have this issue before the starter replacement, it�s very likely that you disconnected something and forgot to reconnect upon installation. Or you may have accidentally knocked a vacuum line loose. Double check the routing of your vacuum lines with the photographs above. The fastest way to access the interior bits of the secondary air injection system is to remove the alternator. If you haven�t removed the alternator recently, it may be difficult to do so now.

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Yes. The diagram is for pre 2002 so it should apply. It is possible that the replacement may be one part, but that is the diagram for your '99

Thanks @996love that�s exactly what I�ve been thinking. I�m realizing that when I was reattaching the vacuum lines to the front plenum, I was pulling on the left one to get it fitted back in and may have pulled too hard. @996 cab Thanks for the photo. Interestingly my front plenum doesn�t look like that. There is no check valve running into the left side. Which makes me think that I�ve got the version with the check valve in the back. Two questions for you guys: 1. What steps do you recommend to check the lines? 2. Can I drive if I have to with things they way they are? Worst case scenario if I have to take it to a shop. Thanks again for all the help!

With those two codes you can drive all you want. The SAI is not a critical element or system. It basically pumps air into the exhaust system to trick the O2 sensors when first starting and before the engine is warmed up. ROW cars (Rest-of-World) cars have this detection removed from the ECU/DME. I have had those two codes for 20 years. Yes, it throws a CEL, which I just clear and drive on. If I had a mind to I could send the ECU/DME to ECUDoctors and have it programmed to ROW. No more SAI codes forever... Also, somewhere, someone makes an SAI delete kit. Includes blanking plates, etc. In theory could get rid of all that extraneous crap, vacuum hoses, check valves....

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Thanks Joe! Massively appreciate all of the help here!

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OK, so what DBJoe said is correct. It's an emissions issue that won't affect your enjoyment of the car (except for the chk engine light). There are two potential causes here. The check valve is actuated by vacuum. That's the line/connection pointed out by 996Love. If there is no vacuum to the check valve I pointed out in the diagram I posted, then the valve won't open and you will get the SAI error code. The other possibility is that the check valve failed and needs to be replaced. I guess you will have to check the vacuum lines first. If all the vacuum lines are where they are supposed to be, then you have a failed check valve. The valve with the connection to the vacuum line is 993-113-245-01, for the '99. The other part of this that you may need to change out at the same time is 993-113-250-01. In the '02 and later they moved to a single valve to do away with the two parts I mentioned. That part number is 722-938-06-0. You have to pull the alternator to get to the valves, but you don't have to remove anything else.

Don�t bring your car to the shop. If you can replace the starter by yourself, then you can handle this job alone too. Although you can technically drive as-is without an issue, I�d like to caution you against it for one reason. The check engine light is your visual confirmation that something is wrong with your engine. Once the light is on, you won�t be notified of any new, additional trouble codes unless you�re actively using a scan tool daily. You could be driving around with multiple problems and not even know it. The simplest solution is to get back in there and fix it. Otherwise, you can look into deleting the SAI system and coding it out, but that�s much more complicated and may not pass emissions. Once your alternator is removed, shine a flashlight and visually confirm the routing. You�ll have to get creative to check around corners: use a mirror, a video scope, or feel it by hand (be gentle and don�t break the plastic lines!). I think the problem will be obvious.

Thanks all that really help helps. The one issue i am noticing is that the engine sounds like there is a vacuum cleaner running inside (higher pitch noise) while it�s cold. The noise is gone after the engine has warmed up a bit. I actually tried to remove the alternator as part of starter replacement but just couldn�t get it off even with the trick of knocking on the bolt. I suppose I can try again.

There are some good threads on alternator removal. First time is a bear. Disconnect battery because there are live wires on the back of the alternator. There is a bushing in the back alternator bracket that needs to be tapped back into the bracket in order to ease removal. Due to the angle of the top alternator bolt, it is difficult to give it a good tap. First, every day for days prior to attempting removal, spray penetrating oil on the back bracket and bolt. PB Blaster is good. I laid a thick towel on the rear bumper, placed a brass prop shaft on the alternator bolt so I could tap on it outside the engine bay. Partially back the top bolt out about three threads so there is a little space. Two good taps and I was home free. The vacuum cleaner sound is the SAI pump. Left side very rear of engine bay. You can disconnect the electrical connector and check. Remember, the SAI system runs at first start up when the engine is cold.

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Thanks! Yep this was the method I tried. I got the alternator to rock up and down but just couldn't get it to move. It would knock against the intake manifold every time i turned it counter clock-wise. I guess I gotta get back in there and try it again.

If you can get the alternator to rock, remove the two little screws holding the corrugated line directly above it and move it's bracket out of the way, it gives you more room to work. -Eric 04 996 99 986

What DBjoe said was correct. The SAI makes a high pitch whine while running and stops after a couple minutes. Removing the alternator is something I tried once. What I have seen is that there is some rotation up down and to the side to get it around the bend. Eric K. suggestion is good. When you get it out, also take a look at the Y cable that bolts to the starter. Cable runs from the alternator to the starter and connects to another cable that goes to the positive jump point. If the section where those two cables meet shows corrosion or has melted plastic or looks like this (below) save yourself from having to pull the alternator again by replacing it while you have access. Part number 996-607-019-01. See what "fun" it is to work on these cars? No shortage of things to update/replace/upgrade!

Haha, I actually proactively replaced the Y Cable this time when replacing the starter. Figured, just get it all done at once. My plan was to go trifecta and replace the oil filler tube while everything was out, but I just couldn't get that alternator out. Perhaps I'll give it another shot this weekend. Part of me is scared I guess to keep hitting that bolt on the alternator pulley harder and harder, worried I'll crack part of the case. Having this community is awesome though to at least have the moral support for my insanity

Spray a generous amount of penetrating fluid between the bushing and the alternator. Let it sit for awhile before hammering away again.