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YOUR RESEARCHCheck engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Reported or suspected cause
o2 sensors, and the cel didn't come
Reported cause
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Discussions that report identifying a cause
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Reported cause
As it turned out, the problem was O2 sensors, and the CEL didn't come on whilst the MAF sensor was unplugged just because it wasn't getting an important reading.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
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Leading evidence: 'o2 sensors, and the cel didn't come' (1 discussions report identifying this cause; no attributable repair resolution). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'o2 sensors, and the cel didn't come' (1 discussions; 1 report identifying it and 0 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Check (ca)' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
Oh, by the way, I had the car smog checked (CA) after this episode, and it passed with flying colors.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace once the o2 sensors
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Once the O2 sensors were replaced it was like new again.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace plugs...didn't get the connection
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I had one come up when I changed the plugs...didn't get the connection on tight.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
problem
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Identified cause
1
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
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Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
I did this, the CEL went away (although the car was way down on power) so I assumed it was the problem.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Inspect cel every 25k miles, until all 4 are
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Discussions that contain suggestions
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0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
If the Original 4 O2 sensors lasted 12 years, and 100k miles, would you rather replace all 4 at the same time, and not need to change them again until the 200k mile mark, or would you rather have to keep inspecting the CEL every 25k miles, until all 4 are replaced at 200k miles, when you might then have to replace the first one again, etc...
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Inspect while it is not throwing codes
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Unsuccessful attempts
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Discussions that contain suggestions
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Suggestion
I was going to suggest that you get your car inspected while it is not throwing codes, so then you don't have to worry about the CEL for a whole inspection period.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace 4 at the same time, and not need
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
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Discussions
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Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
If the Original 4 O2 sensors lasted 12 years, and 100k miles, would you rather replace all 4 at the same time, and not need to change them again until the 200k mile mark, or would you rather have to keep inspecting the CEL every 25k miles, until all 4 are replaced at 200k miles, when you might then have to replace the first one again, etc...
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace first one again, etc
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
If the Original 4 O2 sensors lasted 12 years, and 100k miles, would you rather replace all 4 at the same time, and not need to change them again until the 200k mile mark, or would you rather have to keep inspecting the CEL every 25k miles, until all 4 are replaced at 200k miles, when you might then have to replace the first one again, etc...
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Replace just one or two might clear the cel
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
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Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Replacing just one or two might clear the CEL, but the chances of it coming back on soon are much higher, when the computer realizes that the unchanged ones are slower to respond than the new ones.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Reported and suspected causes (2)
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
o2 sensors, and the cel didn't come
No successful repair reported for this finding.
1
Identified cause
0
Suspected cause
0
Reported fixes
Read evidence and context
Discussions that report identifying a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported cause
As it turned out, the problem was O2 sensors, and the CEL didn't come on whilst the MAF sensor was unplugged just because it wasn't getting an important reading.
Check engine light... - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners
Coverage and how to read this overview
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
12 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
986Forum: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T113718Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
I know I should've asked this earlier -- a couple of months ago my 'check engine' light came on. Since I was kind of "occupied" at the time, I didn't do anything about it... and then, a few days later, it went away. Any suggestions what happened there, and/or if there's anything I should do about it now?
-- peer
As long as it was not a flashing CEL, probably no big deal. The code may be stored (even though the CEL is gone), so you may be able to still get a read out if you can get it hooked up to a scanner (free at Auto Zone and similar places).
I had one come up when I changed the plugs...didn't get the connection on tight. During a test drive, I got a little miss after a few miles and the check engine light came on. I knew the one that I was having a hard time getting snapped back into place and it did pop lose. Once I had it back on correctly the check engine light went off after several drives. The computer will automatically reset the cell after so many cycles...I believe it's 10. So your problem could have been a misfire or anything, but the problem went away and the cell was reset. Check and see if the code is still stored, this will point in the right direction.
Honestly, there are hundreds of potential codes that it could have been, and quite a lot of the codes have multiple potential causes.
The only true way to know what caused your code would be to pull the code using a scan tool, or something similar.
BC.
Yeah, those little guys can be hard to get snapped back on tight, can't they? I had a CEL indicating misfire, cylinder 1, so I switched the coil packs of cylinder 1 & 2 to see if the problem moved to cylinder 2. Didn't get one of them snapped back on tight...and was running on 5 cylinders briefly.
That
tripped a flashing CEL.
I was going to suggest that you get your car inspected while it is not throwing codes, so then you don't have to worry about the CEL for a whole inspection period. But it sounds like you might have done that by getting the CA smog test. Here in NY the emissions test is part of the NYS inspection process. I'm guessing CA is more stringent [CA people often complain about it
].
My CEL was off for about 9 months, I kept putting off the inspection. Now I have 1 month left, and my CEL came on yesterday ... :ah:
Bladecutter is 100% correct. Get the code read and go from there.
I made that mistake when I had an intermittent CEL. I found that if I started the car from cold and drove it hard straight away there was no CEL. If I drove it gently until it warmed up, CEL would come on without fail. I took some advice (bad advice I might add) from someone who (mis)diagnosed it as a failing MAF sensor. The advice was unplug the sensor, and if the CEL goes out then it is the problem. I did this, the CEL went away (although the car was way down on power) so I assumed it was the problem. I bought a new MAF sensor, installed it, and the CEL came straight back on!
As it turned out, the problem was O2 sensors, and the CEL didn't come on whilst the MAF sensor was unplugged just because it wasn't getting an important reading. Once the O2 sensors were replaced it was like new again.
Moral of the story, get the codes read and forget guesswork. It could be a frustrating and expensive exercise otherwise.
Good luck!
A related question, out of curiosity. Was it just one O2 sensor you got the code for, or more than one? How many did you replace---just the one(s) throwing the code(s) or all of them? I ask, because I'm currently in a similar situation.
Its always better to replace them all as a set, because they get contaminated with exhaust stream during usage, and over time, they degrade in performance.
Replacing just one or two might clear the CEL, but the chances of it coming back on soon are much higher, when the computer realizes that the unchanged ones are slower to respond than the new ones.
Think of it this way:
If the Original 4 O2 sensors lasted 12 years, and 100k miles, would you rather replace all 4 at the same time, and not need to change them again until the 200k mile mark, or would you rather have to keep inspecting the CEL every 25k miles, until all 4 are replaced at 200k miles, when you might then have to replace the first one again, etc...
BC.
