Last night my Check engine soon light turns on and I'm wondering if it was caused by my Crawford Cats. I'm worried about taking the car to the dealer if it is the cats or something related.

Backgoround:

I have an 04.5 6mt w/ 7500 miles.

I've had the Cats installed since October (4 months) and I have put on about 1800 miles since.

The check engine soon light has never been on until yesterday.

The guy who installed the cats really struggled with the install. He forgot to bend the heat shield and I experienced some vibration from time to time. I just lived w/ it because it was not very noticeable.

My Questions:

Will the CEL go on in any G w/ aftermarket cats in time? Has anyone had the cats installed for a long period of time without the CEL turning on?

Does anyone think that an exhaust leak could have developed and is causing the CEL to turn on? (because of the constant vibration and rattle) Maybe the bolts are no longer tight?

Does anyone think it's not the cats at all?

Could the O2 sensor gone bad because of the cats?

Should I be worried about driving the car w/ the CEL on? Should I check anything besides the oil? I just had it changes a few weeks ago.

Any advise or comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Piero

 

mines came on once before cause the guy at the gas station . forgot to put the gas cap back on!. .. i took out my intake and checked everythign BUT that... and took it to the dealer... and they got a computer code that the gas cap was open. .

 

Yep, you can get it if the gas cap isn't on perfectly. I had the light come on a few weeks ago. Took the gas cap off and put it back on and the light went off.

 

If you want, you stop by your local Autozone and they'll pull the code for you and for free. Then you know you're up against. Hope it helps

 

I'm pretty sure it's not the gas cap. The light came on after 2 weeks on the same tank. I got a new tank after the light was on and it is still on.

Anyone else have any CEL experiences? Related to Cats?

 

Please help me out guys.

I've read that the CEL should not be triggered w/ HFC's. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

A CEL should not occur with properly functioning cats. You either have some damage to the cats from the vibration (shaking the ceramic matrix loose inside), or some damage to the O2 sensor during the install. You will have to do a diagnostic to see where the code is coming from to be sure, but if its the cats going bad and letting flow get by unscrubbed, Crawford should warrantee them.

 

what he said, you need to get it scanned to know what the CEL is, otherwise your only going to get guesses on the forum. Scan it, post the code and we can figure out how to get rid of the CEL.

auutozone can even erase the code for you but if you still got the problem it will come back in time.

 

id say 10:1 its the o2 sensor...esp. since u said the guy had probs. during install....gas cap will cause an CEL as well. but an exhaust leak will not trigger a CEL (past the cats, before cats...not too sure)

 

Well I live in Canada and there is no AutoZone here. Who else would be able to do a scan for me besides the dealer? What gets scanned, the ECU? Is it a simple task? If I at least know what I'm talking about I can call around to see if someone can do it for me. Please inform me. I really appreciate your help guys.

 

My past experiences w/ CEL's were related to the O2 sensors also, but what I don't understand is why after 4 months.

How much are O2 sensors for the G anyways? Would an O2 sensor normally be under warrenty?

I went to the best tuner shop in Michigan to get my cats installed. This really pisses me off.

 

i think it depends moreso on the shop having worked on Zs/Gs rather than being a good tuner shop. most shops specialize in specific models/makes Hondas/Acuras vs Mitsu/Subu's..

I am not sure how much O2 sensors will cost...I am pretty confident 99% that its not ur hi flows (unless they are bad)...you can get an OBDII scanner and scan to see what the code is...

 

If it's an 02 Sensor problem.. there is a couple ways you may be able to tell...

- bad 02 will cause rich conditions in your car, if you see more than normal black smoke out of your exhaust it can be caused by the 02 sensor.

- bad 02 can also cause un normal driving conditions in which car sometimes stalls out even, jerks when shifting and stutters while driving.

I think the G35's have 2, 02 sensors, 1 somewhere in the engine and 1 directly on the cat or exhaust system... I've never done anything to my car beside z-tube so I'm not exactly sure.

About the scan ECU... its a 5 minute process, ANY shop that repairs cars should have them especially a place that would give you inspection stickers, OBDII Scanner is what your looking for. They should not charge you anything for it. It reads your ECU, and tells you what your getting the CEL for.


Ohh and 02 sensors can cost in the range somewhere in the 300-600 range... they are expensive and are considered wear items.. especially if your modding your car.

 

2Evolved & Pdjafari you guys have been a big help. Thank-you.

I drove for over an hour and across an international border (got searched for an hour at customs) to go to this shop recommended on my350z because they worked on a lot of guys cars from that forum. They have done turbo's and SC's on 350Z's before.

I was watching the guy do the install for the first hour of 3. he was trying to remove the O2 sensors with pliers. I asked the guy "don't you have the proper tool for that?" This guy was just ****. He chipped 2 of my rims putting my wheels on after a dyno and scratched my car with the lift arms.

The car had about 5k miles on it at the time and was just perfect like the day I bought it. After that I gave up Modding.

I will try to get a scan and report back. Thanks.

 

You have to be careful with tuner shops on stuff like that. Sure, they probably have great guys on staff to do the major, high $$$$ projects. But guess who they have doing the lame cat installs none of the other experienced guys want to deal with? You guessed it, the shop gopher who doesnt know crap. For simple bolt on stuff like that, better to go to a true mechanic, not a tuner shop.