Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 10:58:00 -0500 From: "Kenneth S." <nimrodnopsams.com> Subject: Re: Check Engine Light on 1996 900SE: More Developments in the Soap Opera
Bob wrote: > > On Sat, 03 Mar 2001 09:31:53 -0500, "Kenneth S." <nimrodnopsams.com> > wrote: > > > > > This thing is driving me crazy. Have I not been living my life right, > >and is THAT the reason why I am being tormented in this way? I am a > >first-time Saab owner, and I hadn't realized that these cars have a > >moral, as well as a transportation, function. The Mercury Grand Marquis > >that I traded in was far less judgmental. > > Have you considered the fact that perhaps the car has grown to enjoy > the periodic fondling you give it when the check engine light comes > on ? Perhaps it's calling out for attention. It's not judgmental, > but it may be emotionally distressed. > > Or...maybe... how about replacing the gas cap ? Since that seemed > to affect the problem, maybe it has a bad seal. > > Bob I was hoping for more of a low-maintenance relationship with my Saab. My feeling is that, if it has a pathological need for attention, then it's the car's problem, not mine. So I'm definitely not going to pander to this car's need for attention. And, yes, I'll certainly consider replacing the gas cap. The emissions-testing place said there was nothing wrong with the gas cap. However, the fact remains that the check engine light did go off for a while after they had tested the gas cap. I did wonder whether the emissions-testing place had inadvertently fixed the problem on a temporary basis by fiddling around with the gas cap. Presumably, when they're testing gas caps, they put them into some kind of vacuum device. That might affect the subsequent functioning of the gas cap, I suppose. And then a bump in the road might jar the gas cap, and make it loose again. That's one theory, anyway.